<p>@ravidrim, I had that happen to me as well and it took about 3 weeks for them to process my high school transcript. I later realized that a separate PO box was designated for transfers and I began sending my materials to that address. When I did, it seemed like my materials were processed within 5-7 days.</p>
<p>@Newuser789, it’s been about 4-5 weeks since everything was sent, so that’s why I’ve been concerned about it. What worries me is if the processing affects when I’ll receive a decision. Do you know anything about that?</p>
<p>@Truman
Believe it or not, I actually live in Tsinghua U for a long long time so I know ur school pretty well. As for the recommendation letter, I think the instructor elevation would cover it unless your prof didn’t fill in enough info (by that I mean just a few sentences).</p>
<p>I do think you might be at a disadvantage since you are a junior right now applying for transfer but ur stat and ec look good so you might have a shot. Again, CAS is selective as hell so it might be a long shot, and a crap shot at best for anyone. Don’t stress out about it.</p>
<p>@Ravidrim, as long as you made them aware of the situation and the fact that you are a transfer, I think you’ll be okay. You will probably get reviewed a bit later than the ones sent to review before you, and perhaps get a decision later as well, but I don’t think it will adversely affect your chances. </p>
<p>@TauTao, you think that you don’t need a LOR as well? I certainly wouldn’t think that a few sentences in the comments section replaces a letter of recommendation. I mean I sent 3 really strong ones! Anyone else who didn’t send in a LOR?</p>
<p><strong><em>UPDATED LIST</em></strong> </p>
<p>College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: </p>
<p>CornellBoy - AEM
Fogueira - AEM
Jay327 - AEM
Jk1018 - AEM
Kane402 - AEM
Liontobear - AEM
Laurenbrittany - AEM
Newbietransfer - AEM
nyknicks13 - AEM
pzzia777 -AEM
TauTao - AEM
Noctis0225 - Animal Science
Nerissa9224 - Biological Sciences
Zachary 8 - Biological Sciences (GT)
newuser789 - Biological Sciences
SMRSMR - Biology and Society
lilpsyco1 - Biology and Society
Asganga93 - Communication
Mbruns34 - Communication (GT)
nyjetsknicks - Communication
Reallyrosie - Communication
Askatasuna - Science of Nat & Envir Sys</p>
<p>College of Architecture, Art, and Planning</p>
<p>YvesXavier</p>
<p>College of Arts and Sciences:</p>
<p>App2013 - Archaeology
freefly716 - Asian Studies/Mathematics
Georgethecow - Biological Sciences
LelouchFTW - Chemical Biology
ilikemollies - Computer Science
spacecommander - Computer Science
JesperSWE - Economics
Toofast - Economics
Truman147 - Economics
Wantonly - Economics
caricature365 - Government
wongshei - Government
ItaStallion94 - Italian
Hopeforthebest94 - Mathematics
Zqasd1234 - Mathematics
Lukakach - Philosophy
Lewisstrawberry - Psychology
HeartyBowl</p>
<p>College of Engineering:</p>
<p>dylonn - Mechanical Engineering</p>
<p>College of Human Ecology:</p>
<p>Yolocholo - P.A.M.</p>
<p>School of Industrial and Labor Relations:</p>
<p>AdamSmith12
AxlMojo
btknight17 (GT)
danielle1991
Dolchedog
Ftypeman
ihopeitransfer
Neja101
petric18
Ravidrim
RHCCCC
Ronaldot
Vspecter
Stashjuice</p>
<p>@ravidrim Because admissions are rolling, the timeliness of your application affects when you will receive your decision, but I’m sure it won’t affect your chances of admission. I have emailed and called the admissions office because of my similar situation, but I only got the same answer: “Please be patient, if we are missing anything, we will notify you.” I know it’s frustrating but there’s nothing much we can do about that. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>@Newuser789 Yeah, that’s exactly what they told me, but yeah, I agree that my chances probably won’t be negatively affected. I submitted everything around 10 days early (of the 3/1 deadline) with the intent of possibly receiving a decision earlier. I preemptively paid my housing deposit for next semester at my current school, and the sooner I get a decision, the faster I can get a refund haha.</p>
<p>@SMRSMR
I do, and THEY HAVE TO BE GOOD. However, what most professors do is that they filled out the instructor elevation and put their letters as attachments, which serve as rec letters. Personally, I just asked for other prof to send in additional ones to be certain.
Nevertheless, I want to clarify that I think that a letter has to be sent in, one way or another. I really hope Trumen’s professor filled out more than just a couple of sentences.</p>
<p>I agree with SMRSMR, but i take it a bit further. your major could very well help you get in if you’re a qualified applicant who has expressed tremendous in the field. I also am certain that putting down a sparsely populated major just for admissions sake will result in you rejected fairly easily; it’s not easy to demonstrate interest in a field that isn’t too popular (i.e. if you’re a women’s study major or something, you’d have to have taken classes in that field and/or joined clubs and/or done internships that show passion for it to be helpful). CAS knows your major isn’t firmly decided until end of sophomore year.</p>
<p>If your intended major isn’t even offered at your current school, I’d suppose that that would be a tremendous way to make a top transfer very likely to get in. E.g. if an engineering applicant from Duke wants to major in ORFE (operations/financial engineering) and has expressed tremendous interest in the field, and he has a 3.9-4.0 with an acceptable high school transcript, great scores, and a great essay, he would most likely get in. For people who like “chancing”, I’d put him at a 90% as opposed to 60% for someone who lacks something of that nature.</p>
<p>Also, one more thing - as far as hooks go, I was told that wanting to major in something not offered at all at your school distinguishes you wholly from the applicant pool, because you have a “NEED” to transfer, as opposed to a “DESIRE”. Just my 2cents.</p>
<p>And I honestly don’t think CAS is a crap shoot the way it’s being painted. Less athletes (the ones that do study would probably go to AEM or HM), less legacies by far, good amounts of international students with almost negligible acceptance rates (I’m guessing, thats what it’s like at every other school). Unlike the contract colleges, CC students aren’t at any specific advantage when applying either, so if you’re a stacked applicant like a good bit of people here who is truly passionate about Cornell with a top reason for transferring, you should be very confident about your transfer chances. Unlike some other schools, Cornell doesn’t just use transfers to paper over population cracks; they really want transfer students and as far as I know, there are reserved spots for transfers after RD and ED decisions. So if you’re above borderline, like a lot of people here, stop stressing :)</p>
<p>By the way, who’s watching March madness?</p>
<p>@Freefly, well said, demonstrated interest goes a long way. And as far as intended major not being offered at your current school, I wouldn’t call it a hook, but I feel it does legitimize your reasons more. Obviously admissions can see through false reasons for transfer so having solid reasons are imperative. </p>
<p>Plus I don’t think CAS is a crap shoot for exceptionally strong candidates, but for above average/fairly strong candidates it can be incredibly difficult. Realize if you look at the 2011 data that the transfer rate was around 7-8%! </p>
<p>@Tautao, yeah I mean I think a LOR is given. The instructor evaluation doesn’t need to be that one LOR though. I am still surprised that Cornell doesn’t explicitly state they want an LOR and leave it to the ambiguous “instructor evaluation.” However I think it is assumed…</p>
<p>Also I am pretty surprised about lack of HE/Engineering/Hotel applicants…then again statistically ILR/CALS/CAS get the most applicants.</p>
<p>SMRSMR, that’s not too low. Cornell’s RD CAS rate is never seen as exceptionally difficult for fairly strong candidates that have interest and a strong academic package - if you consider, however, what i perceive to be a far lower quality of application pool during the transfer round, which also includes little to no athletes or legacies, as well as some junior and international students who have little to no acceptance rate, the likelihood of acceptance for a fairly strong domestic candidate is far higher. And an exceptionally strong candidate with some kind of nonracial hook - i.e. published research, internship at world-famous firm - will truly shine. They’re no longer a dime a dozen. There’s a reason that schools in the top 20 have mostly 99% retention rates; if you’re applying from those schools with all the aforementioned qualities, you truly should be confident. </p>
<p>So I guess what i mean is:
Average candidate - low chance.
Strong candidate - low to medium chance
Exceptional candidate (no, not a world beater, but just strong across the board with few to no academic glaring weaknesses and no disciplinary problems senior year or in college) - probable.</p>
<p>And yeah I didn’t maybe mean hook, but I’m sure that if you cut out students who don’t have that level of a reason to transfer from the app pool, or lack that level of interest in the University, you’d be left with 15%. Tops. Cut out the small portioned of truly qualified applicants and you’re left with maybe 2%.</p>
<p>@tautao
May I know your standing? Are you a former Tsinghua student? It seems that my professor rarely fill out an instructor evaluation form before, so I am pretty sure that He just put down less than 8 lines of words on the blank page, which is the same case to my college report. Do you really think that letter of R is so important that I must submit it even if no requirements and email asking for it so far? And will it be still in time to mail it next week?
Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>In regards to LORs and their importance I would have to go back to a phone call I had with the fantastic Mr. Ian Schachner @ ILR late last november…</p>
<p>Firstly, he assured me that when it comes to transfer students things like our highschool GPA/test scores become less important after proven academic EXCELLENCE in college. I will never forget something he brought to my attention that I hadn’t thought about up to that point. He pointed out that often times people think of the classic case of the kid who was above average but not quite performing at their, lets say “full potential” in HS then they matured, found an academic passion, set high goals, gained discipline and study skills in college (whether CC or University…) you get where I’m going with this. However, he continued, the flip side to that is often forgotten–the perfect HS student with the soaring GPA/test scores, all the right ECs, and of course quality essays–who is gladly admitted to CU, proceeds to enter the Ivy League environment at Cornell, becomes overwhelmed (etc.), and sadly ends up flunking out. They know there is no magic formula to admitting students. It’s more than a grocery list of ECs and a great test score/GPA. They know from experience that that a seemingly flawless applicant on paper doesn’t mean they’re going to be successful at CU. What do you bring to the classroom that no one else does? What is it that you’re passionate about, and why is Cornell the optimal place to pursue those passions further? These are the questions they ask when reviewing applications.</p>
<p>I’ll continue with my point here shortly, but first I have to take a moment say that interactions and conversations like these with Mr. Schachner and other fine people at ILR and CU in general really brought me great confidence and comfort when it came to being a transfer student. They not only take great pride in their holistic approach to the admissions process, but CU (and especially ILR in my experiences) genuinely express that they understand the value that a transfer student brings to campus with their diverse experiences. Needless to say, after months of phone/email conversations with various encouraging CU staff members, I was eager to schedule a visit to Ithaca to meet everyone in person. Wow, did I have a great time in Ithaca! I know I’m not the only one here when I say this, but the faculty and community of people who genuinely desire to assist in your success as a Cornellian is to me one of the paramount reasons why I desire so strongly to study at CU… you get that sense that between the exciting material you’ll be researching and studying and the support you’ll receive, that it’s almost impossible not to succeed. I’m sure you guys have had similar experiences with various faculty members at CU and I’d love to hear them! The thought of being a Cornellian just gets me so AMPED… I have a great feeling about everyone on this discussion board. Don’t stress, the AdComs at their respective undergraduate schools at CU will take a holistic approach to our applications and get the ‘big picture’ of who we are…and from what I’ve read… wow, be proud guys, we are one special group of applicants this year!</p>
<p>That being said, in regards to this holistic approach…
Mr. Schachner, from the beginning, stressed and stressed again the importance of our essays as transfer students. Now, I could write 872 pages about advice for the essays but we’re all past that…so in regards to where we are in time now, he said that the essays are the first thing they look at when reviewing a transfer applicants materials. So step #1 is to blow them away with some fantastic essays. Obviously, step #2 is a given… your college record (grades/ECs/leadership/service) has to be out of the park too… meaning fully completed (with LOR) Instructor Eval(s), HS report, College Report(s), etc. Now, (finally I get to the point I’m trying to make, I know…) another key item that Mr. Schachner stressed to me was the value of outstanding additional LORs. Are they required? No. However…Specifically, he stated that additional LORs should only be submitted if they strongly highlight and back the personal information you stated in your essays, and if they add something else special about you that may not have been otherwise stated in your application.</p>
<p>Personally, I was blessed to receive the support of some of my most valued mentors at school and was given LORs from my college president, VP of student affairs, and my head football coach. That being said, I had the special opportunity to have personal relationships with these wonderful people and was fortunate enough to be offered very personal letters that I feel greatly strengthened my application as they highlighted the focus of my essays and also revealed some things about me that only those people could really know, as apposed to my professor evals or College report, etc. But that’s just me. I’m certain that great comments from professors on your evals and a solid paragraph or two from your advisor/counselor on your College report is enough if you’re an outstanding applicant with great fit to a particular program, however–remember guys this is CORNELL University… every applicant is world class. So, an extra LOR or two, (assuming it’s great,) can only help further distinguish and strengthen your application. But, again–additional LORs are not formally required, only encouraged if they serve the purposes I stated above…(which I only passed on from Ian Schachner @ ILR.)</p>
<p>See you guys in Ithaca next fall!
God Bless and Go Big Red!</p>
<p>@Adamsmith12 Wow, thanks for your post; I kinda get the picture of what Cornell wants from an applicant. I do feel the friendly and supportive sense from Cornell, even from their admissions, because they always response my emails promptly and nicely; they really respect each applicant. I mean, Cornell is an Ivy League and I did not expect the admissions to be welcoming, but I was totally wrong.
Interesting how the essays are evaluated first, followed with the evaluation of LORs as complements to the applications as a whole.
If you don’t mind me asking, where did you transfer from?</p>
<p>He’s currently applying for transfer to ILR, right Adam?</p>
<p>@AdamSmith12</p>
<p>You’re the man. As an applicant who is also applying to ILR, it definitely eases my nerves when information that I have been preaching to people is reaffirmed. Please share some more information with the rest of us about ILR. I am sure we would all highly appreciate it at a nerve wrecking time such as this.</p>
<p>@vspecter @wantonly @freefly716</p>
<p>my apologies guys… big accounting exam tomorrow morning. I have to study a little more and crash for the night. Promise I will be on tomorrow late afternoon/night and post some more good info. We’re all counting down the days, it’s great to have each other on here to ease the stress a little! </p>
<p>by the way I forget who asked but I am applying as a transfer to ILR from a CC in AZ. </p>
<p>Go Big Red!</p>
<p>ILR information that applies to non guaranteed transfers is probably applicable to the rest of us…the transfer rate for out of state non GT transfers is comparable across all the colleges I believe. So yeah props Adam…I have a ton of homework so same.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the info Adamsmith!</p>
<p>I just sent in my updated midterm report to admissions. Now the final wait begins for me. Hoping to hear good news soon.</p>
<p>I was thinking of sending them an update email since I have accomplished a few EC related things since my app submission. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>Would it be too late to send the admissions committee an addition letter of rec if your app is under review already?</p>