CC -> Cornell Transfer Advice

Hey everyone,

I have recently been accepted to Cornell ilr as an incoming junior from a community college. I am thrilled to have cornell as a legitimate option now that I have been admitted, but I still have some concerns regarding entering a new school as a junior and its implications on recruiting. In consideration of the fact that I will not have a cornell gpa my fall semester, will have essentially no significant involvement in clubs or organizations on campus, and lack a solid network, what can I do now in preparation to ameliorate my future circumstance? Would it be wise to try to extend graduation by taking on a double major or minor in order to buy time to boost my resume? While I understand I am still in a solid position, I am merely trying to get a feel for what I can expect this upcoming fall. I am more than willing to put in the work necessary to be successful, simply looking for some guidance.

In addition, I am still waiting to hear back from vandy and amherst. None of the business courses I took at my CC would transfer to either of these schools, so I would be an incoming sophomore. This is particularly attractive to me because of the aforementioned concerns of transferring into a school as a junior. If i get accepted to amherst, I am going. My question is, would it be worth it to sacrifice the prestige of an ivy league in order to attend a marginally less prestigous school in vandy where I will be a sophomore (good thing) and potentially have a better all-around (fun) college experience?

Thanks in advance for the help you provide.

6 Comments
 

You will miss out a lot of recruitment events targeting soph if you are a junior transfer, since they happen during the spring.

You could take a summer class at Cornell and get a 4.0 for your resume if you really wanna do junior transfer.

If given the option, I would choose between Cornell and Amherst.

 
Best Response

Given your situation, Amherst >>> both options by a long shot. Amherst is highly regarded on Wall Street and has a small but supportive alumni network. But I think you know that.

For the decision between Cornell ILR and Vandy, I'll play the role of the 2-handed economist: I see Cornell as a great opportunity going forward. The Ivy League name no doubt holds more prestige than Vanderbilt and will carry you far in the long-run. BUT, from what I know, ILR isn't Cornell's pipeline into IB; The Dyson and Hotel Schools are. If you'd also be coming in as a junior and hence missing out on sophomore/spring recruiting, you'd better have a really amazing story to catch recruiters' attention at this point in the game. I'd also echo what others have said about taking summer classes because your resume will seem a bit lacking without a GPA for Cornell.

Keep in mind, Vanderbilt's name is nothing to scoff at. From friends, I know that they have a great campus life. Very preppy kids who like to party, but are also wicked smart. Vandy might be better if your goals are more short-term, i.e. landing an IB job out of undergrad, BUT keep in mind that Vandy places into a lot of regional/southern shops.

Given the context, I'd say Amherst >>> Vandy > Cornell ILR, IF you don't mind working outside NYC, perhaps Amherst >>> Vandy >= Cornell ILR if you want to work in the city. Hope this helps - let us know what you decide.

 

Thanks for the insight you all provided. I am still anxiously awaiting to hear from amherst and vandy, but it sounds like given my situation amherst>vandy>cornell. In the meantime, I am putting all of my efforts into landing any internship I can within finance to boost my resume. Hopefully this will lessen the blow of entering cornell as a junior if that ends up being my only option. I will keep you posted as admission decisions are released.

 

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