What are my chances at getting in Cornell for undergraduate studies for vet school. I had a 3.6 GPA in my junior college but I had a bunch of stuff happen within my family and got Cs this fall. My new GPA is 3.1 but I only have 4 more classes to get my 60 hours of transfer credit. Will my record of As and occasional Bs be enough to get me in. Also I'm not a resident I'm from Texas.
Chances of getting in Cornell
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Did you apply already? Cornell doesn't consider your fall transcripts, so you're fine. Even a 3.6 is on the low side for them, I think their average is a 3.7, but you definitely have a chance - pending the rest of your application.
If you haven't applied yet, I would consider other schools with a 3.1 honestly. You'd have to have perfect GRE scores and thousands of hours of diverse experience and beautifully crafted essays to do it... and even so, I'm not sure. Cornell is one of those schools that puts a lot of weight on your GPA, so I would suggest looking into other options, schools that don't value the GPA as much. Texas A&M as a resident, for example, gives you better chances.
Your other option is retaking those classes as a post bacc before you apply.
EDIT: Never mind, I misunderstood. you're looking to go there for undergrad? The requirements are completely different. Maybe check out hSDN instead? Others here might know differently, but I'm not sure what Cornell UG requires, but it's not gonna be veterinary experience. You'll need a great GPA, great SAT scores and a ton of extra curriculars. But like someone else said, you can complete your undergrad anywhere and still get into Cornell for vet school!
If you haven't applied yet, I would consider other schools with a 3.1 honestly. You'd have to have perfect GRE scores and thousands of hours of diverse experience and beautifully crafted essays to do it... and even so, I'm not sure. Cornell is one of those schools that puts a lot of weight on your GPA, so I would suggest looking into other options, schools that don't value the GPA as much. Texas A&M as a resident, for example, gives you better chances.
Your other option is retaking those classes as a post bacc before you apply.
EDIT: Never mind, I misunderstood. you're looking to go there for undergrad? The requirements are completely different. Maybe check out hSDN instead? Others here might know differently, but I'm not sure what Cornell UG requires, but it's not gonna be veterinary experience. You'll need a great GPA, great SAT scores and a ton of extra curriculars. But like someone else said, you can complete your undergrad anywhere and still get into Cornell for vet school!
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You can complete your undergrad studies anywhere to be admitted into vet school. Is there any particular reason why you want to leave community college for Cornell?
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So the Cornell admission formula consists of 50% grades/GRE and 50% resume/extracurricular activities. Last time I checked ( few months ago) their class stats were not listed on their website as they tend to be hush hush as their formula isn't the standard vet admission formula. From prior year threads, there have been individuals whom have been accepted with 3.5 and lower. I have spoken to the Cornell admissions director twice in person ( Pre Health Conference at UC Davis) and her words verbatim were "well accept a student with a 3.0 resume but there needs to be a reason or activities to back this up," and she was also adamant about the holistic approach and also said that grades are not the only thing that makes a veterinarian. If you have a fabulous resume or personal emergency that may have contributed to a "lower GPA," you will still be considered. However, if you have a 3.0 GPA and you're not really doing anything else, than no, I would consider applying elsewhere.
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I went to Cornell as an undergrad. Had lots of good extracurriculars and a 3.6 from high school. Write some good essays. You are talking about applying to undergrad right? I applied early decision.
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I went there for undergrad as well, I applied early, was deferred to the regular pool, then was accepted. I'm not really sure what the transfer process is like, so I can't really give any useful advice. This forum is more geared for advice on applying to vet school, so I would check out hsdn or college confidential instead. I used the college confidential forums a lot when I applied, it was really helpful and they had a whole sub forum devoted to Cornell.
Also - why DO you want to go to Cornell? I loved my time there, but in retrospect, I really regret going because it was soooo much $$$. Unless you get a fantastic financial aid package, I would strongly recommend aiming for a more financially feasible college if you're planning on attending vet school. Vet school is insanely expensive so you really want to try minimizing your undergrad loans.
I'd highly recommend adding up the potential Cornell tuition + checking out a vet school website that you're interested in and adding in that tuition. Then go to a website that will let you calculate your loan payments/debt load. Find one that will account for interest and try out the current interest rates (use non subsidized rates for the vet school portion since you can't get unsubsized loans then). It is extremely eye opening and I wish I had done it sooner!
Also - why DO you want to go to Cornell? I loved my time there, but in retrospect, I really regret going because it was soooo much $$$. Unless you get a fantastic financial aid package, I would strongly recommend aiming for a more financially feasible college if you're planning on attending vet school. Vet school is insanely expensive so you really want to try minimizing your undergrad loans.
I'd highly recommend adding up the potential Cornell tuition + checking out a vet school website that you're interested in and adding in that tuition. Then go to a website that will let you calculate your loan payments/debt load. Find one that will account for interest and try out the current interest rates (use non subsidized rates for the vet school portion since you can't get unsubsized loans then). It is extremely eye opening and I wish I had done it sooner!
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^^^it definitely doesn't matter where you do your undergrad. I gave up my dream of attending the most prestigious private college in my state to go to a small state school so I could graduate debt free. You will have vet from debt school, and possibly debt from undergrad, but in UG there's many more opportunities for aid. Since you're a TX resident, I'd look to see if any colleges here in Louisiana will offer you TOPS. It's our aid program here in LA that is reserved for residents but is sometimes extended to students coming from TX and Arkansas. It's a lot of money, goes by GPA and ACT/SAT scores, and completely covers my tuition and fees, and part of my living expenses. I would look into it!
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Referring to it as "debt school" made me really smile. Freudian slip?
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Hahah wow!! Must be because I totally didn't notice.
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It really should be called that.
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To answer your original question, I think that As and Bs are just fine for getting in, but you also need to show extracurriculars and transferable skills and all that.
If you're looking to get into Cornell for vet school, and that's why you want to go for undergrad, I agree with everyone else that it doesn't matter where you do your undergraduate studies. I went to Cornell for undergrad and absolutely loved it, but wow is it expensive.
To be thorough, the advantages I could see with going to Cornell for undergrad are: there are a number of classes you can take with vet school faculty, and extracurriculars in which you'll meet and interact with vet school faculty, so you might be able to get a letter for vet school, plus you get to interact with animals and do vet med-related things; the pre-vet advisors for the undergrads are the most familiar with the requirements for CUCVM; it's easy to meet with the vet school admissions people any time; depending on your age and living status, you might be able to get in-state residency during undergrad, after a couple years; CUCVM does give a bit more weight to Cornell undergrad applications ("rigor of academic program", I think they call it), and I think they go a bit easier on us when it comes to evaluating GPA. We had 14 students from Cornell undergrad end up attending the vet school in the class of 2019.
HOWEVER. All those advantages I listed are more like "reasons why current Cornell prevet undergrads should give it a shot and apply to Cornell for vet school" as opposed to "why you need to attend Cornell for undergrad in order to increase your changes of getting into Cornell vet school". You might get a little bit of a boost / convenience with some of the things I listed, but it isn't worth the financial cost; plus a lot of it can be made up for with a little more legwork. Yeah, you'll get a good education at Cornell, but you can get a good education at a lot of places, and vet school basically reteaches you things the way they want you to know them, so a foundation in pre-vet-y courses is helpful but not essential (and you'll all have to do all the same pre-reqs anyway). Honestly, if I had to do it over again, I would go somewhere else for undergrad, because after I graduate vet school I will have been here for 8 years - which is a really long time to be in Ithaca (which is beautiful, but cold, and we don't even have a real mall nearby 🙁).
If you're looking to get into Cornell for vet school, and that's why you want to go for undergrad, I agree with everyone else that it doesn't matter where you do your undergraduate studies. I went to Cornell for undergrad and absolutely loved it, but wow is it expensive.
To be thorough, the advantages I could see with going to Cornell for undergrad are: there are a number of classes you can take with vet school faculty, and extracurriculars in which you'll meet and interact with vet school faculty, so you might be able to get a letter for vet school, plus you get to interact with animals and do vet med-related things; the pre-vet advisors for the undergrads are the most familiar with the requirements for CUCVM; it's easy to meet with the vet school admissions people any time; depending on your age and living status, you might be able to get in-state residency during undergrad, after a couple years; CUCVM does give a bit more weight to Cornell undergrad applications ("rigor of academic program", I think they call it), and I think they go a bit easier on us when it comes to evaluating GPA. We had 14 students from Cornell undergrad end up attending the vet school in the class of 2019.
HOWEVER. All those advantages I listed are more like "reasons why current Cornell prevet undergrads should give it a shot and apply to Cornell for vet school" as opposed to "why you need to attend Cornell for undergrad in order to increase your changes of getting into Cornell vet school". You might get a little bit of a boost / convenience with some of the things I listed, but it isn't worth the financial cost; plus a lot of it can be made up for with a little more legwork. Yeah, you'll get a good education at Cornell, but you can get a good education at a lot of places, and vet school basically reteaches you things the way they want you to know them, so a foundation in pre-vet-y courses is helpful but not essential (and you'll all have to do all the same pre-reqs anyway). Honestly, if I had to do it over again, I would go somewhere else for undergrad, because after I graduate vet school I will have been here for 8 years - which is a really long time to be in Ithaca (which is beautiful, but cold, and we don't even have a real mall nearby 🙁).
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