Cornell’s statutory colleges will greet potential transfer students next Friday, in an effort to highlight specific programs and to acquaint prospective students with the campus. The program, officially titled Transfer Day 2001, is designed primarily for students of New York regional colleges, and marks Cornell’s continuing commitment to transfer students.
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Human Ecology and the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) will each offer individual information sessions corresponding to their specific programs.
Ann LaFave ’90, senior associate director of agriculture college admissions, described Transfer Day as an opportunity for prospective transfers to learn about specific programs, majors and financial aid, and to meet with the admissions staff, faculty and other students.
According to LaFave, the premise of Transfer Day is to provide interested students with a multi-dimensional view of the Cornell campus.
“We offer this important program to confirm our commitment to transfer students,” LaFave said.
The agenda will begin with a general welcome to the University and an overview of the three statutory colleges. Following a presentation about financial aid, prospective transfer students will join their college of interest for an in-depth view of curricula, student services and admission requirements. An optional campus tour will conclude the day’s activities.
Cheryl Lippincott, administrative assistant, ILR admissions, described Transfer Day as an opportunity for the statutory colleges to give those interested in transferring as much information as possible.
This year’s Transfer Day has evolved significantly from past years in order to increase its accessibility. Interested students were asked to register online as part of Cornell’s effort to extend the reach of the Transfer Day program. LaFave noted that online registration will reduce administrative labor and simplify the process for prospective students.
Throughout the year, admissions officials are continually preparing for Transfer Day. Cornell sends posters and literature to a number of high schools, two-year community colleges and four-year colleges in New York and other neighboring states. Guidance and transfer counselors from these schools forward registration forms to any students who have expressed an interest in Cornell.
“Cornell’s Transfer Day is designed to specifically meet the needs of transfer students. It is much more than just information about financial aid and how to apply [to transfer]. It is ‘everything you need to know about life as a Cornell transfer student’ in one day,” said Heather Stevens, Coordinator of Transfer Services at Tompkins-Cortland Community College.
Anita Wright ’75, Director of Transfer, Articulation and Career Development Services at the State University of New York, Cobleskill said that the program’s greatest strength is that perspective students can converse with current Cornell students who have gone through the same process.
“The current students are very forthright in explaining the whole procedure to potential transfers,” Wright said.
Stevens echoed these sentiments.
“The panels made up of current transfer students are excellent. Not many schools have programs like this just for transfer students,” she said.
Though satisfied with the informational aspects of the program, Wright suggested that Cornell might consider expanding Transfer Day to include the endowed colleges. She said that several of her students have also requested an overview of the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Hotel Administration.
Transfer students constitute a large percentage of the statutory colleges’ populations. According to LaFave, nearly one-third of agriculture college students have transferred from other schools.
Archived article by Ari Heckman