Current Students

You meet fellow transfer students, are assigned to a faculty advisor, and receive your course schedule, a list of career-management resources, and an overview of the school's mission and vision, as it relates to your academic and professional development.

Absolutely! We encourage students to choose their own advisors, realizing that during their time at the Hotel School, their choice of an advisor may change. If you need to change an advisor, submit an Advisor Change Form to the Office of Student Services at 180 Statler Hall.

With your letter of acceptance, you should receive a Transfer Credit Allowance, outlining what credits have been awarded and where they have been accrued in the following areas: core courses, hotel electives, distributive electives, and free electives.

Send an original copy of your transcript from all schools previously attended, to:

School of Hotel Administration Registrar
Office of Student Services
Cornell University
180 Statler Hall
Ithaca, New York 14853-6902

Original copies, not photocopies, are required. If the transcripts are not sent directly from your other school(s), and are submitted by you, they must be in sealed/signed envelopes indicating that the transcripts were a direct delivery from the school and not viewed by anyone prior to arrival at our Registrar’s office.

On your Transfer Credit Allowance, any course that may replace a core course will be designated by Refer to Office of Student Services. This means that you may be exempt from taking the course, but you will need to provide a syllabus of that course to the Office of Student Services for consideration.

You can always petition a decision by filling out a Petition Form and submitting it to the Office of Student Services. However, if you are enrolled in the course in question, continue to attend it until you are notified otherwise.

Advance Placement (AP) credits are awarded to Free Electives with the following two exceptions:

1. H ADM 141: Microeconomics in the Service Industry.  
   A score of a 4 or 5 on the Micro-Economics exam waives you from this course. However, you do not earn credits for the class; you need to take an additional 3-credit free elective class to fulfill the 120-credit requirement.
   
   
2. First-Year Writing Seminar (FWS).
   A score of 5 on the AP English Literature and Composition exam, or AP English Language and Composition exam waives you from this seminar.  However, you do not earn credits for the course; you need to take an additional 3 credit free-elective course to fulfill the 120-credit requirement.

More information on Advanced Placement credits can be found in Courses of Study, under credit and placement.

This means we haven't received official notification of your scores. In this case, an original form from The College Board or your high school guidance counselor needs to be sent directly to the University Registrar (not directly to the Hotel School) at:

Office of the University Registrar
Cornell University
B-07 Day Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853-2801

The John S. Knight Institute coordinates the First-Year Writing Seminar Program, which serves the vast majority of first-year students at Cornell. This is a required seminar for all first-year students, unless they have received  a score of “5” on the AP English Literature and Composition test or AP English Language and Composition test. However, you do not earn credits for the class; you need to take an additional 3-credit class to fulfill the 120-credit requirement.

You can transfer up to 60 credits; but only 21 transfer credits can be substituted for core courses.

You can get up to 1 credit of Practice Credit (up to 400 hours) applied to your Practice Credit by following the standard Practice Credit Guidelines.

You should track your progress at Cornell by reviewing your Online Degree Audit. If you have any questions or concerns, make an appointment with an Undergraduate Advisor at the Office of Student Services.

With so many courses offered at Cornell University, it is hard to choose! Browse the Courses of Study to see what interests you. Refer to Hotel School Distributive Electives to understand what courses fulfill these requirements.

Core courses are usually full, but openings occur. You can contact the professor, or his/her administrative assistant, during the drop/add period prior to the first day of classes to see if there is a waiting list, and/or you can bring a paper add/drop form tothe first day of class, in case an opening occurs. Once classes begin, the instructor makes all decisions on managing course enrollment.

You can find Hotel School electives without prerequisites by looking at the Hotel School course descriptions. Any course prerequisites are noted, but if a course is marked 'permisson of instructor,' admission may be based on space and the student's experience.

If you have attended two semesters of PE at another institution, you are not required to take a PE class, nor do you need to take the swim test. If you have had fewer than two semesters somewhere else, you will be required to take Physical Education and take the swim test.

It is very difficult for transfer students to Study Abroad. First, you need to carefully map out your time at Cornell, ensuring that all core course requirements are fulfilled. Though going abroad is possible, it may require an additional semester at Cornell. Contact the Office of Student Services and make an appointment with the Study Abroad advisor , the Cornell Abroad representative for the Hotel School.

On your Transfer Credit Allowance, your anticipated graduation date is noted. Work backwards to identify your standing. For example, if your anticipated graduation date is December 2009 and you’ve just joined the Hotel School in Spring 2007, you’re expected to complete six more semesters, making you a first-semester second-year student. (2-1).  Here is a table outlining the number of semesters anticipated if you arrived in Spring 2007.  

Semester timelines up to May 2010

• Spring 2007 Arrival – May 2008 graduation = 3 semesters
• Spring 2007 Arrival – December 2008 graduation = 4 semesters
• Spring 2007 Arrival – May 2009 graduate = 5 semesters
• Spring 2007 Arrival – December 2009 graduation = 6 semesters
• Spring 2007 Arrival – May 2010 graduation = 7 semesters
• Spring 2007 Arrival – December 2010 graduation = 8 semesters

We assume that you will average 15 credits per semester when we calculate your graduation date on the Transfer Credit Allowance you are sent before your arrival at Cornell.  You can also look at your online degree audit for your credit summary. To calculate the number of credits you need to take each semester, divide the total number of credits you need to take by the number of semesters you are scheduled to be on campus.

# of credits not yet taken / # of semesters = # of credits per semester

For example: 

If you arrive in Spring 2007, and you plan to graduate in May 2008, you will be at Cornell for 3 semesters.  If your online degree audit shows that you have 45 credit hours not yet taken, you would divide 45 (number of credits not yet taken) by 3 (number of semesters), and find that you will need to take 15 credits per semester in order to graduate in May 2008.