Cornell University Top Questions

As I said, I don't think the nerdy one is particularly representative, and neither is the perception of the "idle rich" kids. However, there definitely is a population like that, and they're easily some of the more annoying kids on campus - the ones with popped Lacoste collars, pastel-colored Ralph Lauren shorts and those ubiquitous Sperry boat shoes. They ooze a feeling of privilege and entitlement and they're dismissive of others that aren't in that same sort of class. But thankfully this is a minority of people at Cornell.

Somewhat.

1) Like every good school, there are people who are dorky and anti-social. HOWEVER, Cornell has the best balance of SOCIAL and academic scene. There are Fraternity Parties and events Thursday-Saturday night and the bar scene is booming every night of the week. If you ever want to go out, there is always somewhere to go! 2) Cornell DOES NOT have the highest suicide rate. There isn't really suicide here at all. However, something EVERY freshman does/should do during Orientation Week is to Gorge Jump. It won't kill you and it's TONS of fun! 3) The food is AWESOME here. From the dining halls to Taverna Banfi, the restaurant in the Statler Hotel, there is ALWAYS delicious food around campus.

Absolutely.

NOPE!

I think the last person to actually commit suicide by jumping into a gorge was 1994 (according to IvyGate. Which is maybe not the best source). There have been two deaths that I know of in the past four years. Both were accidental and involved alcohol. They're more of a geographical hazard than a sucking black pit of death. The pre-med students are rumored to be pretty intense, but the handful that I know are laid-back and chill. The architecture program is a time-suck, but that's true of all architecture programs. And the hotelies...well, I AM a hotelie. WE ARE WORKING FOR OUR EDUCATION! I PROMISE! My only complaint is that the curriculum is too practical and boring. This translates to non-academic throughout the rest of the university. We have a bangin' frat scene. As in, there are many many of them. So if you're into beer-covered shoes and freshmen girls giggling over their intense two-beer "sooooooooo drunk!" buzz, yes. We are the Ivy League Party School. As for us being dumb, I guess that comes out of the fact that we're so big and are half-public. Plus, you know, the hotelies. Whatever, Cornell is an excellent school. I don't judge. And hell, SOMEONE has to be at the bottom. Of the eight Ivy Leage schools. Do I sound bitter? Our amazing toned legs come from maybe the hilliest campus ever. Everywhere you go, you're going to have to walk up a hill to get there. Just get used to it. It works out nicely since the winters are so cold; you warm up on the way to class! Ah, Lynah Rink, how I love thee. Cornell is famed throughout the ECACHL as having the craziest, awesomest group of hockey fans anywhere. We enter a lottery just for the chance of becoming one of the privileged hundred who get to wait all night in line to buy season tickets. The back of the ticket reads "any fan found to possess alcohol or fish on their person will be expelled from the rink." No joke, we throw fish at Harvard, and we have to sneak them in. Anyway, I could go on. Lynah Rink is my favorite place on campus. After the Harry Potter Library.

All true.

Cornell may be the easiest to get into, although that is changing more and more. As for the whole "staying in" part, there are definitely people who take five or six years to make it through. Or they switch from the engineering school to the hotel school. It's not necessarily because the workload is so much worse than at other schools, but rather because Cornellians get so involved in so many activities and perhaps spread themselves too thin. Yes, Ithaca is cold. But there are seasons, and although the winter can be pretty brutal, fall is nice and spring is gorgeous, and summer can even get super-hot.

To an extent, yes. However, there are minorities and other under-represented students here, its just harder to find them.

To some extent for sure. It's nice for me because my humanities classes are tiny, but it is frustrating to see musical and artistic events poorly attended. I think Cornell is definetely political though, in the sense that everyone cares about their specific issue (gay rights, Israel, the politics of their fratertinity's reputation). It's just that there isn't a lot of debate on campus. Students only care about specific issues, and aren't too interested in arguing about it, because homework comes first for them.