Cornell University Top Questions

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Cornell offers the quintessential college experience. On the Arts Quad you see students throwing frisbees, down in collegetown there are houses full of students with couches on the porches. When looking for colleges, I was really interested in going to a big state university- Cornell was in fact one of the smaller schools I applied to, so I love the size. By dividing the University up into seven undergraduate colleges, Cornell makes sure that many communities are created. Some people fear that they might miss being near a city while at Cornell- I've always felt like I'll have the rest of my life to love a city- college is the only time you'll ever get to love a campus. Cornell's campus is large- has it's own zipcode- and with 13,000 undergrads there are always things going on, so students rarely leave campus on the weekends.

I truly love Cornell. It's a beautiful school over looking Lake Cayuga, and it's rich in history. The professors are highly reputable, passionate and willing to work with you. I love how you can study anything you could ever dream of. Cornell also has the perfect collegetown, in fact, right of campus the town is called "collegetown." It's where most of the upper classman live, eat, and party. It's like a Cornell bubble. I town solely dedicated to college students. While I do love so many things about Cornell, it is definitely not the right school for everyone. It's a school where you can easily get lost both socially and academically. You need to be extremely proactive in creating your college experience, because no one is holding your hand at Cornell.

My overall opinion of Cornell is that it's the direct opposite of a "small pond." The university offers so much, a student can basically do anything here: study any subject, start any club, and reach out in countless ways to the student population and the campus community. The best thing about Cornell is just this: it's like the whole world was condensed down to a school in upstate New York. Not to mention, we're lucky to have one of the most stunningly beautiful campuses around. We have a lot of school pride, and are all connected to each other by our academics; Cornell kids work hard, and there's no getting away from that. One of the toughest things about Cornell is that it demands a lot of you mentally; the courses are hard, the professors are no-nonsense, and there's no such thing as an easy A. If you're not the type of person that's self motivated and thrives in a large environment, it could be difficult to keep afloat and find your way around campus. Luckily, Cornell has many resources to help all of their undergraduates succeed in the university environment. You just need to know to speak up for yourself, and find what you need to get where you want to be. If you graduate from Cornell, people know you as a hard worker. Cornell has a great reputation globally, and is known to seriously train and teach their students in order to prepare them for the real world after graduation. There's nothing you can't do with a Cornell degree. Not to mention, Cornell has a huge alumni network. I'm constantly getting emails about networking and career events. Night life is like day life at Cornell; you have to find your niche. Collegetown here is a lot of fun, and Ithaca has a lot to offer too. Some say we're "in the middle of nowhere," but I tend to disagree with that. The natural environment around Cornell is unparalleled in its beauty and resources, and if you find a great group of friends, you never have to have a dull night (even if you're not involved in a fraternity or sorority -- I'm not!). Not to mention, Cornell is just a 4 hour bus ride away from NYC -- I know people who go down just for a weekend! There's so much more I can say about this university, but I'll just say that it's home for me. I wouldn't want to be any place else. Cornell is nearly limitless in resources, and if you're the type who loves being a fish in a big intellectual pond, you've found the right waters for you.

Cornell is an excellent school. I can proudly say that Cornell has one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation. In fact, I enjoy exploring the campus and taking pictures before the freezing winter sets in. And even when winter comes, there are times when I brave the cold and walk around the campus to capture the winter scenery around our campus. Cornell is a fairly large private university, and because I attended a high school that only had about 160 students per grade, it is a huge plus. It is not as large as some of the public schools, but it definitely is big enough for every student to find his or her niche and friends with similar interests. And because we have seven undergraduate schools, Cornell students have the opportunity to network and meet people outside of their fields of study. As an economics and government double-major student, I can say I have friends who are engineers, architects, art students, and "hotelies." And because Cornell has a big campus, the school never feels like it's crowded and running out of space. Many students complain that Ithaca is a fairly isolated town, but I think it also has its benefits. Yes, we can't enjoy the internship opportunities and other perks that students in large cities benefit from, but being a bit isolated allows us to really develop strong friendships and a tightly-knit community. I've heard from many of my friends in schools like NYU complain about the lack of opportunity to form lasting friendships because the city lures many of the students away from each other. Well, Ithaca is very well known to be cold, and I won't deny it. Surprisingly, this year, the winter hasn't been bad at all. Still, even in the freezing cold, students have fun sliding down "the slope" with "borrowed" trays from dining halls, creating sculptures out of ice and snow (sometimes obscene ones that need to be dismantled by the campus police), etc. For these reasons, I hate and love Ithacan winter. Although some students take pride in being a Cornell student while some don't necessarily have much school pride, I can say one thing for sure. Cornell, despite being often derided as being "the easiest Ivy to get into," does have a good reputation. While flying back and forth from my home in California, I have had the chance to converse with many fellow travelers. Naturally, many asked me at which school I study (I don't tell people that I'm a Cornell student unless asked upon because many Ivy-league students are stereotyped to be arrogant), and when I told them I go to Cornell, most were impressed. I say most because there were some who did not know anything about Cornell. And I can also say that Cornell is fairly well-known outside of the U.S. as well because when I backpacked across Italy and France last summer, many Europeans congratulated me for having the chance to study at one of the best institutions in the world. Overall, Cornell is an excellent school, and if you don't mind studying at a fairly large university in a rural environment, you would definitely love coming to Cornell.

Oh my gosh, I love this school. I couldn't be happier with my choice of college. I feel like everyone here can find people that they will get along with. There are so many different interests, clubs and personalities to go around; you're bound to find your niche. I honestly thought that it was going to be boring before I came here, but fortunately I wrong! There are a lot of fun things to do here, from college town parties to sports games to crazy fun in the dorms. The students here play as hard as they work--I remember my first college party, I went crowd surfing for the first time ever and it was totally fun! The only thing I don't like about the school is the weather and the uneven terrain. Too much rain/snow and not enough sunshine! And its hard to walk around this huge campus sometimes with all the hills and slopes. Other than that though, its not too bad, classes are challenging but nothing impossible. And there is plenty of school pride around here!

I really love Cornell- I think it is a great place to go to college for both academic and social reasons. One of the best things about Cornell is its diversity. Everyone always manages to find his or her own niche, but there are always new and interesting people to meet all over campus. I think the size is just right. There are about 14,000 undergrads, which seems like a lot, but different clubs and organizations make it easy to find your place and make it seem like the community is a lot smaller. People almost always react positively when I tell them I go to Cornell. People recognize the status of attending an Ivy League university. I spend most of my time on Campus in class. I like to do my homework at home, although there are a lot of people who like to study in library, and there are many libraries all around campus to accomodate everyone's study needs. We do have a college town right adjacent to campus- people usually live here their junior and senior years. It has a bunch of restaurants and convenience stores and bars. I think the school has a solid administration. I always feel very informed about what's going on around school. Additionally, we just won a contest to build a new campus in NYC, and I'm sure our administration worked very hard to make that happen. The biggest recent controversy has been suicides on campus. I know it sounds scary, but there have been a few people who have jumped off bridges and it has really shaken the community. However, there have been many new program put in place to help students cope with their problems in more effective ways. There is a decent amount of school pride- if you really want to see school spirit you have to go to a Hockey game. Hockey is huge here and lots of people get really into it. One experience I'll always remember is getting snowed in freshman year and not making my bus home for winter break. I had to stay over until the next bus at 5am the next day and ended up sledding down libe slope which was so much fun! The biggest student complaint is probably the work load. This is an academically rigorous environment, and it takes a lot of time management. However, lots of people do very well here if they manage their time and course load effectively.

I am incredibly happy I decided to come to Cornell. I love almost everything about the school, including its campus, the classes I took last semester, the people I met, the opportunities for extra-curricular activities, and the general feel of the student body. If I had to change one thing about Cornell, it would be the weather or the walking. Cornell does get cold and has a lot of snow in the winter, but people learn to manage it. Also, for some classes there is a long walk from dorm room to classroom, but proper planning (and not sleeping through your alarm) will easily solve that issue. Cornell is large enough that I don't feel like I am in high school again, and where there is plenty of things to do on a weekend, but you can easily make it as small as you want by joining an organization or the greek system. There is a vibrant Collegetown less than 5 minutes walk from Central Campus, where you will find almost all upperclassman housing, and tons of restaurants and shops. There is a good amount of school pride, with the most popular sport being hockey. There are a lot of traditions and history surrounding Cornell, and the 161 Things that Every Cornellian Must Do list is great way to immerse yourself into the magic that is Ithaca and Cornell.

I love Cornell! I believe that it is a perfect fit for me so far. The student life takes a bit of getting used to, but that is normal in any college setting. I wish there was a little more school spirit at the sports games. College town is pretty fun most weekends. They have parties and little eateries and a little further is the Commons that has pretty nice shops. The Commons has this little amish restaurant with the best smoothies ever! My friend and I call them "happiness smoothies".

I love this place! I know because of Cornell so many wonderful and positive opportunities are available for my picking right now and in the future. The campus is beautiful, there are so many things to do on and off campus that you will never get bored. The resources provided here are unbelievably vast. I know if I needed help with ANYTHING that there is some type of service, program, or person that is on campus to help. Best of all there is a great sense of community here.