Cornell University Top Questions

I love it. There are tons of people studying all different things. If you can think of an activity that you want to pursue, we have it. The campus may be big, but it doesn't feel big. All of the colleges have great reputations. There's a great work hard, play hard attitude. That pretty much sums it up. Our football team isn't the best, and they nickle and dime you for everything, but as a whole Cornell is pretty great. It's true there are some nasty stereotypes, like everyone is stressed and suicidal, or that it's the school for everyone who didn't get into the other Ivies, but these just aren't true. The campus is beautiful, the people are great, and the food is some of the best you'll find on a campus. You can really do whatever you want here.

The campus is very large and there is a diverse student body. Some dorms are much bigger/nicer/more convenient than others. It has the widest variety of majors that I've ever seen. However, I must say that you should be as cautious as possible when it comes to choosing classes and majors. Taking a class that's too difficult for you or that is not geared to your interests or skills can massacre your GPA.

Cornell has the most beautiful campus and natural setting. I wish there were more things to do off campus though, because we are isolated and in the middle of nowhere and the whole frat scene gets old after a while. The campus is quite large, but the student body isn't. The Cornell hills will give you calves of steel in by the end of your first semester. College town is great, and the Ithaca residents are.. interesting to say the least.

The food at Cornell is worth it. People might think that food is a small part of college life, but when faced with the same thing 3 times a day for 4 years, it does play an important part of your lifestyle. Some people worry they may even lose all their weight by avoiding the food, but with the healthy food and the long walks, it does allow you to have a pretty good lifestyle

The best thing about Cornell is it's size. It's big, but separated into smaller communities by the seven colleges, majors, and by organizations. People are always impressed when I say I go to Cornell, and having a big school that everyone's heard of definitely helped in getting a job. There is also a lot of pride that Cornellians take in their school, which is partially due to the huge amount of work. We've all been through it together and we can complain about the school, but if anyone else tries to insult it, we will defend it. Most of my time I spent on campus, between classes, activities, and the library. However, collegetown is one of the best things about Cornell. Collegetown is a neighborhood right off campus where most people live their junior and senior year. It's full of everything a college student needs (coffee, bars, barbers, grocery stores, liquor store, etc). Undergrads don't spend much time going any further into Ithaca than Collegetown, but there are a lot of good restaurants in Ithaca common.

Cornell has been quite the experience this first year. It curriculum is rigorous and one might say it is even unfair. The campus is beautiful, but how could you really enjoy it with the cold weather practically half the year. I am no fan of the cold but after living there, 45 degree weather became warm to me, at least warm enough to go out with a t-shirt. The dining at Cornell is really good, an array of items to choose from and there is rarely anything that doesn't taste good. Cornell is the right school when it comes to preparing you for higher education, such as medical or law school.

Cornell always seems so busy to me. The classes are rather short to my thinking (most are 50 minutes) and in the big lectures halls of the freshman engineering classes, that leaves little time for anything other than desperately trying to keep up with the teacher's lecture. The rest of a student's spare time seems to fill up all too easily with everything from homework to a required film showing to the obnoxious alcohol test they require every student to take. Thus, everything, from getting soda to making friends to getting help on the last stupid math problem that isn't making sense has to be carefully planned out. Cornell, while a truly wonderful, can make someone so busy that spontaneity tends to fall by the wayside unless (and here's the paradox) a student plans for it. Cornell's a juggling act, and the more you get involved the more balls appear.

Cornell has a gorgeous campus in the middle of a fun town. When the weather is good, it is great, but when its bad, its horrible. Be prepared for a loooooong and brutal winter, and because the campus is so big, you are always doing alot of walking. Collegetown is really close and has tons of restaurants and a few good bars, and the Commons (the downtown part of Ithaca) is maybe a mile a way and has even more to offer. Frat life is a big thing on campus too.

The campus is beautiful, the professors are the best in the field, and you really get a great education. The campus feel is great, but Ithaca is a bit too rural for most.

Cornell is a large school, on a large campus, with a good sized student body. Coming from a very small highschool class the school seems quite large. For me, I had to accept that I was going to eb treated by the administration as a number in a system, unless I stepped up and made my financial, or academic issues clearly known to someone who could help. This is not for everyone. This accomidates the headstrong student more than the lax, who expects, or hopes for help from above. Cornell is also quite diverse in the student population. Granted I come from a very white town, but most of my classmates agree there are quite a large varietry of cultures, origins, personalities and so on to explore, if you choose, througout the campus. A major Con aboout the University, being so large and machine like is the lack of flexibility it has. While it is quite open to many classes between various disciplines, the ones that are not explicitly set aside as cross-college course are hard to get into. For instance, I cannot take a drawing class at the Fine Art School as a student at the school for Arts and Sciences. Originally I was told the wait list was three years, and now it is for fine arts majors only. This did, and still seems rediculous to me and and my family. The money is the biggest issue for most. You can't get around it very easily, be prepared to deal with it AHEAD of time.