Cornell University Top Questions

Whenever I tell someone I go to Cornell, they almost always ask "What was your SAT score?" or say "Oh, you must be smart." Awkward!!

A few things I LOVE about Cornell... 1. The PEOPLE- I come a big state-school-college-town in the Midwest, and I've been somehat conditioned to thinking that staying in state is the best option. Coming to Cornell has introduced me to so many amazingly talented people; not just academically, but artistically, athletically, and socially. The people really make the Cornell name worth having. 2. The FOOD- Quality dorm food is a really important 'make it or break it' element of college life, and Cornell has got it down! Lots of options in Ithaca and you'll definitely appreciate the fun dining hall themed nights and Sunday brunches. 3. The ENVIRONMENT- Cornell is a little isolated compared to Columbia's NYC, but it's relatively safe and not too far from other fun activities. In my book, it's a GREAT college town. Cornell's size is also another aspect I love. The majority of classes are rather large, but you can still find the intimate classroom settings if you want. 4. The OPPORTUNITIES- AWESOME skiing! AWESOME speakers!

I was really worried that I would feel lost at such a large university. However, even as a freshman, I got to know professors very well, made tons of friends, and felt perfectly comfortable and like I had a place at the school. I know it's a cliche, but Ithaca really is gorgeous. Walking across thundering gorges on my way to class everyday is just a part of being a student. There is really so much to do on campus that you don't even have to leave. And, if you do tire of Ithaca, we're only hours away from Syracuse (great shopping!), Philly, Boston, and NYC.

There's definitely a decent amount of school pride. People tend to be pretty mature after freshman year there. A lot of kids come in and have never had alchohol in high school before and by the end of freshman year they've sort of grown up in a way. Freshman live in their own section called "North Campus." This makes it easier for people to make friends in a world where everyone else has already established their social sphere. Sophmores usually either live in frats, the dorms (west campus, or collegetown. I would say the split is 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}, 35{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}, 35{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}. A lot of guys join frats. Junior and Senior year a lot of people move off campus. This is less because they don't have housing available and more because they want to experience living in the downtown area that has a lot of cool bars etc. It's also nice to experience living life on your own. People are pretty involved. Most people you meet will be involved in at least a few things outside of class. As an engineer I joined a couple student run project teams. There's definitely a lot of community service going on etc. The campus tries to harp on diversity, but there's also a lot of natural segregation that occurs. They have african american, native american, and latin american dorms where kids can get a better "cultural experience." It usually turns out that these kids just feel pretty small in a body of white and asian kids and feel uncomfortable not living in these dorms with people of similar culture and background.

Opportunities, opportunities, opportunities! Cornell offers so many things you won't know what to do with yourself. Because you're studying a lot, you won't have the time to do as much as you might want to. Here is my advice: take advantage of everything you can. For example, I saw Mike Huckabee speak, and I initially knew nothing about him. I wasn't particularly interested in seeing him, but the opportunity to see such a prominent political figure live and for free tempted me to go...the two hours that I spent at this event turned out to be TOTALLY worth my time! One warning: Cornell may suck you in, especially if you're an over achiever, like I am. Don't be afraid to drop a class/activity if you have to. Each semester begins somewhat easily, and you may think that you can handle a lot, but once the first round of prelims comes around, you're going to be working your butt off and probably stressing out a lot and not sleeping very much. If you refuse to drop anything (like me), take lotsbreaks and make sure to venture away from your textbooks and learn about life. Please don't regret not having spent enough time getting to know the people around you. The people around you are truly fascinating and can teach you so many things if you open up your mind (and schedule).

I love Cornell to death. I'm back home and all I want to do is go back. The best thing about Cornell is the campus itself- it's BEAUTIFUL!! You will never in the world find a more pretty campus- especially when the spring comes and all of a sudden everything blooms together so the entire campus comes alive- and not just with the plants. Once spring hits, the campus goes from kind of a ghost town because it's too damn cold to be outside to a playground with kids playing frisbee, soccer, football, whatever, everywhere you turn. Cornell's campus is really big- you're going to walk A LOT. If you have to get from the Arts Quad to the Plant Science buildings in 15 minutes, RUN! Haha no you don't have to run, just walk fast. (But don't worry, unless you're taking really, really, really random classes, you won't have to do that often at all. Most of your classes are near each other based on your major and school.) Here at Cornell we always laugh that we live in the "Cornell bubble". Cornell is in Ithaca, NY- ya, I didn't know where that was either when I first applied. But Cornell has just about everything you need to keep you busy: we've got a pretty decent mall about 10 minutes north, Ithaca Commons at the bottom of the hill about 10 minutes away, and then we've got Collegetown right at the western edge of campus. Collegetown is really awesome if you want food that you've never had before. There is just about every type of ethnic restaurant you could think of: Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Mediterranean, American (pizza, grilled food, etc), there's a Starbucks... you name it, we got it. The only problem with Collegetown is that apart from the Starbucks, there really isn't any big chain food places like Panera or Qudoba. BUT there is this really, really, really awesome bagel/coffee/ice cream place called Collegetown Bagels and they will make you any kind of bagel sandwich you could think of. They also have really, really good baked goods (cookies, pastries, etc) and it's not really overpriced. My biggest beef with Cornell is the administration, especially the Bursar Office, and Gannett Health Care services. Cornell is not known for very friendly help when it comes to helping people out, especially when it comes to the bill for Cornell. As you probably know, Cornell is freaking ridiculously expensive, and I swear to God they find every last way to squeeze money out of you. One of their biggest incomes I'm sure is from Gannett Health Services- and they SUCK! You go in there with a cold that may be a sinus infection and the minute you step in they make you wear this hideous mask to "protect others from your germs". Then you wait a freaking long-ass time and when you finally see someone, they ask you at least 3 or 4 times if you're pregnant, even after the nurse before the doctor wrote it down! NO I'M NOT PREGNANT, I JUST NEED SOME DAMN ANTIBIOTICS!!! Anyways, once you finally get out of there (with them performing a hundred extra tests "to help you"... that naturally cost extra) you go to get your prescription and you realize they don't take your health insurance. Now you can pay for the one Cornell provides and it's all easy, but if you have one that isn't one of the 10 or 15 that they work with, you get to pay for the whole damn thing and then take your receipt and send it in to get a rebate/cash back from your own insurance company. And 9 times out of 10, they gave you the wrong prescription or none at all and you're forced to suffer out your cold/infection.

Cornell is the largest of the Ivy's... it is apparently the easiest one to get into, and perhaps the hardest to graduate from. I agree with that generalization - the workload is difficult and the academic climate of the university is quite intense. I lived in Japan during my sophomore year and whenever I told people I went to Cornell, they would always say "Oh! You must be very bright!" So even across the ocean we have a good reputation, but we work hard for it.

The campus is huge. I usually just walk to class because it's good to exercise. It takes me about 20-25 minutes to walk to class so I get a good amount of cardio everyday. Slope day is great.

The campus is vast and there is always a new place to discover. The second part of the motto "any person, any study" is accurate. There is truly opportunity to do significant work in any field.

The best thing about Cornell is the people. I love the people I met here freshman year- I made so many friends from all over the world. The diversity here is incredible, and the majority of people are genuinely nice. I think the size is perfect- you're always discovering a new place to eat, new coffeeshop, or new people. I love the big campus- I never feel bored & it's great exercise. There is a lot of pride here; everyone loves Cornell and supports sports teams- I also love that aspect of Cornell. The classes here are difficult, and there is a lot of work, but everyone survives and realizes it was all worth it. Ithaca is relatively small, but there are a lot of great restaurants and shops in Collegetown within walking distance from the main campus. Overall, I love it here & couldn't imagine myself anywhere else!