Cornell University Top Questions

Cornell is dominated by Greek life, as fraternity parties are the only parties that are legally allowed on campus. If they get shut down, there will be no social life at Cornell whatsoever.

I love Cornell but coming from a small town it was a very hard adjustment to the size. I personally love my major because through it, the school has become so much smaller to me which has helped me to adjust to the size. Graduating with a class of 37 students going into my first general biology class with about 500 students in one section was very intimidating. I spend most of my time either in Mann library or in the African library. Living in a sorority house it is hard to get work done here so its easiest for me to go to a library to get work done. Or I go to a library in between classes just for some time to relax.

Cornellians are extremely proud of our school. We know that it's difficult, and we know that if we make it, it means a lot. When I tell people I go to Cornell, they either are really impressed, or it's obvious that they've never heard of it because they ask where it is and don't really look interested.

Cornell has a huge campus, but has the atmosphere of a small school because it is one of two schools in a tiny town (Ithaca). I would change the weather - it's true, it is cold here, but the cold is something that gives every Cornellian, past and present, a common experience that bonds them (or at least gives them something to complain about) for life. I spend most of my time on campus in "Collegetown," where most of the upperclassmen live after freshman year (it's mandatory for freshmen to live on campus), or after living in a sororioty/fraternity house. Cornell's higher administration - the deans, president, etc. are excellent. However, there is a lot of red tape at lower administrative levels, such as within the indivisual colleges. The biggest recent controversy on campus was passing the new Judicial Code. There is school pride to some degree- whether you love it or hate it (and there's not much in between), everyone has a ton to say about Cornell. Cornell is unusual because it is a major research university in the middle of nowhere, so the professors are all incredibly famous, but very accessible since everyone lives within about 5 miles. The biggest complaint is that a) it is cold, and b) there are 20,000 people on campus but you only ever run into the four that you don't want to see.

Cornell is huge! During the winter I can go days with only see a certain number of faces, but since the weather has gotten nicer it seems like thousands of more people have suddenly appeared, and it's overwhelming sometimes. Greek life is really big, and since I've gotten involved I'm always paying attention to what the other houses are up to and looking for letters all over campus.

Cornell is a very large school. Be prepared to walk...a lot. There are also several undergraduate colleges, so it's impossible to know everyone. Cornell administration tries to helpful, but they have hundreds of other students to worry about. If you need something done, you have to be persistent. Also, if Cornell can find a way to charge you for it, they will (twice even). School pride is evident at sporting events, but otherwise, there really isn't any point to displaying school pride.

There's a lot of snow and rain and hills.

I love the college town. It's seriously perfect, and I love it about Cornell. It's well-priced, off-beat, and reflects real people (compared to, say, UPenn's campus). It's like Greenwich Village, except in the middle of nowhere. I'm really glad I went here.

It is incredibly hard and incredibly expensive, but has an amazing reputation.

I think the campus is just so beautiful, especially now with all of the leaves and flowers coming out. I love that there are so many diverse things to do, and classes to take. The school is very large, but that makes it exciting to run into people you know; being at the end of my Freshman year, I see someone I know practically everywhere I go, which is a big accomplishment. But it's also nice to be able to disappear; Cornell is like its own little city.