Cornell University Top Questions

At Cornell, I have tried a large variety of activities on campus that have allowed me many different views of college life here. Immediately, I became involved in the Women’s Rugby team as a way to feed my love for sports and meet people. A month into school, I decided to switch to the Nordic cross-country ski team – tackling was definitely not my forte. I have continued to be involved with this team as it promotes both extreme athleticism and casual team bonding reminiscent of high school sports. I also became involved with Cornell Concert Commission, Habitat for Humanity and the Cornell Swing Dance within the first few weeks of school. I believe my involvement with such a wide range of activities gives me a good perspective of what extra-curricular activities Cornell has to offer. Though I did not last long on the Rugby team, it gave me an initial feel for Cornell sports and now allows me insight into how many of the club teams are run here; my involvement has also provided me a better awareness of the Cornell community in general and has allowed me to shape my Cornell experience into something muti-dimensional.

Going to college is a whole different life experience. I have gained so many new friends and I have had five times as many cherished memories then my time in high school. College really forces you to work hard and prepare for life in the real-world. I am able to pursue all of my academic interests here because of the vast amount of resources that only colleges are able to offer. The knowledge and experiences I am gaining in college are things that have shaped my life and will continue to affect my life in a positive way.

Studying in College is nothing like studying in high school. Everthing you learned here is related to the real life, why, what and how it is applied in a daily situation. You learn to truely understand the relationship between different terms in your textbook and how they altogether form the beautiful world we live in. Once you see the connection, you will soon discover that, amazingly, one idea links to the other. At the end, the seemingly unrelated courses that you are studying are in fact, linked and connected to each other. My perspective of the world and the way I think have changed ever since I went to college. I learn to view the world, the society and humanity from different aspects. I learned to think in the big picture first, observe the society and nature as a whole system. I am like a child trying to solve a complex and huge puzzle. Attending college makes me realize that everything I have learned and will learn gives me a part of the picture; they are connected in certain way such that once I figure our the correct pattern, I will be able to understand the universe we live in.

Without a doubt, Cornell University is a prestigious institution. My experience thus far has been beyond valuable because it has greatly increased my self-worth. I am most grateful for the opportunity to study Engineering at an Ivy League university. I finally see my years of hard work paying off. In addition to academic stress, however, I face other challenges in being a first generation, hispanic, female student. My parents struggle to make ends meet, and this burdens me tremendously. Finding suffient funds for my education is not easy, and for this very reason I greatly value my experience at Cornell. My mind was set on making my experience worth every dollar of tuition because I understand how hard my parents work.

From my college experience I have learned from a handful of the smartest people in the world. I have interacted with future will-be-renowned scientists, business women/men, anthropologists, and individuals. My education is teaching me to understand the inner workings of the world around me; scientifically, mathematically, financially, business-wise, even psychologically and phylosophically. I want to use my major to become the president and CEO of an organization whose sole mission is to irradiate a specific disorder, disease, disaster,or problem. My major is the optimal catalyst to my make my aspirations a reality. Because my school offers so many clubs and organizations, I am involved in five philanthropic organizations/clubs. This fall I even co-founded my own club, S.A.V.E. (Students Against Violence and abusE). I am constantly working to stop the spread of prejudice and disease. I fundraise to educate about specific disabilities, to prevent stereotyping, I help fundraise for cardiac care, for the prevention of malaria, and for the awareness and prevention of child abuse. I am also involved in spreading diversity in women in engineering. My school has provided me with endless intellectual and unique academic, internship, and extracurricular activities.

Although I am only a freshman entering my second semester, my experiences at Cornell have been meaningful and rewarding already. As an involved American Indian student on campus, I was able to attend the 2010 National AISES Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Prior to attending this conference in November, the furthest west I had traveled was Ohio. Seeing and experiencing the southwest was an experience that I will never forget. In terms of academics, I've had the privilege of being taught by professors at the forefront of their fields already, including Professor Peter Katzenstein for Introduction to International Relations in the Government department. Professor Katzenstein is regarded as one of the foremost scholars of international political economy in the world. I also took Introduction to Cognitive Science, where I gained in-depth exposure to the idea of using computers as a model for the human mind and brain. The classes can be difficult, but I enjoy the intellectual challenge immensely. It has been valuable to attend college because the approach to education is different than what students experience in high school. The intensity of learning is levels above what it was in high school.

Meeting and living close together, always hanging out with a group of close friends. Being independent from family and having to manage my own time and responsibilities while having fun. Learning from professors, although some of them are pretty bad at teaching but seem to know their stuff anyways.

Moreso than a mere theoretical education, from my experience at Cornell University I have gained a sense of the dynamic social world we live in. My on campus experiences outside the classroom were in some ways more instructive than my studies. Working with various student organizations on campus events and campaigns, organizing students around passionate causes, and rallying departments and high profile faculty to support these causes became a central focus of my university experience. I had the opportunity to serve on the boards of several campus organizations, and dealt with issues ranging from natural resource usage to civil rights and religion. My four years at Cornell have taught me how to fund raise thousands of dollars in emergency situations, how to motivate other students to work for important social causes, and most importantly – how to deal with students with diametrically opposing views to my own. Because all of these skills can be translated and applied in the “real” world outside of college, I firmly believe that Cornell has equipped me with the life skills necessary to become a leader today.

Cornell University is my own personal Disney Land - It is MY happiest place on earth. I find it impossible to spend one day there not smiling and enjoying every single minute. The most important thing that I have so far received from Cornell is the feeling of finally finding a place that fits me. I found my niche of hard working students who understand the desire to succeed, while at the same time realize that it is important to persue your interests outside of the academic enviornment. Cornell has given me the opportunity to experience new activities like participating in research, while still allowing me to keep up my work ethic and enjoy the activities, like swimming, that I have participated in my entire life. The faculty is constantly willing to go above and beyond to answer any questions that may arise in my studies, and even encourages me to persue my academic interests. The other students at Cornell are similar to me in my personality, but different enough that I have been able to become friends with people I had never even dreamed! I have never in my life felt so happy in one place. I love Cornell University!

So far, college has taught me not only the factual information that I pay professors to teach me, but also how to learn and how to interact with people that I've never before been acquainted. Going away to college is a buffer of sorts, a buffer between life lived under your parents house and life lived without the help of anyone. In terms of investment, an education is probably the best investment to invest in. A college education provides substantial increases in quality of life not only in the life of a student, but also in lives across the nation. When many students attend university, a competitive atmosphere is created. Because of society's value of success, each and every student will work hard to be successful, which in turn will create a successful community, city, state, and nation. College isn't just where one learns to write, but where a person learns to live. Life of a college student will be vastly more rigorous, more competitive, perhaps even more valued to society than a life of a high school or college drop out. I would say that life is more worth living if you graduate from college.