Cornell University Top Questions

really difficult since you are competing against all these damn smart people

My favorite class is Computer Organization. I like it because it is mostly project based, and the projects are reasonable yet challenging. The homeworks don't take incredible amounts of time, and the lectures are relevant to the projects, homework, and exams. In engineering class participation is rare, and professors don't really know anyone. I'm sure this is different in other majors though. The students are pretty competitive but there is definitely a "we're all in the same boat" mentality that helps us work together. I feel that the education at cornell is geared towards inflicting as much pain as possible on the students so they will glide through the rest of their life and the work environment. It's a rather stressful experience, but certainly one that will pay off in the end. The classes are very hard and frustrating, but the requirements to graduate are reasonable.

Professors DO know my name (in my major, at least). Students study as often as they need to, but classes are challenging and most require hard work. Students in some programs (such as pre-med) are much more competitive than others. My major is Hotel Administration (with a business focus). It's really really interesting and we learn in a very-hands on way. We take practicals and even have a cooking class with a lab. Material is kept up-to-date and professors really are very knowledgable and helpful, for the most part.

HARD!!!! bad chem professors are bad. but i love some other professors my favorite class has been aem 240- marketing the most competitive students are the premeds... but you have to be competitive here if you are premed if you have any intentions of getting into med school worst thing... class get curved pretty badly but i still love it here!

mix between big and small classes, frustrated about the PAM professors - theyre not the greatest. i am TAing a class though and that has been a great opportunity. need more parking at the library, everyone pits a lot of time into work.

I have mostly taken classes where the lectures are extremely large. I do not like that classes are made extremely difficult so that the means on exams are in the 50s and 60s. Rather than make exams impossible, they should test our knowledge so that we can actually perform well on the exams.

Students are very very competitive. Some classes are very demanding.

Psych 101 is the best class. Students will always be competitive. Requirements differ greatly by major. My major, Human Development, has very few requirements. There aren't really any campus wide requirements.

Cornell classes vary dramatically in size, amount of time needed, and professor capability. As you get to the upper level courses, professors generally become better and more interesting. One of my professors this year took out class out for beer. Others have absolutely no idea who I am. However, classes are all about what you want to make of them.

Academics at Cornell are deifnitely more challenging than other schools, based on what I've heard from friends at variuos schools. The classes, especially the general ones, are large (very large--think at least 300 people), but this can be nice at times, believe it or not. The classes are graded to a curve, meaning that the means on tests are often around 50, while the actual graded mean is curved to an 80. So many people like to say, "it doesn't matter how well you do, it matters how well you do compared to everyone else." I've heard complaints about the school being too competitive, but I personally have never had problems, and most people are more than welcome to help out. You definitely have to have the initiative to talk to professors, otherwise they will not know you, but they are open to talking to you during office hours.