Cornell University Top Questions

Some students are competitive, others not as much, and many students work hard, but there are definitely those that either appear to never do work or are always calm when it comes to academics. I'm a Nutritional Sciences major and almost all of my required classes have been really interesting/enlightening in some way or another

People are serious about getting their work done. It isn't weird to stay in on a weekend at the library, but you can get your work done if you try. The professors know you if you make an effort. Obviously there are big classes (Bio 101, Psych 101) but most of my classes are much smaller than that, and I've been to several of my professor's homes. It's all about what you make of it.

Professors are generally wonderful- my first semester here I ended up having been to one of my professor's house a total of three times. I am in an English class now of about 25 students- professor is great, likes students to all him by his first name, always available for help. The only class I have not enjoyed/despised so far (I am in my second semester of freshman year) is my anthropology class- the professor is unapproachable, only cares about getting through the material, although she is a good lecturer, doesn't seem to care about the students. The T.A. is completely unhelpful and his sections are pointless wastes of time. There are definitely competitive students here, but if you don't want to come into contact with them, you don't have to. Or at least that is true for me, as an english and psychology major in arts and sciences (might be different in the engineering school, for example, I really have no idea). The college of arts and sciences does seem geared towards learning for its own sake.

THe good profs know your name. My fav class is my Western Civilization and Science class which is weird because I'm not big on writing, but the prof is the best one I've ever had and just garners soo much interest in the topics he teaches. Orgo=hell

I'm taking four classes this semester and I believe only one of my professors know my name. They don't normally go out of their way to get to know you, if you want them to know you you have to be proactive about it. The students here are extremely competitive but I find it to be healthy, the job market is competitive so I feel Cornell prepares people to enter the job market quite well. Students study all the time here, any time of the day you can find people in one of the libraries on campus.

Classes and professors are for the most part exceptional, but the real value is the real life experience that Cornell constantly provides

I enjoyed my time at Cornell, but it has a well-earned reputation as an academically rigorous school and it works hard to protect that reputation. The school admits hard workers and expects them to work hard. There are slacker majors, mostly in the publicly funded colleges (Industrial and Labor Relations, Human Ecology, Agriculture and Life Sciences, etc.), but even in the largest college, Arts and Sciences, a savvy lay-about can find a way to get by without doing an uncomfortable amount of work. I was a history and government double major, and generally didn't feel too overwrought until about three weeks before finals, when it was time to start digging on the floor for the syllabus. Of course, I had friends who were engineers and architechts, and those kids were always under the gun. Although I always said: engineers bring it on themselves. The most important thing to know about the academics at any college is that you will get out of it what you put into it. At a school like Cornell, there are nerds, stoners, hicks, rich kids, and (oh my god) about 79 a capella choirs. The size of the school dilutes competitveness, so I never felt that to be an issue (other than thinking, "damn -- that kid who always sits up front and never shuts up is gonna get an A"). Professors are like anyone else -- if you want to be friends with them, go to office hours and make friends. Many of them are geniuses and fascinating people and can write you recommendations for things you have never yet contemplated, like externships or, God forbid, law school. I should also mention the Hotel Administration School, which is reputed to be one of the best hospitality schools in the world, but functions in reality as a sort of campus country club. Hotel kids do the least work and get the most benefits. They generally come from wealthy families (if there's a kid in your Hotel class named Marriott, then guess what? It is THAT Marriott) and they arrive on campus as a natural aristocracy. These are the kids who will be the best connected in the frats and know about concerts and events around town. Fancy cars, fancy booze, fancy parties -- call your friend the Hotelie and find out what's up. They also get by far the least amount of homework. There was an urban legend about a couple of engineers who transferred to the Hotel school in their Sophmore year and within one semester had caught up on three semesters of Hotel school requirements. A case in point is "donuts," a freshman requirement for Hotelies that entails wearing a suit to a lecture once a week (albeit Friday morning -- nothing like a hungover teenager trying to tie a necktie while running down the sidewalk), sitting through a lecture, and eating donuts (thus the name). Also, there was a class on handshakes (firm grip, one pump, smile, eye contact, good job!). Ultimately, the Hotel school is more about making connections than anything else, and in that sense, is a sort of undergrad business school. And because the Hotel school is so highly touted, Hotelies visiting restaurants and hotels can usually finagle free stuff from managers who might want to recruit them later -- pretty sweet. So, at the risk of sounding like a brochure, the school's motto is "an instiution where any can receive instruction in any subject" (or something like that) and that's the school's real advantage, because it's true. I switched from a biology major to a double major in history and government and got a great education in all three.

Very few complaints so far - class size has been good; even my bigger lectures don't touch that of other schools (perhaps because I'm in the humanities), and section usually offers a great outlet to discuss what we're learning. Professors really are at the top of their fields - I've already had a class where I've read my professor's book - and I've had very few mediocre/dry lectures. Anything of seminar size is almost guaranteed to be interesting.

Professors don't know me by name, the classes are too big. There isn't much class participation because of the class size. Students in my classes often study at least a bit each day. Students are competitive but they are still generally willing to help other students understand the material/finish the homework.

There is a lot of variety when it comes to classes at Cornell. Classes range from the HUGE lectures of over 700+ to the small classes with only 7 students. It's cool because in most subjects, they offer chances to take small seminars and large classes. Some classes have sections, others just meet in the lecture hall. Professors and Teaching Assistants always make themselves available. In terms of academics, because there are SO many majors, there are a lot of great companies in really different fields that recruit here. Some programs are more pre-professional than others, but all and all Cornell provides students with an A+ education.