Cornell University Top Questions

Unfortunately, going to class is not like going to Cheers, and most people do not know my name. I learn a lot, but I struggle to learn even more sometimes.

I don't know many of my professors personally. As a sophomore, I haven't had the opportunity to take too many small classes. Most of my classes have been midsized or large lectures. However, all professors are available for office hours, and most are willing to meet with students outside of office hours if they schedule an appointment. While I haven't found the need to take advantage of office hours, I know other students who see their professors weekly to discuss lectures and homework. It's up to you as to whether or not you want to get to know your professors on a personal level. I loved a class called "Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Molds" in the Plant Pathology department. It had nothing to do with my major, but it has a great reputation on campus. Professor Hudler, who teaches the course, is absolutely passionate about fungi and it really shows in his lectures. You wouldn't think that you would normally be engrossed in a lecture about fungi, but Prof. Hudler makes it possible. I haven't experienced competitiveness from other students. All students here have the desire to do well, but most are willing to help others with classwork. You'll see lots of study groups on different parts of campus.

You must take the first step to knowing professors in big classes. In smaller, writing based or language classes there is no problem. Spanish for Dairy Production/Magical Mushrooms Mischievous Molds Gen Chem It really depends, it is a good idea to study consistently so you don't get surprised and actually learn. I really like my profs this semester because I have decided it is silly to assume anything about people before you know them. In my classes (pre-med/vet track) it is easy to criticize from afar. They are obviously all intelligent and some of them are better teachers one - on -one. You should just ask them something not related to the class if you don't have any questions in mind, and you'll probably be amazed. Requirements suck in terms of scheduling, but they are necessary and not too outrageous. I like taking gyms but I wish they were free. I'd say a mix of both

Professors are extremely well known and renowned. They are happy to get to know you and help you most of the time, as long as you make the effort. They typically won't get to know you until Junior and Senior year when you get to smaller classes. There are a few classes Freshman and Sophomore year that are small enough to get to know them, but in general it takes a while. Cornell education is what you make of it. That sounds cliche, but it's very true. With a Cornell resume you can go ANYWHERE. You can gear toward research or you can head straight to industry.

Do profs know name- a lot depends on your major. If you're a psych major, plan on taking courses with at least 100 people. Other departments make sure they cap classes for discussion purposes (English for example). But even if you are in a big class, you can always get to know profs in office hours or by doing research for them. Sometimes you just have to make the extra effort Favorite class-Psych 101 is great. It's more like going to a show three times a week than going to class. Very entertaining and not too challenging. A great course for new students though it may make you want to be a psych major. Social Psych is another great course, though a bit more challenging. Class participation- students tend to be eager to contribute. Some will keep asking questions even when class is technically over Intellectual convos outside of class- I've overheard a fair share of painfully philosophical discussions while out for pizza in Collegetown...and just as many inane ones. The worst of both extremes seem to surface when substances are involved. My major- Human Development. A mix of Psych and Sociology (and possibly Bio depending on your focus) that provides a great foundation for law school, med school, clinical psych, and other grad programs. Opportunities after undergrad are not as good as other majors, unless you have supplemented your HD curriculum with classes from other departments to give you a more distinct focus (for example, HD plus communications courses would help if you wanted to do something in PR). Only 30 credits required for major (10 courses), so there is plenty of room to explore other majors. Spend time with teachers outside of class-- no, but some seem cool enough if the opportunity presented itself. Especially writing professors Requirements-- distribution requirements vary depending on your college/school. I haven't heard any complaints from anyone, regardless of their college. Job or learning-- depends on your major, but some departments do a good job of balancing the two. Personally I think the Hotel School does the best job of preparing students for work right out of school. Tons of hands of experiences and projects, yet you still learn theory.

The thing I love best about Cornell is the ability to take classes that you would normally never be allowed to take. Cornell allows you to take classes in all of its seven undergraduate colleges and even some of its graduate schools as an undergraduate. These classes range from the weird, to the most interesting. For example: Introduction to Wines Introduction to Wood Construction Sheep Weed Biology and Management Wines and Vines Anheuser Busch Seminar in Quality Brewing and Fine Beer

Cornell students party hard and study hard. You see the little heads crowing down in the common study area right before the big prelims. Most intro classes are very big with the professor standing in the front of the hall. If you want to know them personally, you have to take the initiative of approaching them during their office hours.(trust me, it will pay off in the long run). I have actually become friends with one of my professors and we still keep in touch after I finished his class.Also, remember to make friends with TA's though most TA's at Cornell don’t really speak English that well. Be nice and polite to your TA's since they are the ones grading your paper and assignments. For upper-level classes, the classes are much smaller and there is a more dynamic interaction between the students and the professor. The workload really depends on your major, expectation and efficiency. I have engineer friends who sleep 5 hours a night and study in the library all the time. On the other extreme end, one of my floormates who is also an engineer plays Guitar Hero almost non-stop in his room.I have never seen him flipping through his book. In general, the students in artsy majors tend to lead a less stressful life than the ones in hard-core science majors. The students are very competitve here since most of them graduated as the top 5{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} from their highschools. Also, the grades are often belt-curved so you just need to do better than everyone else to get a good grade. Surprisingly enough, I have actually found the workload here lighter than my highschool workload. THere are not too many projects and you just need to ace the prelims. I have heard the friends from math department say that in general, education at Cornell is geared more toward theoretical studies instead of real life application. One thing I would argue though is the classes in AEM ( the special undergraduate business program) is all about developing a business mind-set. The two classes you must take here is Professor Moss’s Psych 101 and the wine-tasting class.Professor Moss is one of those ancient wisards who have been teaching at Cornell forever. His class at Bailey Hall is always full and he always tells everyone that he would retire the next year. The wine-tasting class isn't a piece of cake, from what I have heard. You actually have to distinguish the differences between the grapes from different origins. And the most "interesting" class is this class devoted to pornography. I have no idea what they do in that class.