Cornell University Top Questions

As is the case with many things in life, Cornell's academics are largely what you make of them. If one chooses to form close relationships with his or her Professors, there is no reason why this can't happen. The classes, however, have a huge range in terms or class size. Many of the classes, especially the intro level classes, are taught in large lecture halls and are taken by hundreds of students. During your later years at Cornell ,it is far more common to take classes in which only 10-25 students are enrolled. For these large lectures, there is a frequently a 'section' once a week, in which groups of approximately 15 students meet to review that week's lectures. Sometimes these sections are required, while sometimes they are optional. Needless to say, these sections are a much more intimate academic environment. There are SEVEN distinct undergraduate colleges within Cornell University, which means that students have the option to pursue very different paths at Cornell. These schools range from mainstream schools such as the school of Arts and Sciences and the Engineering School, to more unique programs such as Cornell's School of Hotel Administration.

But really, that comes with the territory of going to a school this good at academics. I never really noticed before I was a Cornellian, but Cornell University and its researching faculty pop up in the news ALL THE TIME. I find my professors cited in online news articles, in international textbooks, and I just think, oh my goodness, this is the coolest thing ever. Here's the trend of class sizes. Your intro classes are going to be big, sometimes a couple hundred people, sometimes around 50. As the classes get more difficult and more specialized, class size drops dramatically. I'm a freshman, and I have 4 classes -- one with 10 students, one with 15, one with 40, and one with over 1000 (this is the Intro to Psych class, which nearly every Cornellian takes because Professor Maas and his lectures are just that entertaining). Another thing -- this is Cornell. The classes aren't fluff. Yeah, you have to study a lot, but isn't that why we're here? Put in a chunk of hours every day. It's manageable to keep up with everything and still have time to chill, party, eat, sleep, whatever. Time management is definitely important. One thing that really surprised me is how available the professors are. They're not here to research and write off their undergraduate students -- they actually want to talk with you, answer your questions, chat with you at office hours, go out to coffee. They're an amazing resource. That was a very pleasant surprise. The students here are smart but chill, if that makes sense. People are smart and they're good at being students. You have your kids who are focused, pre-this or pre-that, and you have your undecided people, taking a bit more time to figure things out. In Arts & Sciences, there's a chunk of requirements everyone has to fulfill, but you can sort of manipulate it into still working with your area of study. It's not an inconvenience to fulfill and it's not going to bug you too badly.

I came to Cornell not being absolutely positive what I was going to do with my intended major in Industrial and Labor Relations. I won't pretend that I've got my life oath completely figured out now as a junior, but I have benfited immensely, emphasis, immensely, from the wonderful student services in Cornell's School of Industrial Labor Relations. From what I have gathered from my friends at other colleges, the big advantage to a small school is real attention from advisors, counselors, professors etc. In ILR I get that, and my advisors have the resources and backing of a powerhouse like Cornell. I constantly get emails from the Career Services Department or the Office of Student Services about new opportunities and events that I may find interesting. Never think that you can't get real attention at a large university. Cornell's seven college structure effectively creates small communities. I know, I know, every college says it, but Cornell really is a large college, with a small college feel- when you are in one of the smaller of the 7 undergraduate colleges.

The professors are great; I enjoy most lectures. Class participation is usually a small fraction of a grade with the emphasis being on prelims and the final. Most classes are on a curve, but its still tough considering who you're curved against. I was surprised to find very few people are cut-throat. Most students study pretty intensively on most evenings, but take the weekend nights off to relax and party.

The professors are great; I enjoy most lectures. Class participation is usually a small fraction of a grade with the emphasis being on prelims and the final. Most classes are on a curve, but I was surprised to find very few people are cut-throat. Most students study pretty intensively on most evenings, but take the weekend nights off to relax and party.

The classes often large lectures to begin with, but those are the intro classes. Most other classes are small. And if you do have a large class, you will have a TA, who will likely be more helpful than the professor. All the professors have office hours when you can meet with them. The classes often have a lot of work, and people study a lot. However, it all depends on what classes you take. You could go anywhere from 12 credits and almost no work to a 25 credit triple major (I have only met one). Almost all the professors I have had have been friendly, understanding, and approachable. Academic requirement really depend on the major and college, and range from a very laid out schedule in engineering, to having complete control of your schedule in CALS or Arts and Sciences.

Students study and/or write papers all the time. There are plenty of opportunities for students to meet with TAs and/or professors. Intro classes are very large and are often the most difficult to do well in. Plus, the curve system used for some classes can be very nerve wracking if you grades are below the mean. For those who are better at writing than taking tests (like me) there are many opportunities to take a writing intensive version of the same class. Academic requirements vary depending on which college you're in, but the Arts and Sciences school (the one that I'm in) is said to have the most demanding requirements.

Great academics. Very hard curriculum... Prelims are killers. Some professors know you by name, others might learn your name my the end of the semesester... if you introduce yourself.

You're able to pick what you want here. There's so many classes to pick that you can choose to take the big or small classes or even to teach yourself. Cornell was recently voted as the 'Hottest Ivy' and it's because of the large resources we have here.

Freshman year there are a lot of big classes, but by senior year I had 5-20 people classes. There is a lot of work, it doesn't matter what your major is. People study every day of the week. For notoriously difficult classes, like Intro Bio and Orgo, people will begin studying over a week ahead. People who aren't willing to work hard will not do well at Cornell. Coming in and knowing that helps prepare you. Engineering is particularly tough the first 2 or 3 years, but senior year gets significantly easier. People often talk to friends about their classes. Some students are competitive, but within the math, science and engineering majors, people collaborate on homework, so the only competition is between groups of students. Cornell education is definitely geared towards getting a job, which pays off senior year when friends at other schools were struggling, and I felt I had the background and training to get the jobs I wanted. Wines and Psych 101 are classes that up to 1/3 of students take at some point, and you definitely should if you get the chance. They were my two favorite classes at Cornell!