Cornell University Top Questions

WVBR...Already said a ton.

Greek Life is very popular. About a third of the student population go Greek. Most people in the Greek system know each other; they know a lot about each other's business. It's a great outlet for social life. It's a little harder to meet new people if you're not in Greek life. I'm a tour guide on campus. I love being able to talk with prospective students and share my perspective with them. As a tour guide, you're very visible on campus. You really have to love Cornell. I'm also a DJ with WVBR, a radio station run by Cornell students. It's a great activity that allows me to have fun and take a break from schoolwork. During freshman year, people in most dorms will keep their doors open. People want to socialize at all hours of the day. Friends will often just walk into each other's rooms to talk or watch movies. My best friends are people who lived in my hall freshman year. A good amount of people are just looking for hook-ups and booty calls. They don't want anything serious. A lot of people are also in serious relationships. There seem to be two groups on campus: those who just want something casual and those who are practically married. There are also the engineers who don't seem to attract anyone. There are people who party every day of the week. During junior and senior year, people will often go to the bars in Collegetown on random days of the week. The most popular days to party are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays--you'll usually find something. There's a core group of partiers who go out every weekend. The average person probably goes out two to three weekends a month. Cornellians are all about a balance between work and play. Slope Day, which is the last day of classes, is a campus-wide party. It's an excuse for students to get drunk at 9 AM. There's a musical artist who performs on Libe Slope, and everyone either dances or passes out on the slope.

Greek life is really big, and our sports are getting better (esp. basketball). Some people do, but I don't think I'd recommend it unless you're in the building. With so many undergrads, there are usually enough people at sports events that are really pumped. It's similar at parties. We pull in a pretty good array of guest speakers. This year we got Colbert, Whoopi Goldberg, and Sandra Day O'Connor, among others. I wish I didn't have class during some of them. I'm dating a guy I met while gorge jumping, through a guy I knew before Cornell. It isn't that hard to make friends, especially during O-week. Studying or wasting time. Slope Day, a ton of other ones. It feels like every night, someone is probably partying right now just because it's pledging season, but with so many people it isn't hard to find someone to drink or study with. I went to AGR, and studied my ass of for the Chem prelim. You can go to the Observatory I think, but they are really good about planning stuff to do. It seems like every weekend is a dance party at RPCC. I don't usually go off campus unless I'm going to a house party or visiting relatives. Sometimes I'll go to the Commons, but it's hard to find a whole day to spend in Ithaca. I <3 CTB

There is so much going on, and plenty for everyone, whether you want to party 24/7 or talk in philosophical groups. I'm personally involved in a project team called Cornell University Solar Decathlon in which a group of students design and build a home entirely powered by solar electricity and then take this house down to the National Mall in D.C. where we compete. I am also very involved in a national Christian organization called the Navigators. There are many other Christian groups as well as MANY MANY more religious organizations that represent most anything you can imagine.

Greek Life is huge, but so is the university as a whole, so those not involved won't feel isolated. Events- hockey is the biggest sport. Getting season tickets is a huge ordeal in which physical harm is a real possibility. Guest speakers and theater-- we have a lot of events, but I don't sense too much of a craze over them. Friends- my closest friend and I lived on the same floor freshman year. we also pledged the same sorority, which helped keep us close. Freshman year after rush, people really grow apart when they pledge different houses. 2am Tuesday night--trying to relax before another big day of walking in the snow Traditions- Dragon Day- battle of the engineers and architects Last weekend- attended two frat mixers, a philanthropy event, chapter meeting, and met with friends for late night food in collegetown. Saturday without drinking--Cornell Cinema shows various new, old, and foreign films. Also, every so often there are Cornell sponsored events (Battle of the Late Night Foods, for example, where representatives from different area restaurants provide food for students on a Friday night). Off campus-Ithaca Commons offers restaurants and quaint little shops, but only fun once in a while. Pyramid Mall is hardly a mall, but its the closest thing we have to one in Ithaca (also includes movie theater). Syracuse mall is a little over an hour away. Also, if you're here during good weather, you can enjoy the Finger Lakes and related outdoor activities

There is a huge social scene. Every weekend there are either parties, concerts, games, performances or speakers. Basically, there is something for everyone to keep occupied with. Most of the social life that involves partying and drinking does center on the Greek scene, especially for those who are not of age. However, if you are not into drinking, there is still ton's for you to do on campus or even off campus. There is a movie theater that can be easily reached by the bus system. Bowling is open late. There are quite a few restaurants that are open till 3 am if you want to just eat and hang out. There are huge traditions that happen every year. One is Dragon Day (architecture students create a huge dragon and bring it down to the engineering quad where the dragon faces off with the engineers' phoenix). Another is Slope Day (which takes place on the last day of classes for the spring semester). This is a huge concert/party on the slope. We also have Slope Fest with activities that do not involve drinking. There is Welcome Weekend (first weekend after school begins) that contains 5 nights of activities ranging from a carnival to casino night.

We love going to concerts that feature Hangover, Class Notes and etc. Yeah, those are the names of a handful of A Cappella groups on campus. If you are not a fan of musical events, there are also many theatre productions and sports games. Once in a while, we have a speaker coming down to Ithaca. I remember the long lines waiting for the opening of Dalai Lama's presentation. One piece of advice from me: don't do too many things at once.When you first come to Cornell, there are so many opportunies. At that point, you have to pick and choose based on where your passions lie. Right now, I am invovled with EARS, which is a trainning program for anyone who wants to become a counsellor or improve their communication skill. My roomate is a editor-in-chief of the economics magazine. The dorms on North Campus, where the freshmen live, vary a lot. The all-girl dorms are very roomy with gigantic closets and individual sink whereas the co-ed ones are more cramped. Overall, the dorms are very safe. We can generally leave our doors open and not worry too much about stuff being stolen. The partying scene is huge on campus as one-third of the students are part of the Greek system. On weekend, people who don't stay in to watch movies usually head down to the frats and get drunk. The parties generally starts on Thursday night and goes on until Saturday night. (Even the brothers need to study for their upcoming tests on Sunday night!)