Cornell University Top Questions

Most students her like attending athletic events. I would say that it is the most popular activity to do. There are always people buying tickets and looking forward to sporting events. Most kids here also play sports, for boys lacrosse and track seem to be the most popular sport. And for girls it's probably volleyball and tennis. People also like to workout and go jogging a lot. I know it sounds like the school it fitness/sports crazy, but there are so many cubs it's too much to talk about all of them, I just know that there is a variety of everything, and above all there's partying. People party about every weekend except during around prelims/finals week. Fraternities and sororities are also really important, a lot of people rushed this year and got in, they are really excited about pledging and joining their frat/sorority.

I'd say that Greek life is the most popular activity on campus. I'm a member of a Panhellenic sorority and I also served on the board that oversees all of the sororities on campus for a year. (I'm also really involved in Hillel- the Jewish organization on campus, which is really popular among Jewish students at Cornell). Freshmen definitely leave their doors open in their dorm. People want to be social and to get to know each other. For students who choose to live on campus after freshman year, I find that they tend to be a little more private, probably because they already established their friend group. Hockey games are huge! Guest speakers are also quite popular- Elie Weisel came to speak last year and it was impossible to get tickets. The same happened when Billy Joel came to speak this year. I don't find that there is a huge dating scene. Some people date, but I feel like dating is more casual, and people tend to focus more on their studies. I met my closest friends in my freshman year dorm and in my sorority.

Fraternities and sororities are a big part of Cornell life, with 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body involved in Greek Life. Also, club and intramural sports are a large part of campus. I am a part of the club Ultimate Frisbee team, and I love it. We practice together, travel to tournaments on the weekend together, and party together, and the sense of unity is great. Students are usually involved in something on campus. If you are an engineer, a Project Team is a popular option, where students create some sort of project in their spare time, like an underwater robot, a fully functioning drag racing car, or an off-road ATV. Athletic events are not very popular, mainly because Cornell is not very good at athletics. People go to games for every sport, but it is not the same attendance as an SEC or Big 10 school for all sports. There are plenty of options for things to do on the weekend that do not involve drinking. Many people choose to stay in, talk with their friends, watch some TV, play games in the Student Union, go down to Collegetown for a nice dinner, or go to the Cinema on central campus for newly released movies. Off campus there are a huge number of outdoor opportunities around Ithaca, there is Ithaca Commons (restaurants and shops), or a trip to the mall for some shopping.

Cornell students are extremely involved in campus-life. One of the largest organizations on campus it the Cornell Concert Commission or CCC. The CCC is in charge of bringing in musical acts to campus and setting up their concerts. This group is extremely important because Cornell is known to bring in BIG acts. Recent artists include Drake, Billy Joel, Passion Pit, Lupe Fiasco, Maroon 5, Kid Cudi, Phoenix and Nelly. Student's typically enjoy dorm life, a lot of social relationships are formed there and each dorm becomes its own hub for relaxing, studying and socializing. That being said, Cornellians do love to party. The greek system is large compared to many colleges, but it's only there if you want it to be. Many students who chose to go greek really love it and embrace the system as a part of their social lives. So many students meet their closest friends through the greek system, through dorm life and in their extracurricular activities. One of my favorite Cornell traditions is Slope Day. It takes place on the last day of classes for the spring semester and is an all day outdoor party where Cornell brings a big musical act to come and put on a show at the bottom of Libe slope and everyone hangs out and enjoys the concert outside. Another fun and quirky tradition is the 'Midnight Scream'. At midnight the night before finals start each semester, the freshman all yell as loud as they can out their windows to relieve the stress of finals. The sound can be heard all throughout campus! On a saturday night you don't have to be drinking to have a good time. Many students enjoy going out to dinner in collegetown, enjoying the Cornell cinema which gets many movies before they come out, go to a capella concerts or theatre performances, hang out in the campus community centers or just relax and play videogames in the dorm. Finding something to do is never a problem and many students are even troubled by the amount of choices! Echoing my previous messages, at Cornell you can do whatever you like, and have a great time doing it!

Wow! This is a hard question because there are so many activities and groups that it is hard to pick what would be considered "popular" or even "predominate". Greek life is very present, but people don't have to feel pressured to join it so it is one of those things where you can be involved or have no interaction with it and it won't make change your social abilities. I actually met all of my close friends on my floor from freshman year. There are many academic clubs, sports clubs, political clubs, professional clubs, general interest clubs...so basically a club for everything. Slope day is a big event on campus the last day of classes in the spring semester where there is a big concert on Libe Slope and it is basically an all-day celebration.

As previously discussed, Greek life is quite popular at Cornell. I am personally in a fraternity, as are many of my friends. My friends who have not joined frats/sororities, however, also have enjoy their time and social lives at Cornell. Athletics at Cornell are fairly popular, especially relative to other Ivy League schools. Cornell's hockey and lacrosse teams are among the best in the nation each year, and during my freshman year, Cornell's basketball team made the sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, which was very exciting for all of us. Consistent with life at most colleges, students often go out to parties, which serve beer, on the weekends. It is extremely common for Cornell students to go out on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Not all students, however, go out to drink on a regular basis, and there's always a substantial amount of students staying in to watch movies or catch up on their work on weekend nights. Cornell has hosted excellent guest speakers and concerts since I've been here: these events include Jon Stewart, Lupe Fiasco, Hank Paulson, B.O.B, Kid Cudi, Karl Rove, Keith Olbermann, Andrew Sorkin etc.

#1 HOCKEY (lynah faithful) #2 HOCKEY etc. Frats and sororities are big, but not the only force on campus. Dating is not common but many people do it. If you are awake at two am on a tuseday though you are studying not drinking. SLOPE DAY. awesome tradition.