Cornell University Top Questions

The worst part of this school is that night life is centered around drinking. Personally, I wish I could do different night activities that were fun and didnt include drinking or smoking.

The worse thing is that, in a certain sense of the word, Cornell is like an expanded high school. I say that because, due to the fact that we are so many, many people prefer to hang out with the people they are most similar to, hence the Africans with the Africans, the American Indians with each other. This does not encourage intercultural dialogue even though the school can brag about a rich, cultrally diverse campus.

The worst thing about Cornell is the red tape that limits some of your options. Some of the rules and requirements limit what classes you can take, if and where you can study abroad, etc. It can be frustrating at times not being able to pursue what you want.

It's hard to say. There really isn't anything I didn't like.

The only complaint I can give about Cornell is the amount of walking it takes to get to class. The campus is absolutely gorgeous, but huge - a solid amount of your day is dedicated to simply trekking between classes.

Yes, Cornell has a beautiful campus; however, it comes with a price. As a freshmen who lives on the edge of North Campus, I really resent the long walk from my dorm to the Central Campus every morning. Yes, there are buses for every 10 minutes and they are convinient, but they are only avaiable before 6:30 pm for week days. Imagine that at the end of a long day from studing in library, you walk back, all alone. it is 11 pm already, it is dark everywhere, and you are the only one on the street!

The worst thing about my school is the social environment, too much emphasis is placed of Greek (fraternity and sorority life) and it creates an unpleasant elitist class system within the school.

Maybe it's just my personality but I find it hard to meet new people living in other dorms because there's never time to hang out with them because there are people who live closer and I don't really study in groups so I only see some friends in class.

The worst thing about Cornell University is the lack of available food options. Cornell Dining has a monopoly when it comes to eating on campus, I feel that if a variety of options were available, eating wouldn't be so expensive, due to the nature of competitve markets. Since Cornell's campus is so far away from the rest of the city, monopolization is something that happens rather easily.

The worst thing about Cornell University is that winter lasts from as early as late October to as late as mid-April. It does gradually warm up between March and April but because of the lake effect from nearby Cayuga lake, spring is very subtle. By the time spring is really in bloom or noticeable, it is time for exams and you get stuck in the library and miss the season anyway.

I think the worst thing about my school would have to be the size of some of the introductory science classes, specifically general chemistry or general biology. Personally, I had gotten used to a maximum class size of 12 students so walking into a class of 200 or more students was disheartening. In such a large class it is easy to get lost and unless you make yourself known to the professor you really are just a number and will be treated as such.

Expensive, and students are over-charged for every little thing such as computer paper, downloaded megabytes on the computer etc.

The worst thing about Cornell is the debt I accrued after attending coupled with the horrible career planning and advice offered to Fine Arts majors, especially in this horrible economic climate.

For me, coming from a small public high school, the hardest thing was adjusting to the academic intensity at Cornell. Learning to study, having to study for hours upon hours, and the competition I felt academically were all barriers for my academic success. Eventually I discovered that I learn best in groups and through conversation, so I did better when I became friends with my classmates. Cornell is an extremely tough school academically, for me this was the biggest adjustment.

Cornel is located 4 hours west of NYC, placing it in the middle-of-nowhere new york. It get very cold here during the majority of the year.

The teaching style. I hate that all of my learning progress is reflected by 3 big tests. I'm not a good test-taker, and I learn hands-on better than I learn from lectures. It's frustrating. There isn't away to escape it.

All the colleges are pretty separated. There isn't a lot of interaction between arts and sciences and engineers for example.

The combination of early classes and frigid winter weather.

Cornell University is too populated. Just this year, the incoming freshman student body exceeded the regular number admitted by a couple hundred. On-campus housing is already lacking as well as academic resources, such as laboratory space and shared reading materials. Renovations are sorely needed in certain on-campus residential buildings.

The worst thing about Cornell is the non-stop work that we have. There's never any time to grow emotionally and socially.