Cornell University Top Questions

I guess Cornell would be stereotyped as geeky, but with such a big school, there are many different types of people. There are the jocks, frat kids, art kids, kids who spend all the time in the library, and kids who never go to class.

Well, my school was voted #1 douchiest school in America by GQ, so I guess most people here are stereotyped as douchebags. I personally don't think this stereotype is accurate. Cornell has some of the nicest people you will ever meet! Most people are generally chill and laid back. Yes, you will find the douche-y jocks and frat boys, but for the most part, the people on campus are genuinely nice and not arrogant at all.

There are definitely a few stereotypes at Cornell. The largest is probably that Cornell students are all huge nerds who only study and never go out. This is simply not true. Although Cornell is a challenging school, everyone I know is able to find some time throughout the week to have fun and put their school work aside. Since Greek life is huge at Cornell (about a third of Cornell students are Greek) there are also a lot of misconceptions about Fraternities and Sororities, especially since Freshmen can't rush until second semester. What's most important to know about Greek life is that there is a place for everyone. There are 12 panhellenic sororities, 35 ifc fraternities, and several other multicultural, community service, and career field (pre-law, business, etc.) fraternities and sororities.

Some people continue to believe that the student population stressed out, overworked, and likely to jump off a bridge at any moment. I am here to tell you that this cannot be further from the truth. As an engineer (the hardest college at Cornell) I can assure you that people are fun, friendly, and are not cutthroat in their studying. Yes, Cornell is a hard school, but you are going to an Ivy league institution, and you cannot expect anything less. A good part of the population is from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, but there are all 50 states and plenty of other countries represented here. Cornell is large, and that makes the student body very diverse. You will find the people who want to sit in and study every weekend, but you will also find plenty of people who want to have a good time, and are fun, sociable, and not solely focused on school.

A big stereotype of Cornell students is that we are all BIG nerds! I must say that this is not completely true. Even though our nerd percentage is pretty high, Cornell students tend to be extremely diverse in regards to social standing, interests, and personality. Even though there are many computer geeks and science fanatics here, there are also really artsy people, extreme jocks/athletes, goof balls, preps, frat bros, activists, social justice advocates. You name it! Cornell has it! This place is so big, and extremely diverse as a result of its size.

I big stereotype of Cornell students is that we are all BIG nerds! I must say that this is not completely true. Even though our nerd percentage is pretty high, Cornell students tend to be extremely diverse in regards to social standing, interests, and personality. Even though there are many computer geeks and science fanatics here, there are also really artsy people, extreme jocks/athletes, goof balls, preps, frat bros, activists, social justice advocates. You name it! Cornell has it! This place is so big, and extremely diverse as a result of its size.

One of the stereotypes is that the students have no life. They say that students are always studying and rarely have any fun. This is not true at all! I have found that there are plenty of opportunities to go out and have fun. It is up to you to make sure you don't stay locked up in your dorm room!

The stereotype of Cornellians is that we are the stupidest of the Ivy Leaguers. In reality, there are many different types of people at Cornell who have varying interests and varying skill sets. I, for one, got out after taking only one math class while many of my friends were in engineering majors delighting in the subject I have the least amount of affinity for.

At this point I have seen so many different type of Cornelians that it's difficult to think of a stereotype. As I was matriculating into Cornell, I thought that I would be in the library all day and be the biggest nerd. So I would say Cornell has a nerdy stereotype. Is that accurate? No! At Cornell there is an unbelievable diversity of students, not only geographically but in personality and interests. In a large student body who come from so many different backgrounds, everyone can find their niche at Cornell.

Some people stereotype the students here to be a bunch of depressed nerds. This is definitely not true. Like other great schools, the students here are very smart, but they also can be really cool. We go to the library and work hard, but we also make sure to play hard. People here are down-to-earth, and definitely not stuck up. We also aren't depressed or suicidal. The city of Ithaca may not be the most exciting, and the weather can be a downer some days, but that's often what brings us all closer. We're kind of like a family here. And the happy child comes out in all of us when a nice sunny day comes. Despite any negative stereotypes circulating, we really appreciate the beauty and opportunities that come with our school.