Cornell University Top Questions

Cornell is dominated by Greek life, as fraternity parties are the only parties that are legally allowed on campus. If they get shut down, there will be no social life at Cornell whatsoever.

I love Cornell but coming from a small town it was a very hard adjustment to the size. I personally love my major because through it, the school has become so much smaller to me which has helped me to adjust to the size. Graduating with a class of 37 students going into my first general biology class with about 500 students in one section was very intimidating. I spend most of my time either in Mann library or in the African library. Living in a sorority house it is hard to get work done here so its easiest for me to go to a library to get work done. Or I go to a library in between classes just for some time to relax.

Cornellians are extremely proud of our school. We know that it's difficult, and we know that if we make it, it means a lot. When I tell people I go to Cornell, they either are really impressed, or it's obvious that they've never heard of it because they ask where it is and don't really look interested.

Cornell has a huge campus, but has the atmosphere of a small school because it is one of two schools in a tiny town (Ithaca). I would change the weather - it's true, it is cold here, but the cold is something that gives every Cornellian, past and present, a common experience that bonds them (or at least gives them something to complain about) for life. I spend most of my time on campus in "Collegetown," where most of the upperclassmen live after freshman year (it's mandatory for freshmen to live on campus), or after living in a sororioty/fraternity house. Cornell's higher administration - the deans, president, etc. are excellent. However, there is a lot of red tape at lower administrative levels, such as within the indivisual colleges. The biggest recent controversy on campus was passing the new Judicial Code. There is school pride to some degree- whether you love it or hate it (and there's not much in between), everyone has a ton to say about Cornell. Cornell is unusual because it is a major research university in the middle of nowhere, so the professors are all incredibly famous, but very accessible since everyone lives within about 5 miles. The biggest complaint is that a) it is cold, and b) there are 20,000 people on campus but you only ever run into the four that you don't want to see.

Cornell is huge! During the winter I can go days with only see a certain number of faces, but since the weather has gotten nicer it seems like thousands of more people have suddenly appeared, and it's overwhelming sometimes. Greek life is really big, and since I've gotten involved I'm always paying attention to what the other houses are up to and looking for letters all over campus.

Cornell is a very large school. Be prepared to walk...a lot. There are also several undergraduate colleges, so it's impossible to know everyone. Cornell administration tries to helpful, but they have hundreds of other students to worry about. If you need something done, you have to be persistent. Also, if Cornell can find a way to charge you for it, they will (twice even). School pride is evident at sporting events, but otherwise, there really isn't any point to displaying school pride.

There's a lot of snow and rain and hills.

I love the college town. It's seriously perfect, and I love it about Cornell. It's well-priced, off-beat, and reflects real people (compared to, say, UPenn's campus). It's like Greenwich Village, except in the middle of nowhere. I'm really glad I went here.

It is incredibly hard and incredibly expensive, but has an amazing reputation.

I think the campus is just so beautiful, especially now with all of the leaves and flowers coming out. I love that there are so many diverse things to do, and classes to take. The school is very large, but that makes it exciting to run into people you know; being at the end of my Freshman year, I see someone I know practically everywhere I go, which is a big accomplishment. But it's also nice to be able to disappear; Cornell is like its own little city.

Cornell has a beautiful campus and is well worth the difficult and complicated travels to arrive here. The gorges and natural wonders around campus only add to the astounding architecture of all the buildings. Cornell's student body and administration is WHITE with a motive that focuses only on reputation. This means that when things happen that could scar that reputation, they put a lot of money and effort to hide the incident, even if it means lying and bending ethics to do so. Reputation is above justice at this institution. The administration sees a lot of incidents, but does not publicize or use them as education tools. As such, much of the student body remains ignorant to these events, and often the larger injustices that surround them. So, Cornell is full of highly intelligent students, but also highly socially ignorant students to the pleasure of the University at large. Acknowledge rape on campus! And Acknowledge racial injustices!

Cornell's campus is beautiful!! It is just the right size since you can always meet new people but it feels small within colleges and organizations. People are impressed when you say you go to Cornell, but I don't think students have enough spirit or Cornell pride.

Many people chose not to come to Cornell because its such a large campus. But to be completely honest, sometimes I feel its very small. It's an oxymoron, because with such a large student body somehow everyone knows everyone who actually leaves the library. There are so many subcultures (athletes, greek life, multicultural groups) at Cornell that after a week or so it won't seem so large.

Cornell is an unusual college experience. Students are many, and alcohol and drugs are abundant just as in any other school, however students are all (to some degree) obsessed with their work. I do not believe that the smartest kids from every high school come to Cornell, however, the hardest workers certainly end up here. Students work from early morning until late into the evening to earn high grades. While it is not true that students jump off bridges everyday, there is certainly an underlying stress factor in every student.

Cornell is not a very friendly campus. People do not go out of their way to meet other people or be friendly when just walking around on campus. You can only meet people in a limited number of environments. When I tell people I go to cornell, a lot of them haven't heard of it. If they have they are like "oohhh cornell you must be smart" which always makes me feel awkward. Cornell's administration is cheap and crappy. They don't care about people, nor the pursuit of knowledge. They run cornell like a corporation, not a place for growth and learning. There is not school pride in the traditional sense, like people caring about football. People have a more general pride in the fact that we are cornellians though.

The size of Cornell is the best part, there are so many different diverse people here to meet it makes classes very enjoyable.

Our school is just right. Not too big, not too small. I don't know if I would change anything. I love Cornell! I think Collegetown is a great place to hang out, especially if you're an upperclassman. It has all the restaurants and bars.

Most frequent student complaints would be about the amount of work and stress involved here at COrnell.

I wish that I could say to anyone, oh I go to Cornell, and even the dumber people would realize that that is the hardest school basically of all the ivies. But I've been asked, "Oh, Cornell College?" which is probably the most insulting thing ever. NO I GO TO AN IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL. Yet as I brag about how we work our asses off for a 3.0 because its impossible to get high grades, I wish that we had crazy grade inflation and could all have 4.0's. That would make me feel way better about my knowledge that I have gained here.

I love the size of Cornell. Its by far the biggest Ivy and I was daunted at first by the 3,000 freshmen but the size of the campus means that there is always something to do. Which is important for kids who think that Cornell is out in the middle of nowhere. Its great because when the weather is nice (a rarity) you can always find some place that you have never been before. Ithaca is an amazing college town filled with geriatric hippies and a fantastic farmers market where you can get anything from gluten free scones and organic produce to Thai food.