<p>Having completed my first semester, I feel that I have a pretty good idea about life at Cornell. Feel free to ask anything for a candid response. </p>
<p>Also, here's a look at some of the highlights of my first semester: <a href="http://cornell.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19785&l=49778&id=419581%5B/url%5D">http://cornell.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19785&l=49778&id=419581</a> for those of you who want a look at the real social scene of Cornell.</p>
<p>WOW nice i like your room haha. can you go diving in that gorge? is it really deep?</p>
<p>wolverine looks like a ninja with those spike hands...</p>
<p>cool room sparticus, does everyone get the same typa room or what?
btw sparticuse which college are you in?</p>
<p>Here are a few questions:</p>
<ol>
<li>How many hours of studying would a biology major do on average per night?</li>
<li>If biology majors study a lot then how much more do you think they study in comparison to the students at schools like Harvard, Yale, Princteon, and Brown, etc.</li>
<li>What are prelims? People say they get nervous before these but I don't know what these are.</li>
<li>Some people say they have "projects." But would a biology major have projects? I thought college would be more about hitting the books and then taking tests.</li>
<li>Do professors give out homework? Do they assign homework in incriments or do they just give you a whole semester's worth of homework and then leave it to you to do it before test day? Like in high school, teachers assign homework and students turn it in the next time they meet. Can I safely assume that there are no homework assignments?</li>
<li>What is the most difficult time in the semester?</li>
<li>On a scale of 1-10, on average, how stressed are you at Cornell (10 being at the point of nervous breakdown/seizure).</li>
</ol>
<p>Sorry about the length. Thanks for your time.</p>
<p>I just finished my first semester at cornell too, soo...</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Depends on how smart you are/how you learn. I'm in engineering and got by (probably gonna end up with around a 3.5 or 3.6) with minimal studying and without going to most of my classes after early/mid october. I will say that getting AP credit is key; the grading in intro-level classes is harder (usually) than it is in higher level classes, and most of the work seems to focus on tedious/******** things (as opposed to focusing on concepts, etc.) just to mess with kids. Intro bio didn't seem too bad to me (I had several friends in various intro bio classes (109 and others)), but it was a LOT of memorization.</p></li>
<li><p>I'd guess the studying is comparable.</p></li>
<li><p>Prelims are midterms/tests, short for preliminary examination.</p></li>
<li><p>(You skipped four) Some/most classes have projects, most of them are HW style stuff. Some classes are project classes where your whole grade is for one project (that is often divided up into various parts). </p></li>
<li><p>Unfortunately, they do assign HW - in my opinion, often excessively. HW is usually in increments - and often focuses on tedious/******** examples (esp. in math) for no apparent reason. HW due dates vary between classes, though - sometimes HW is a once/week thing, sometimes its once/month, some classes have none at all (which is NICE), and some have other schedules.</p></li>
<li><p>Finals, definately. Not even a question.</p></li>
<li><p>I don't stress much, so I'd say a 2 or maybe 3. It isn't that stressful of a college unless you want it to be (or are just totally over your head academically).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>For lightfish - you can go gorge jumping, you just need to know where to go. It is pretty deep, though it shallows out if you follow it west.</p>
<p>For ASP - no, there are a LOT of different types of rooms - singles, doubles, etc... vary significantly from dorm to dorm, and the townhouses are even more different. The one quality they all share, though, is that they are FAR AWAY from most classes (for me, its around a mile to class).</p>
<p>Sparticus, what nationality r u? You're handsome heheee :) And I have a question too. Are there like bs easy, easy math classes that you can take if you have to take math at Cornell. And also.. its like unheard of for a freshman to have a car there right?</p>
<p>Lightfish: Yes you can go gorge jumping. That cliff is actually a lot higher than it looks in the pic, because the picture is taken looking down 30' into the water from an adjacent cliff. I almost pooped myself. (Being the smartypants kids we are we "timed" the height with a a few trials of throwing rocks, a stopwatch, and dS=V0*T+1/2AT^2 heheh) There's also a sweet bridge to jump from that's less poopingly scary, about 31' if i recall correctly.</p>
<p>Arjun: there's a great chance of getting a room just like mine if you request a single. There are over 500 residents in my dorm, most of whom are singles. Dickson is in a georgian/colonial style, and the largest dorm in the Ivy League. My room looks a lot sweeter in the new arrangement. I'll show you all a pic after break ends (Jan 16).</p>
<p>theslowcap: most have been answered but here are a couple additions/clarifications--</p>
<ol>
<li><p>studying is not unreasonable; I would say a few hours of work a day on most days. It depends partly on your learning style, memory, intelligence, and diligence. Obviously you study a lot more right before prelims.</p></li>
<li><p>I hear cornell gets harder in the upper years, when you already know how to study. Freshman years are probably pretty comparable.</p></li>
<li><p>Prelims are (big) tests. Many courses have prelims. There will not be other significant tests if you have prelims. There are 2 or 3 a semester, and then a final.</p></li>
<li><p>They won't be busywork projects, and will probably be actually beneficial to the class. I dunno about a bio major.</p></li>
<li><p>Quantitative classes like Calc or Physics have problem sets. You get all of them assigned at the beginning of the semester, but they're due usually weekly.</p></li>
<li><p>Difficult time for freshman is probably first prelims. Difficult time for everyone is finals.</p></li>
<li><p>stress is probably a 2 or 3. It's really not stressful except on occasion.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I'm jewishish, french, english, and eastern eurpean</p>
<ol>
<li>is cornell really hard to graduate from?</li>
<li>do have someone to help you chose your classes?</li>
<li>has anyone taken the freshman writing seminar on the Simpsons or on Moives? and are they hard to get into?</li>
<li>is there a swimming requirement?</li>
</ol>
<p>abike11:</p>
<ol>
<li>No, I don't think so, look at the graduation rate. Very high.</li>
<li>Yes, sort of. Your faculty advisor is knowledgeble of the requirements of your college, though not necessarily of your major. However, there are info sessions on the various majors before classes start, and you can see what classes are required. Also, each major's website lists the required courses. Once you select a major, you will get a new faculty advisor who is in your department.</li>
<li> I haven't taken them, but I know that the most popular writing seminars are "difficult to get" it's a ranking of choices/lottery, but there are a lot of choices. I got my fourth choice and it was an awesome course with a great teacher. Music 111.2 "Blues: Autobiography and Authenticity," yea, take it.</li>
<li> Yes there is a swimming test requirement: feet first entry from the pool deck into the pool, one length (half olympic) on the stomach, one on the back, and a third of your choice. If you can't do it, just sign up for the swim class instead of taking the test. People won't laugh if you can't swim well, or if you suck and don't make it and need to be helped out. (for the record, the test is really easy, even for the casual swimmer).</li>
</ol>
<p>sparticus can you basically just float on your back and casually kind of "backwards butterfly" your way to the other side? Like its not backstroke-only is it?</p>
<p>Live: yes, you can do the "elementry backstroke," the proper name for the stroke you described. Similarly with the "on your front" lap, you can do front crawl, butterfly, breast stroke, doggypaddle, etc.</p>
<p>hehe ill rock the swim test</p>
<p>You don't really have to know how to swim, per se. This girl was ingesting serious amounts of water, it took her like 10 minutes.</p>
<p>Hello. I recently got admitted under ED and just have some questions...</p>
<p>1) About the swim test, when you mean feet first, does that mean jumping in? I am an ok swimmer, but I'm a tad bit nervous of jumping in. Would I be able to pass?</p>
<p>2) About classes, how, in general, are the professors? Like I've heard Nobel Laureates teach Intro classes. Are they pretty detailed and elementary with their lessons and lectures? Also, do TAs ever teach the class? </p>
<p>3) Also, for any engineers on CC, what sort of classes do the freshman take and where did you use AP credits and stuff? Now that you look back, was it a good idea to use the AP credit where you did?</p>
<p>4) How are the Office Hours with the professors? Is it more like High School extra help or something a bit different?</p>
<p>5) How easy is it to make friends there? When I visited the campus, everyone seemed extremely amicable and friendly, is that how it normally is?</p>
<p>1) About the swim test, when you mean feet first, does that mean jumping in? I am an ok swimmer, but I'm a tad bit nervous of jumping in. Would I be able to pass? </p>
<p>I think feet first just means no diving. If you can swim at all you'll pass. Swim is a very subjective term...in my opinion, some people at the test definitely could not swim, but still passed. </p>
<p>2) About classes, how, in general, are the professors? Like I've heard Nobel Laureates teach Intro classes. Are they pretty detailed and elementary with their lessons and lectures? Also, do TAs ever teach the class? </p>
<p>From my experience, the professors are pretty good. You're expected to learn some material on your own, though, since they can only deliver so much information in a 50 minute lecture. TA's teach labs in bio and chem, but I haven't had a TA teach a lecture. I think some TA's teach certain classes, however. </p>
<p>4) How are the Office Hours with the professors? Is it more like High School extra help or something a bit different?</p>
<p>It depends on the professor. I went to office hours with my math professor and she was very helpful. I was there for over and hour and she would keep explaining the concept in different ways until I understood it. After I understood the concept and could explain it back to her, we just chatted for a while. If you take math, Dr. Terrell is an excellent professor and a really nice lady. </p>
<p>5) How easy is it to make friends there? When I visited the campus, everyone seemed extremely amicable and friendly, is that how it normally is?</p>
<p>Most people are friendly...those who aren't probably don't have friends. It's really easy to make friends, you shouldn't have a problem.</p>
<p>Thanks Sparticus, lucifer (lol feels weird thanking that name), and Spanks. You guys rock... just like Cornell! haha.</p>
<p>wha kind of calculator should we get ti-83 plus, ti-84, ti-89?</p>
<p>It really doesn't matter, and it also depends on major.</p>
<p>I'm in engineering, so:
You don't get to use a calculator on math tests. On other exams you are allowed a scientific non-graphing non-typing calculator. This means that all of your homework would involve either no calculator (math classes) or a scientific calculator (chem). However, when doing homework whereI need a calculator I use my 83 plus, because it has a nice big screen as opposed to a sci-calculator.</p>
<p>Other Colleges:
My friends in arts and science probably have the same situation with regards to calculators on exams and such, but I think they are able to use a graphic calculator. In this case, get whatever calculator you are most comfortable with.</p>
<p>what's the grading system A,B,C or pass/fail can u choose?</p>
<p>If i remember correctly, I think Brown is the only university that does pass/fail.</p>