<p>Hello. I'm considering Cornell along with Tufts and Colgate, and so far, Cornell is my favorite but only slightly. I'm just curious, are there any bad things about Cornell? I know the weather is pretty rough sometimes, but I live in Florida and am looking for a change. I also don't mind rural central/upstate New York. I think it's beautiful in that area. I just want to make sure that Cornell is the right choice for me, so any input would be awesome.</p>
<p>Thanks guys!</p>
<p>… So do you want us to tell you bad things about cornell with a title like that or what?</p>
<p>I don’t actually go to Cornell (yet, hopefully) but I’ve done a fair bit of research about it and the two complaints that I consistently hear are:</p>
<p>1) Too cold
2) The work is hard</p>
<p>I’ve been hearing the same things a few times. I’ve also heard that it’s excessively competitive, but I haven’t confirmed whether or not that’s true yet.</p>
<p>Definitely not excessively competitive. Pretty reasonable grading actually.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind the location and weather, then seriously you need to choose Cornell.</p>
<p>Ted, all 3 schools you’re considering have similar weather. I believe Cornell’s location, a gorgeous campus in a wonderful college town, is a distinct competitive advantage.</p>
<p>Cornell has the highest suicide rate, and there’s nets under all of the bridges to keep kids from killing themselves, so that’s sort of depressing</p>
<p>Every suicide is obviously a tragedy, but Cornell’s suicide rate is at or below the national average. All the data supporting this is publicly available.</p>
<p>No school is perfect and no school is for everyone. There are “bad” things about each of them and some “bad” things are “good” things for others.</p>
<p>This is something you have to decide for yourself. Cornell has a much broader range of academics than Tufts and Colgate, so that might be something to consider if you’re not sure what you want to study. Everything from sheep to interior design to city planning to engineering to the classics - it’s all there, and more.</p>
<p>the hard sciences are definitely excessively competitive here…that said, the location is probably the single worst thing about cornell. also, ithaca is rough without a car.</p>
<p>^ Again, nothing works for everyone. My S LOVES Ithaca, is very open to the bus system that takes you everywhere you need to go, and doesn’t mind the weather (we are southerners). Travel in and out can be a little tough, but there are busses that can get you places. My S takes a bus to Maryland for breaks and we get him from there. It’s a service run by Cornell students and is cheap and very convenient. Minor, minor details for 4 years of your life. Read the Cornell threads - most kids love it! My S’s freshman experience has been amazing and says everyone is friendly. He has a lot of AP credit, so is in some tough classes. I haven’t heard him mention much about them…Choose your college for the college itself. Make your own decisions about what you do and don’t like.</p>
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<p>For many the location is probably the single best thing about Cornell. A large group of students appreciate the ability to reside in a nested college town that is set on hills in the incredible natural beauty of gorges, lakes, et cetera. They may also like that the location is relatively safe as compared to most big-city campuses, and may understand that they can move on to a big harsh city after being lucky enough to gain an undergraduate experience in a true college town.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the input guys. As I said, I love the location and the weather. Also, someone mentioned it early, but Cornell has so many options for majors, and I love that too. I know I should make the decision on my own obviously, but I’m just trying to make sure Cornell is right for me. I’m visiting in two weeks but it would be nice to have a better idea of what I should expect while there.</p>
<p>I have another question though. How often are classes taught by TA’s?</p>
<p>Maybe this video will give more positive light on Cornell: [‘This</a> Is’ by Alex Silver and Jon Tai](<a href=“http://www.cornell.edu/video/?videoID=1260]'This”>http://www.cornell.edu/video/?videoID=1260)</p>
<p>As for classes, most lectures are taught by professors, while labs and/or discussions are taught by TA’s.</p>
<p>I’ve seen that video. It’s so awesome. And okay, that clears things up, thank you!</p>
<p>My son is a sophomore Mechanical Engineering Major. He absolutely loves Cornell. However, his main complaint is the workload and that the majority of the grade is based on 2, sometimes 3 prelims and a final. He spends 6-8 hours per week on homework, problem sets, etc. for EACH class. Granted, score wise, he was probably on the low end of the middle 50 percent, however, he was used to the work ethic, as he worked very hard in high school. Supposedly, this semester is the hardest for Mech. Eng. majors. He was fine until about the last two weeks or so. When projects start to accumulate, and prelims fall around the same time, that is when it gets crazy. He had 2 allnighters this past week. That being said, he still feels it is all worth it. And as far as crazy competitive, he has not seen that at all. He does not feel competitive, and all of the students he has worked with are not that way at all. </p>
<p>And until these past few weeks, he has had much free time. Last year he rowed crew, played intramural soccer, football, and basketball. THis year he plays club baseball, and intramural football and basketball. So all in all, he loves cornell, and would not consider going anywhere else. And not all majors are like this. I know he says the architects are always in the lab - but some of his friends in other majors definitely do no where near the amount of work he does! Hopefully this helps!</p>
<p>^ hmm</p>
<p>** Grading System **
I’ve been to 3 colleges (undergrad and 2 graduate degrees) and in all 3 cases the grades were mostly based on mid-terms and finals (and/or major papers). What is the alternative expectation? … that a large percentage of the grade is based on attendance, class participation, and homework? Frankly, I liked the college grading system much more than the high school system … it measure output not work style … and it mimics how one is graded in industry (at least in my experience)</p>
<p>** Work Hours **
6-8 hours a class is unreasonable? As an engineer your son is likely taking 5 classes so this is 30-40 hours or work outside of class … with classes likely taking another 15 hours or so. We’re paying for two kids in college so far and I would hope that my kids school work it taking something like 45-55 hours a week … actually I hope it is taking at least that much … significantly less and I would wonder what we are paying for</p>
<p>I currently am attending Cornell and it is definitely a good school. However, you are right, the location is dreadful. The only way to leave the college not during breaks is through buses, trains or by flying and each mode of transportation takes at least 8 hours if you plan on leaving New York. The work is manageable, although difficult. (If possible, I would get a car because Ithaca does have an island effect.) All of the schools you are looking at are very good choices. However, I would talk to other people when you visit who aren’t affiliated with the school to get the best picture of whether Cornell is right for you, because I will admit, the curriculum and workload is intense. But, if you are willing to put in the effort it is worth it (there is a reason we are known as the hardest Ivy). Really, Tufts has the best location, while Cornell and Colgate are at the lower ends.</p>
<p>I agree 3togo. I think people commonly confuse what is specific to a major with what is specific to a school. If you major in premed or the sciences or engineering, you are going to have to work. Regardless of what school you attend. And being graded on a curve or having your grade determined solely based on finals and midterms is, well, college. If you major in physics or biology, your tests will be curved regardless of whether you attend Cornell, Harvard, or Duke.</p>
<p>I’m expecting the workload to be really intense. But if I’m receiving one of the best educations available it should definitely be worth it. Thank you again guys for the help! It seems that I like Cornell more and more every day. Also, I’m not <em>too</em> worried about being isolated and difficult travel plans. I have family in the area about an hour-two hours away which will definitely be a plus.</p>