<p>i currently am premed at cornell but find that:
classes are huge
teachers are apathetic, and mostly TA's
social scene is based on greek life-- which im not part of
i'm just generally not extremely satisfied/happy</p>
<p>i'm a rising junior and applied for transfer to ND and got in..</p>
<p>would i be crazy to go? i'm thinking of maybe stopping pre-med and continuing the bio degree so i can graduate w/ a credible degree but then go on to do law or business school...</p>
<p>although I have high regard for Cornell (yet I've never been there), if you're not happy, you should go to Notre Dame. They are about the same in prestige if you ask the average person, despite the fact that Cornell is an Ivy.</p>
<p>yeah? but what about in the biz world, or for law or med school? would they see that as a "step down" and wonder why in the world i dropped from an ivy to something "less" in the minds of most people? i know alot of people see nd as a mostly athletic school, and i just really don't want that to hurt me in the long run.. i'm really battling this decision right now bc i don't want to step down, or back out when the going gets tough, or screw myself in the long-term scheme of things, but am trying to do what feels right...</p>
<p>i don't see why they'd see it as step down...and I don't think they'd care much. Like I said, ND and Cornell are not so far apart, but Cornell is clearly better. Both are strong schools, and you should focus more on what you do at whatever school you plan to graduate from, rather than the school. Considering that many ppl get into top-notch grad schools from state universities, moving from Cornell to ND is not going to destroy you. Besides, you're paying a lot of money for school - you should be happy.</p>
<p>true. i guess it's just hard to take that slight step that could be perceived by some as a "step down", especially since cornell is so well known for biology and medicine whereas nd is less known... </p>
<p>is it also wise to switch halfway thru my undergrad years for the reasons i cited? do you think it'll hurt me in that everyone else will be so familiar with their environment but i'll be so new to everything?</p>
<p>lol well i wish somebody else would also give their input because, given that you are AT cornell and I want to BE at cornell, just my advice isn't gonna cut it. but disregarding that, i can see why you're having second thoughts. Like I said though, I just don't see grad schools care "that" much, given the fact that they often choose ppl from state universities. These ppl get selected over ivy league students, not b/c of their school obviously, but b/c of their GPA and what they did in college. And Notre Dame is in no way equal to a state university (except for the top ones). But hopefully someone else will give an opinion as well.</p>
<p>I left Cornell for many of the same reasons that you have mentioned. Sure, here on CC people believe that Cornell is a step above ND, but in the rest of the world they're both excellent schools and what you do is more important than where you do it. You'll encounter some people that won't believe you left Cornell, and others who are indifferent. If you would be happier at Notre Dame, go there and don't look back.</p>
<p>thanks for the input.. its tough.. especially w/ nd just putting in a new $70 mill science center.</p>
<p>im also torn bc i think i might switch to engineering, as excellent prep for biz/law school, and cornell has #1 engineering in the country! i don't know much about where nd ranks in terms of engineering but you can't beat #1. i guess it's my heart (saying go to ND), going against what i think i "should" do, and what my parents seem to be pushing me to do (stay at Cornell)...</p>
<p>Cornell not close to being #1 in engineering????</p>
<p>Last time I checked, Cornell was around the top-10 and #1 by far in the Ivy League. Re-word to say "Cornell is not too far to being #1 in engineering."</p>
<p>to the OP: I'm at Cornell yet i've had a much different experience than you have. It's certainly possible to base your social life on something other than frat parties and drinking (case in point - me!), and if you can't do it at Cornell, what makes you belive things are going to be much different at the jock-heavy school of ND?</p>
<p>I'm in the same dilemma. I went to Bowdoin, top 10 liberal arts college, and dind't really like it. I loved the classes, but it is just too small for me and I don't really like the Northeast. I got into Vanderbilt as a transfer for junior year, but I had the most difficult time deciding whether or not to go. Vanderbilt is a good school, but I had such an issue leaving Bowdoin, an excellent school which it seems everyone loves. I didn't know if it was worth it to leave. </p>
<p>Welllll I'm going to Vanderbilt next year. I decided that I'd rather be happy at my college and that I have more of a chance of being happy there. </p>