<p>I've asked so many questions on this forum that I feel like I occasionally need to give back.</p>
<p>A bit about me: I'm a triple major in Government, Economics, and College Scholar with minors in Law and Society, Business, and Social Inequality. I'm originally from California.</p>
<p>I’ve heard a lot of negative things about the social life at Cornell. I’m not exactly into parties (Okay I’ve never been to one) But I am excited to have a fresh start in college and be a bit more social than I was in high school. So here are my questions:</p>
<p>Are there a lot of parties at Cornell? If so do freshmen participate?</p>
<p>Do people have the tendency to hang out by themselves, in small groups, or in large groups?</p>
<p>What is the drugs and alcohol scene at Cornell?</p>
<p>Do people mostly go to activities supported by the school, or decide to do things on there own?</p>
<p>What is a typical weekend at Cornell like? How about nightlife during the week?</p>
<p>How do you get along with your roommate? Any suggestions for housing?</p>
<p>How easy is it to make friends? Do you have any suggestions on making friends at Cornell specifically?</p>
<p>These are a lot of questions that I’m interested to know about but do not really play a part in my choosing of the school. Thanks for coming here to answer our questions.</p>
<p>Update:
One more question</p>
<p>What were your standardized testing scores? GPA?</p>
<p>^</p>
<p>I hate to break it to you, but parties aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. I don’t know what you’re expecting, but reality probably falls far short of your expectations. Here’s pretty much what goes on at frat parties:</p>
<p>You need to either know someone (or be a girl) to get in. There will be alcoholic beverages available, usually something terrible like Keystone/PBR/Bud Light. There will be a table or two of people playing beer pong with a crowd surrounding the table and watching them. There’s usually a dance area where people “dance” to overly loud and terrible music. (By dance, I mean they’re grinding on members of the opposite sex. Or sometimes they really are just dancing.)</p>
<p>It’s pretty much just a mating ritual because around 80-90% of the people there are just trying to have sex by the end of the night. It’s pretty sad, really. I don’t find it fun at all but go occasionally just so I can say I did.</p>
<p>1) Yes to both. You can’t “rush” a fraternity until your second semester, though, but that doesn’t stop you from going to parties.</p>
<p>2) It really depends on the person/time. Large groups are obviously the most visible and are generally the douchiest. Small group are the best. Everyone is by themselves at some point or another.</p>
<p>3) Alcohol is everywhere. Everywhere. (Except obvious places like lecture halls, obviously.) Marijuana/cigarettes are very common as well. For hard drugs like coke/heroin, you need to go to the right places. Not sure why you would want to, but if you do, there are places where you can get them. Because lines (coke) are very expensive though, these parties are generally very tough to get into. Some fraternities have a reputation for cocaine usage. Heroin is less common since it’s an opiate, but I’ve heard of it. Never really heard of anyone using meth-- I think it’s looked down upon as a poor person’s drug.</p>
<p>4) Again, it depends. If it’s a guest lecturer/concert, then it’s school sponsored. Most of the clubs are not school sponsored, even if they receive funding. And parties are of course not school sponsored.</p>
<p>5) It depends on the weekend. Sometimes you’re studying/doing work the entire weekend, other times you go somewhere, other times you sit and watch television. Here’s what my past four weekends have been like:</p>
<p>This weekend: I watched MSNBC all of Friday, went to Applefest (a festival based around apples) today and am currently watching a movie. Tomorrow, I’ll probably catch up on some reading for my American Political Thought class.</p>
<p>Last weekend: I went to New York City and did New York City stuff.</p>
<p>The weekend before: I went to go see a $250,000 fireworks/laser show at the football stadium (a ridiculous way to spend money but it was the best fireworks show I have EVER) seen), did work Saturday morning/afternoon and saw Third Eye Blind Saturday night. Then I slept all day Sunday.</p>
<p>The weekend before that: On Friday, I went to Happy Hour at an oyster bar and then saw a piano concert sponsored by Cornell. Saturday, I went to a picnic in the plantations with a club I’m in. Sunday, I had a brunch buffet with a potential business connection at the Statler.</p>
<p>I don’t remember past that.</p>
<p>I don’t think you should be partying during the week, but people do anyway. “Thirsty Thursdays” are the most popular, but there’s pretty much always a party going on. For me, I like to see guest lecturers and go to club meetings during the week. And watch MSNBC. If it’s 3:00 EST then I’m watching The Cycle and if it’s 9:00-11:00 then I’m watching Maddow/O’Donnell.</p>
<p>6) I never had a roommate. I had a single last year and there’s just no way I could stand having a roommate. In fact, I hated the dorms so much that I got an apartment for this year. It’s infinitely better. I don’t know what else to say. Dorms suck.</p>
<p>7) To me, it’s fairly difficult. There’s like a 3-4 week window at the start of freshman year where people are looking to be social, but past that it’s just awkward. You need to go out and actively meet people. To me, the easiest way to do this is to join a club. Don’t just stay boxed in on your dorm floor the whole time.</p>
<p>8) I got a 2340 on my SAT (800 CR, 800 W, 740 M) and took 16 AP tests. I was Valedictorian out of a class of 500+. There are people here with stronger stats and people here with weaker stats. Stats aren’t everything. For instance, if the adcoms are looking for a trapeze artist… Well, if you only have a 2100 on your SAT but are a world-class trapeze artist, then they’re probably going to like you anyway.</p>