<p>Hi- My son is looking at Cornell possibly. He is from a small Catholic school and we are not wealthy. </p>
<p>I have seen comments on college review sites that Cornell may be similar to other Ivy Leagues and top LACs in that the majority of students come from wealthy families.</p>
<p>Any experience of CCers from average-income families watching their money who can't afford expensive clothes, Iphones etc as to how their kids fared at Cornell socially? Are there enough such families that their kids did not feel out of place?</p>
<p>My son ended up at the high school he is attending after first checking out another private school where he said all they talked about was how much they owned and if it was the latest version of whatever it was. He was uncomfortable there and ended up at a school that was a better fit for him with a mixture of poorer and middle class students.</p>
<p>Please tell me your experiences with the social end of life at Cornell and in addition, because it is such a big school would a student from a small high school feel uncomfortable there?</p>
<p>I am a prospective student to Cornell and I too would love to know about that.</p>
<p>Going by the stats of the class of 2016, 50.4% of first year students are getting an average financial aid of $35,687 + $4,744 in loans. You could try putting your stats in the “financial aid calculator something” and see the aid that you would be offered. Thus you could have an idea of where you stand financially compared to other students.</p>
<p>I also believe the question to be subjective : What I consider as expensive may not be the same to you. I’m an international student : in my country, what buys you a regular meal in the states can buy you food for 3-4 persons. Therefore, everything in the states is expensive to me.</p>
<p>I stayed at Cornell a weekend ago; my host was not particularly rich (he picked Cornell over UCBerkley because $$$) and neither was I, but he never mentioned feeling out of place; I didn’t feel the imposing “Ivy feel” at all during the duration of my visit. True, the majority might be from slightly well-off backgrounds, but everyone I’ve spoken to there doesn’t seem to face too many class issues. (then again, stuff like frats and whatnot may make a difference, and none of those I spoke to were into that scene)</p>
<p>50% of students are full pay, so I am sure 1 out 2 people you’ve met are full pay. On the other hand, it is not like people would tell you whether they are full pay or not. I think one nice thing about Cornell is there are a lot of activities on campus and they cost very little. You could go to a lot of parties for free, if that’s what you are into. Wealthy kids will always stick together because when they want to plan a ski trip to NYC/FL/Europe, they are not going to invite you if you can’t afford it. I think it is more difficult at a school like NYU, where it is very expensive and most get togethers center around going to bars or eating out at some very expensive restaurants. Cornell is a very large U, there is a lot more diversity than some small LACs. It is one of the reasons I wanted my kids to go to Cornell because they went to a small prep school.</p>
<p>Oldfort, I respectfully disagree with your assessment. I have been told by a few students who attend the university that there are wealthy snobby cliques and it has nothing to do with vacationing on break. There are also groups of wealthy students who are not as cliquey.</p>
<p>In my opinion a friend is a friend regardless of money. With that said, I believe there are wealthy snobs who are cliquey at all universities and there are wealthy students who do not care if their friend has money.</p>
<p>OP, Cornell is a large university and you will find a group of friends.</p>
<p>The wealthy snob problem is much worse at lower-ranked private schools than Ivies.</p>
<p>Ivies have generous financial aid and therefore a fair number of poor kids on campus; a tradition of not being flashy going back to the old-line Protestant founders; social life focused on campus so that going out to expensive clubs or driving Bentleys is less of a factor; and lastly, people are much more inclined to be jerks about intellectual or pre-career accomplishments than they are about family money.</p>
<p>There are wealthy snobs at Cornell and the other Ivies. But nowhere near as bad as you’d find at George Washington, U of Miami, BU, NYU, or BC.</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at Cornell. He volunteered the information that most kids are very down-to earth which pleasantly surprised me. I would say if your son gets into a school of Cornell’s caliber and you can financially swing it, go for it. It will open doors for him and I’m sure he will make friends.</p>
<p>simplystated - I think what I said was that wealthy people will tend to stick together (for whatever reason), and one of those reasons could be more expensive activities they engage in. This is no different than certain ethnic people may want to hang out together because they have common interest/bond. But at a school like Cornell, academic is more of main focus. Aside from few Greek houses, no one is excluded from any activities because of family wealth. On the hand, I know many well connected Cornell parents have helped their kid’s friends in getting internships and jobs.</p>
<p>My experience at an HYP mirrors what NavalTradition said. We knew people came from money, some were in our circle of close friends – but I (and several others) were Fin Aid kids and it wasn’t a deal with us whatsoever. Maybe it’s a guy thing – but it was rare to see conspicuous displays of wealth – it just wasn’t cool to do that.</p>
<p>New poster to the Cornell board but I wanted add something from my own background.</p>
<p>My mother grew up in a small town in Upstate NY (Savona), was a very good student (Validictorian at a small HS, scored very high on NY Regent’s Exams), and received a full tuition scholarship to Cornell. This was a long time ago, around 1940. At the time, Cornell already admitted women.</p>
<p>Well my grandfather–a smart, tough immigrant farmer with more than a little mean streak–told my mother she should not go because even with the tuition paid for, her clothing would be so shabby that she would not “fit in”. Actually, I think he was more afraid of social ostracization than my mother was. </p>
<p>In the end, my mother did not go, and it haunted her for the rest of her life. My mother, who has passed away now, had a life-long fascination with higher education, especially the sciences, and she always believed that a college education, which she never received, made you a better person (intellectually).</p>
<p>Do not let fear of your social class or how much money you think others have stand between you and your dreams.</p>
<p>There are some colleges which, although this is probably not their intention, allow kids to “buy into” more luxurious dorms. I know that U of Wisc, Madison is like this. So more wealthy kids from the Northeast pay an extra couple of thousand dollars to live in nicer dorms while poorer kids from rural Wisconsin live in the cheaper dorms, and they have a problem with kids not mixing. There is resentment between the “Northface wearing kids from New York” and the poorer kids.</p>
<p>Although my son ended up in a triple in a crappy dorm which was his last choice, the Cornell system is still better because all of the dorms are very integrated economically. You can’t buy your way into a good dorm as a freshman. You can choose to pay less and get a triple but you will be in a suite with kids in doubles and singles. He says his suite, floor and dorm are all very social, and he’s very happy there.</p>
<p>Oldfort, the point I was making is that all types of groups exist at all universities and not solely Cornell. As I also stated, Cornell is a large university and the OP will find a group of friends she will feel comfortable with. Basically not to worry. The students I know at Cornell love Cornell. If it sounded as if I was putting down Cornell that was not the case.</p>
<p>I would agree that you’ll tend to find more pretentious kids at the lower level private schools, because that’s sometimes where people who can pay the full shot go more to party and to “experience college” than to actually learn. Obviously that’s not everybody, but it seems to have at least a small contingency of many private universities. At more competitive schools, the kids usually are going to know that they’re there to learn and intelligence is more valuable than money. Of course, still exceptions to that one too but in general terms it seems to stand.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone- I guess I just wanted to be reassured he would have a group of friends he would feel comfortable with there. Sounds like it’s a big enough school to encompass a wide range of students.</p>