<p>I was in your shoes 3 years ago. Super excited and ready to start at Cornell with hundreds of burning questions. So if you have any questions about Cornell feel free to ask me here and I'll answer them to the best of my ability. Anything related to housing, dining, campus life, Collegetown, Greek life, academics, etc. </p>
<p>CONGRATS TO ALL!</p>
<p>Which school are you in? …</p>
<p>I’ve heard some cons about Cornell, like it’s too cold, too big, nothing to do etc. What’s your take on it?</p>
<p>^Or the workload (especially engineering) is pretty tough…</p>
<p>ttyl8- ILR
pinkdove- Cold? Yeah, Cornell gets cold but its no where near as bad as people make it out to be. It starts getting chilly around the end of October and then starts snowing around December. It then snows again throughout the semester. The roads and paths all get plowed. It’s really not that bad though. Wear layers and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>I can’t really say anything about the Engineering workload. I have Engineer friends who drink and party 4x per week and do well and other Engineers who live in Duffield (the main engineering).</p>
<p>Do you know when we get our financial aid package? I am SO happy i got in early decision, but it’s still a nagging worry in the back of my mind…</p>
<p>ditto oranges92! I can’t just spill out 50k every year lol</p>
<p>No idea. I don’t know too much about administrative things but feel free to ask me any other general Cornell questions.</p>
<p>Can you describe the things you can do at Cornell? Like specific examples instead of just saying there’s lots of clubs to join. And why do you enjoy Cornell?</p>
<p>I have a couple of questions. What are freshman dorms like? Do you recommend buying a laptop through the school? How hard is it to get tickets to sporting events like hockey and basketball?</p>
<p>hey march, if you don’t mind my input, too, i can help you answer some questions 
i’ll be transferring in next semester, but i’ve been to cornell a million times because my boyfriend is already there.
for things to do, there’s parties but there’s also always lectures and movies. take advantage of the fact that you’re at a school with so many resources. when it’s nice, take a walk around cornell plantations. check out the art museum and there’s a brain collection in uris library (even though now there’s only a few, it’s still cool). there’s a collection of awesome old gowns and dresses as well, but i forget where that is. there’s seriously so much to do lol. i’m upset that i’ll only be there for 2.5 years instead of 4. you guys are so lucky! lol
and for tickets, i’m a huge cornell hockey fan. my boyfriend has season tickets, which is what you hear people camping out in line for (though this year they didn’t do it). you can usually get tickets for games a few days ahead of time if you ask around, though you may not get them in the section you want. most seats are really good anyway, so it shouldn’t matter. and i bought my laptop online. the benefits of buying through the school is you get discounts on certain brands.</p>
<p>I’m planning on going to Ithaca by bus from NYC. Which bus company is the best/cheapest/fastest/most comfortable?</p>
<p>most people i know take the short line, but you have a lot of choices:</p>
<p>[Cornell</a> University - The Ithaca Campus - Train and Bus Travel to Cornell University](<a href=“Visit | Cornell University”>Visit | Cornell University)</p>
<p>campus to campus goes directly from nyc to cornell and it has internet, but it’s pricier.</p>
<p>Is it more convenient to use HSBC or Bank of America?</p>
<p>I’ll also answer questions…freshman in CAS planning to transfer to CALS.</p>
<p>hsbc or a local bank that you can set up an account in once you get there, but hsbc has a bunch of atms so it might be more convenient</p>
<p>Can you describe the things you can do at Cornell? Like specific examples instead of just saying there’s lots of clubs to join. And why do you enjoy Cornell?</p>
<p>I have been involved in a bunch of extracurriculars from greek life to student ambassadors to student government to orientation. Besides extracurriculars I play intramural sports with my fraternity. Anyone can play IM sports and you can make up an IM team with your friends. But besides clubs I always try to go to random events on campus. There is always a concert or a guest speaker or a lecture to go to. On the weekends I go out in Collegetown to bars and house parts and study and go out to eat with friends. During the summer months I’ll swim in the gorges or hang out at Taughannock Falls. And of course like every Cornellians, I enjoy going to Wegman’s to stock up on groceries. There are 100000000x things to do at Cornell. It always seems like there is something going on and that I’m missing one event to go to another.</p>
<p>I have a couple of questions. What are freshman dorms like? Do you recommend buying a laptop through the school? How hard is it to get tickets to sporting events like hockey and basketball?</p>
<p>All the freshman dorms are different. You are randomly placed in a dorm (unless you specify Balch) so there’s really no need for me to go into detail about each one. If you do a search you’ll find a TON of old threads about the different dorms. Nevertheless, let me say this. You are meant for the dorm that you end up in-- you will love it and get close with people in your building and think that there is no better place for you haha.</p>
<p>I’d recommend buying a laptop from the Cornell store. They offer student discounts. Check their prices online and compare them to laptops at other places like BestBuy.</p>
<p>You can buy a Big Red Sportspass which gets you into all sporting events except Varisty Men’s hockey. The pass used to be $40 but I think it’s free now. Men’s Hockey is Cornell’s biggest sport. Tickets are sold as season tickets. Basically you get in line and wait over night to get tickets. It’s a big tradition.</p>
<p>Is it more convenient to use HSBC or Bank of America?
I have B of A with a passion and think they are evil. But they have ATMs in Collegetown and Willard Straight Hall. Same with HSBC. I use M&T and would definitely recommend it because they have an actual branch on campus and in Ctown.</p>
<p>I’m planning on going to Ithaca by bus from NYC. Which bus company is the best/cheapest/fastest/most comfortable?
I’ve always used shortline. It’s about $85 roundtrip, but that was two years ago so the price may have gone up.</p>
<p>Thanks for answering! And now that we have been accepted as ED, what does Cornell need us to do/ send in?</p>
<p>I’m not sure what you need to send in. But from what I remember from 4 years ago you need to send in a deposit at some point the next few months, I think it was $500. You’ll receive a big packet in the mail telling you EXACTLY what to do. My advice is to do either the 10 or 14 meals per week meal plan.</p>
<p>I can comment a bit on engineering workload. Like the OP said, it varies a lot. The great thing about Cornell is that if you want to do something, you can usually get permission to. I’m a sophomore double majoring and minoring with no AP credit, so I’m taking 6 “real” classes this semester, along with two 1-credit pass/fail classes, a 1 credit research position. As such, I’m pretty busy, but I still have a bit of time to see friends and play in the pep band at sporting events. </p>
<p>On the other hand, if you have a decent amount of AP credit and you just want to get the standard degree, you can probably get away with taking 4 classes for most semesters, which will leave you tons of free time to do whatever you want. Keep in mind that there will always be some hell weeks in which you have many projects and prelims in the same week. However, no matter what schedule you take, the first 6 weeks of the semester will generally be pretty chill.</p>