<p>Parents of incoming students and prospectives can use this thread to ask questions of those of us who have students at Cornell (or alumni parents).</p>
<p>We are only one semester in with our son, but he simply loves Cornell. It was his only choice. After looking at many schools, he picked Cornell. He didn't apply anywhere else. He loves his department, his dorm and life on campus. It has been an excellent fit.</p>
<p>Of course, current parents can also use this thread to ask questions of each other. Lots of views. No questions?</p>
<p>Thanks for your post! My son is the same, out of all the colleges he chose Cornell as his first choice. I truely hope he will enjoy his 4 years there at Ithaca. </p>
<p>Could you give some advise on which dorm has air conditioning and single room and he can apply for freshmen year?</p>
<p>Also may I ask which department your son is in? How tough is the course load?</p>
<p>L is a math major, most likely double major in philosophy. AC is a tough one. From what I know (others will chime in) there is no freshman dorm with AC that you can guarantee for your child unless he has a health issue (then I think you would have to go through students with disabilities). He will choose between townhouse, dorm and programs houses. Dorm covers all the north campus dorms. Some are very recently built and have AC. Others don’t. I don’t think that any program house has AC, but the townhouses seem to. Oddly, the current selection list doesn’t include the townhouses. They have been available to freshmen in the past. Perhaps I am missing something…</p>
<p>As for singles, my son chose a single in a program house. There seem to be more singles available for freshmen than freshmen who want them. He should be able to get one. It may not have AC (which is important for a very short time in Ithaca - we bought a big room fan and a smaller one for the desk).</p>
<p>[Townhouse</a> Community](<a href=“Residential Life | Student & Campus Life | Cornell University”>Residential Life | Student & Campus Life | Cornell University)</p>
<p>This link may answer AC questions:
[Cornell</a> University Commencement - Dorm Reservations for Graduation Weekend](<a href=“http://commencement.cornell.edu/May/reshalls.html]Cornell”>http://commencement.cornell.edu/May/reshalls.html)</p>
<p>As for course load, he has chosen some interesting classes. This semester he has 18 credits. Last semester was a bit less. He did very well (made one B+, all the rest A or A+ and made Dean’s list). It is a decent amount of work, but he is not overwhelmed. Our high school was extremely demanding (man, many AP courses along with college classes), so this isn’t any worse (other than learning to live on his own). He also works in the math support center as a tutor. He will work fewer hours this semester, due to the heavier work load. Some departments (engineering, architecture…) have really specific courses for each term. His is more open. He is working hard and having fun, too.</p>
<p>18 hours is a lot, but there are kids who can do that. Congratulations on your son’s success! My son is a current sophomore and I can’t think of any complaints on not having AC. When the kids are there, the temperatures are mild. My son did summer school last year and lived on West Campus. Even though they say they don’t have AC, they do have a system that keeps the buildings very comfortable. We’re from the south, where AC is really needed and my son has never complained about being hot. </p>
<p>From what I remember, they recommend kids start with 12 to 15 hours. Engineering is very difficult, so if your child is in that program, make sure you balance the exceptionally difficult classes with labs with easier ones. AP credits really help with lessening the load. Architecture is also difficult and time-consuming as a student progresses through that. </p>
<p>You cannot request dorms, just singles, doubles, etc., I believe the 4-kid option includes the townhouses, but I’m not 100% certain.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply!</p>
<p>I am trying to search which week (days) in April is the Cornell Days week for admitted students so I can book hotel now, but couldn’t find any info on this. On email from Cornell they say they will communicate with you in early April about Cornell Days, etc. But isn’t that too late to find a hotel or air-tickets? Will it be the first weekend of April? Or they have a range of days for you to choose?</p>
<p>Thanks for the dorm info, Swimmer726!</p>
<p>mlbrown, my son will be math major as well. 18 hours means 6 courses? that’s pretty heavy. He must have pretty good time management. Could you share what courses he took for last semester? Do they give placement test for math? They take AP Calculus BC I hope.</p>
<p>Cornell is very interesting in how it does its classes. My son has found many of them are 4 hours - even those without labs. Linear Algebra and differential are 4 hour classes. They are tough. Pretty much every class he’s taken - even the 3 hour ones - has an additional “discussion session” scheduled. I think it’s nice to have an opportunity for questions in a small section, rather than just a large lecture format. Your student will spend a LOT of time in class, but it’s all good. Saves on study time later. Yes, there is a lot of work to do, but it will be worth it.</p>
<p>Cornell Days were April 12 - 23 last year. I believe it was around the same time when we went in 2011. I would highly recommend you go - a school looks completely different when you KNOW you are going! We went to some general engineering information sessions, but it was just good to get our bearings and visit the bookstore! We stayed at the Statler, but you can look at the Hilton, the Holiday Inn, or the Marriott near the airport. There are lots of choices. We always go down Dryden in Collegetown and park in the city parking deck across the street from the Subway. it’s really cheap for the day and you will have short distances to most things you’ll want to visit. Have fun!</p>
<p>I wrote such a nice long response and then the page reloaded. Sigh.</p>
<p>For AP credits in arts and sciences:</p>
<p>[Credit</a> and Placement](<a href=“http://as.cornell.edu/information/orientation/credit.cfm]Credit”>http://as.cornell.edu/information/orientation/credit.cfm)</p>
<p>My son is taking the 2230-2240 math sequences that is highly recommended for all math majors, even if they have already taken linear algebra and/or multivariable calculs. The first semester was demanding. Second semester is a much smaller class and more demanding. He loves it. He took BC calc in 10th grade. Multivariable and differential equations in 11th. 3 Rutgers math classes from summer of senior year through graduation. BC calc 4 or 5 score will allow him to place into 2230.</p>
<p>18 hours is 5 courses for him this term. The math class, a CS class, a physics class, a Near Eastern Studies class on ancient Egypt, and an education class on the art of teaching. He also had 5 last semester, but one of them was intermediate yoga (only one credit). That also included 2230, French 2060, Psychology and Law, Freshman Writing Seminar (he had to take only one). There is an incredible variety of courses available.</p>
<p>You might want to call about dates for Cornell Days to make arrangements… just make sure you register as soon as they release the dates.</p>
<p>mlbrown - that happens to me with the page reloading! I always think that I have lost a long post that I have written. Just sign back in and your post will have saved! </p>
<p>Thanks for starting the post!!!</p>
<p>My son was in Mews his first year, in a single room. It was very nice and had AC. He is in a program house this year and hasn’t yet complained about the heat or cold - so I guess he is comfortable enough. We do come from a part of the country where AC is obligatory!</p>
<p>He is an astronomy/physics/math student, planning to declare a major in astronomy this semester. The work load has been fairly intense, but he tends to be a studier. I sometimes wish he would have more fun and get out a little more.</p>
<p>He seems to take a pretty heavy load each semester - at least 18 hours.</p>
<p>His social life seems adequate. In other words, no complaints. Although he is not a party animal.</p>
<p>Mine is definitely not a party kid. At all. Part of that is due to his age (16), but I can’t imagine he will ever be much of a partier. I think the vast majority of his social life is hanging out with friends in the dorm building. </p>
<p>He is also learning that when upper classmen and graduate students tell him that he should start a particular assignment early, he should probably listen. He lost a few points on a recent computer science assignment by waiting too long to start it. These are important lessons to learn early. I guess he didn’t learn them as well as he should have during his high school years. </p>
<p>Oh, mine did complain about the cold in his room at some point. I suggested that he put the comforter on his bed. You know, the one in the closet. He had forgotten all about it. He also forgot about his warm winter coat and needed a reminder that it was in the closet. Much better now. His closet is quite large. It is easy to lose things in there. First year away has all sorts of lessons.</p>
<p>Question for parents with offspring in undergrad engineering: how many total hours per week (average) do you think your kid spends on academic work? (I mean counting everything: classes, labs, discussions, assignments, research, etc.)</p>
<p>I’m just trying to get a sense of the workload, and compare with what we’ve heard from other schools.</p>
<p>My son is a sophomore in engineering. If I asked him how much time he spent on work, he probably wouldn’t give me an answer, as it changes. From what I’ve observed, the first 2 years are tough - meeting all the prerequisites. Then, you need to apply for affiliation to your major. That can come at the end of either the first or second semester of sophomore year. It’s tough, very tough. My son used to be at the top of his class in high school - as was everyone - and Cornell is full of great students. Is there a lot of competition between them? I would say no. They do work together in groups on assignments and study together. Engineering, like architecture at Cornell, is a full-time job. My son notices that people in other majors don’t seem to be as busy. Those in the reading, paper-writing classes seem to have spurts of work. In engineering, You HAVE to go to class, you SHOULD go to scheduled discussion, and you should keep up. Not doing so is the kiss of death. The workload is intense, so be ready! Is it worth it? I would say getting an engineering degree from an Ivy league school is definitely worth it.</p>
<p>Swimmer726:</p>
<p>Thanks, that’s helpful.</p>
<p>I think it’s always a bit of a shock for high-performing kids when they get to a top college: now it’s like being in class with just the top 5-10% of the high school class, and the standards expected also became higher.</p>
<p>Most of them do find a way to thrive, fortunately.</p>
<p>From what my D tells me there is a lot of studying that goes on. Even in majors where there is a lot of reading in the College of Arts and Sciences, there is a lot of work involved. There are also a lot of prerequisites to get through and a lot of them end up 4 credits so they end up in 5 courses, not including PE or any one credits or TA or any of those because they don’t count for “credit” in CAS.</p>
<p>There is a saying that I’ve heard often - “Cornell is the easiest Ivy to get into, but the hardest to get out of.” From our limited experience, I would say that is true so far.</p>
<p>I had 2 kids graduate from Vanderbilt and now 1 at Cornell. ALL 3 of them have stated that they used to think they were smart, but now they know they’re average…“average” at Vanderbilt and Cornell isn’t bad!</p>
<p>Similiar experince with my D, Swimmer. She had a reality check at the beginning of fall semester when she scored below the class mean on her first round of prelims in each of her classes. She just realized that she had to do alot more than she had done in high school to get good grades & even then the grades would not be as high. Making use of study groups, profs office hours, TA’s office hours, etc. is something that many students find they need to do.</p>