<p>A lot of the schools I've considered/am considering seem to have a "type" of student, or at least an overall student body atmosphere. I haven't really gotten a feel from Cornell, for whatever reason, beyond smart and hardworking, which is kind of a given. I chalk it up to diversity of personality/interests (esp. w. the multiple colleges)/the size of the school, but am I missing something?</p>
<p>You’re not missing anything! you’ve pretty much described the student body right on. one of the reason’s Cornell is so great is that there are so many different types of people here…plus everybody can find their niche. That feeling of diversity has been deeply rooted in the university since it’s founding, making Cornell a very special and unique place.</p>
<p>I think CayugaRed2005 summed it up best in this post:</p>
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<p>The bottom line is, there are so many people at Cornell that it’s hard to classify a “typical” Cornell student!</p>
<p>^and if you read that post and think “what about the ______”, they’re here too, somewhere.</p>
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<p>Heh. Glad to know that somebody is saving copies of my posts from a long time ago.</p>
<p>That original description was more geared towards the social scene than other aspects of the the student body. But the same principle can apply for academics:</p>
<p>Engineers designing 100 mpg autos until 4 AM and econ majors who follow sports religiously instead of doing their homework. Pre-law types who get way too caught up in student government and horticulture majors who never stop thinking about flowers. Pre-meds who save dying children in Africa and pre-bankers who slave their summers away on Wall Street. Literature lovers who are writing their first novel and hotelies who are learning how to manage a cruise ship. </p>
<p>It also works for socio-economic background, but you get the idea.</p>
<p>The most difficult thing about Cornell is that it is so damn diverse. You are not going to be friends with everybody. So you need to find people who are similar to you in values and interests. And that can be really tough for the person who wants their hand held.</p>
<p>Don’t forget the engineers following sports religiously and the pre-bankers designing cars, the horticulture majors in student government, and the econ majors saving dying children in Africa.</p>
<p>^^^^
Thats my sons. I love that post!</p>