@dimkin Since you seemed like you enjoyed your time at Cornell, how would you describe the community? I imagine with a big school it gets a little separated – so like different sub communities within the school. Or is it generally united? Or is everyone kind of independent? That might be a weird question, but hopefully you get what I’m saying. Any thoughts are appreciated!
btw thanks everyone for helping me out…it’s tough this year to get a feel for schools I don’t know well so this has been really helpful!
Schools are Schools. Communities change every 4 years you absolutely can’t extrapolate one year to the next … different kids, different experiences.
Cornell is a large school, it feels like a large school, but it’s refreshing - you feel you’re part of
something larger than you - you find your own groups … classes, gym, tennis courts, projects,
frat parties … as long as you come with an open mind - it’s all good.
Classes are hard, but not overwhelming - they are just hard enough for you to feel vindicated that you passed. And you learn to embrace the rigor - you learn to be proud of it - that’s what makes a good school afterall.
I’m not sure you can transfer into Engineering after one semester if I recall. I think you have to have met certain minimum requirements and have had certain courses. It’s also not necessarily a guarantee as not everyone is able to transfer, so don’t assume it is a given. If that’s your plan then make sure you take the required higher level math courses and science courses that will make you a competitive transfer. No one gets into COE in the first place if they have not at least taken Calculus already and some Physics in high school, even if it’s not Physics C.
But as far as graduating with a high GPA, @dimkin is right. There are plenty of Engineers that have low 3’s that get great jobs. There are other majors like SHA and Dyson that the GPAs are much higher. My kid took some Dyson classes last semester and they were so easy she got A+ in them.
You’ll make the best decision for you but a lot of it is about fit. Remember Cornell can be quite cold and snowy in winter. You should really try to make a visit out there before you decide and not make a decision blindly.
That’s the key. Taking the same courses and doing well enough. That chem is a killer and not easy. I think harder even on the CAS side since most of the premed are in that one.
“I was accepted to Notre Dame and to Cornell. I have absolutely no idea which one I should attend.” = Cornell.
If you have to ask, then the typical passion for Notre Dame found in ND students is missing.
Notre Dame has an LAC like quality of a strong personality that dominates the campus resulting in an intimate & cozy shared experience. Either you get it & want it or you don’t.
For diversity of thought & for overall diversity, Cornell is the better option.
Back in my day we all took the same chem sequence at Cornell - pre-meds and engineers together. It sucked ; ). I was under the impression that it was still the same.
Lmao! Still sucks!! My daughter was very clearly told I’d there’s any one class at Cornell you absolutely want to get out of it’s the Chemistry so make sure you earn a 5 on that AP test. Not sure I ever saw her study so hard in my life but she made it at the expense of physics but they have a fantastic physics dept there so she didn’t care. Never had to take any Chem.
I may be wrong but pretty sure there are 2 - one thing Engineering take and one the non Engineers take. Could be like math is now where it’s Linear Algebra or Linear Algebra for Engineers. I’ll have to ask her. The only reason I think it’s different is because every time she mentioned how bad her friends were doing in it last year and I replied be happy you didn’t have to take it she always said this is the non engineering one!
Ok so I am definitely not losing it (although my lovely daughter thinks I am). Our text exchange just went as follows:
Mom: Also remember how I was always so confused with chemistry last year? Do engineering take a different one than cas?
Daughter: yes i explained that to u a million times last year
Daughter: pre med takes 2070 engineers take 2090
Daughter: they both take 2080 second
Needless to say she thinks I’m losing it again by asking again lol. The class numbers don’t mean anything to me but I am sure they do to you and @dimkin
Thank you! Back in the day we all took 207 and then 208. Our chem e tour guide was bitching about 208 when we toured so I assumed 207 was the same too. (FWIW orgo was much worse and yes for loving Cornell physics!).
I was lucky enough to get credit for Chem 1 and 2 and Phys 1 and 2 …
but Phys3 hit me pretty hard (and I was pretty awesome at Phys olympiads and stuff)
Luckily orgo wasn’t a core class for Engr. Differential Equations (Math 4) was somewhat annoying as well, after that it was just stuff in the major …
Both bad. Their dept is not that great. If you could get out of any class with AP credit, the one that everyone says to get out of the most is Chemistry. Mine was thankful she did and did not mind retaking Physics when she didn’t get the 5 on the Physics C Exams.
I don’t know anything about the second one, mine didn’t have to take it because she could substitute other courses for that requirement if I recall. Same with Physics 3. Different Engineering majors have some different options but can find it all on the different checklists on the website or handbook.
I don’t know if OP is still in the decision phase, but regarding grade deflation at Cornell, I think that is more of an urban myth than anything else. I know that is certainly possible and achievable to attain a high GPA at Cornell (in Engineering and other parts of the university) while maintaining your sanity!
Regarding “cut-throatiness”, this is another urban legend that thrives in the dark recesses of the internet (I mean you, reddit) with the “Legions of the Miserable”. You are unlikely to get reasonable college advice and perspective from a guy who is up at 2:00 AM on reddit.
There are a number of current students, parents of current students, and alums who can share their experience (and many who already have). I would suggest asking good questions from this group and then listening to what they have to say. I’d be happy to help answer if you have any specific questions.
I went to Cornell - a long time ago admittedly - and it was NOT easy to transfer among schools. If that is your plan I would definitely talk to someone at Cornell to make sure that is possible. Cornell is very wary of people who apply to one school thinking it is easier to get into and then try to transfer. And I know the engineering school is extremely competitive to get into so I wouldn’t go to Cornell thinking you can just transfer into that school.
Gradschoolkid2 is currently TA’ing some of the classes the OP would be taking at Cornell. She says that she does not see “cutthroat” behaviour, and she doesn’t think that there is grade deflation. She does think that the work is very challenging , and she is regularly impressed by the work the students do to get mastery of the material. She also pointed out that there are often multiple TAs for the bigger classes, and she has seen students move between groups as they find TAs whose style works particularly well for them. Obviously she has a somewhat biased perspective, but she feels that -as long as the student is making an effort- most of the TAs work hard to help the students be successful.
My daughter has never complained of cut throat behavior. Grade deflation is debatable. There are classes that have been known to curve down. Definitely challenging depending on your major. She took a class in Dyson last semester and said it was the dumbest class she ever took and learned nothing and earned an A+. Sad when Dyson has a reputation for being a great business school and clearly no grade deflation in that class. She had another Dyson course that the students whined about the grades after each preliminary, she had 100 on the first and second, after the first bit of whining when the students complained how hard it was and wondering if it would be curved, which she couldn’t believe wondering if she missed the boat on how easy it was, the professor offered a retake. She was dumbfounded and said to me verbatim “no wonder dyson majors have such high gpa’s and the engineers don’t - I wish we would get retakes”. So…interesting. Funny enough she wound up with an A+ in that class also, and the median grade in the course even with all the retakes was still only an A-. This was a dyson class with retakes and they didn’t get the A’s. This is not my kid with a business acumen either. So again grade deflation is relative. Those classes no curve, no deflation and no curving down not in that major.
One big problem over the last year that has been very discouraging and some great professors have really worked to get rid of this problem and I have heard it be less of a problem this semester is cheating has been rampant. The other big negative during covid is that office hours have been significantly limiting and just not enough. My daughter needed help with something and the que was 4 hours long. She would never get the assignment completed in time if she waited in the que. Not only that, you only get 15 mins of help and you have to go back in the line of the que. She would’ve run out of time. She thought she was a goner by no fault of her own because she missed a deadline to have a partner for this project and would never be able to complete it in time by herself but got saved when the professor happened to push the project due from yesterday to next Monday at the last minute giving her ample time to do it on her own. Hopefully! She thought this would finally be her first C, which is common for Engineers at Cornell and don’t be afraid to get one. I don’t care if my kids do and I’m waiting and expecting it. If my kids are happy that’s all I care about and if they tried their best. Too much pressure otherwise and mental health is way more important than working to no end to please a parent at the expense of one’s own happiness, so people should remember that.
There are a lot of crappy TA’s. There are also a lot of biased TA’s unfortunately. There are also some really good TA’s. There is just not one good system which is the problem. To hear that a TA gave someone all the answers because it’s their girlfriend or did the project because they’re dating someone, or gave the answers to a quiz, because it’s their friend, is totally bogus but it is what it is. Not all TAs fall into this category but not sure that 19 year old kids should be TA’s for classes their friends are in either.
Agree entirely on the TA front- though the TA’s that the Gradschoolkid knows tend to be other grad students (so definitely not 19!). I believe that the number of grad student TAs is down this year because of controlling who is on campus and who is not.
Also agree on the challenges of Covid. Cornell has worked really hard to give students as much in-school experience as possible, but the results have been uneven - and engineering is challenging even in normal times!
olympiads and stuff)