Cornell=worst ivy

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
81

<p>I, like many others here, am dying to go to Cornell next year and have been reading the boards (embarrassingly) often to soak up as much about the school as possible. Most posters and threads are incredibly helpful and have provided a ton of knowledge.</p>

<p>However, this thread is really starting to grate on my nerves. It's maddening how much time I spent reading it and what it amounted to (nothing). </p>

<p>So I know people aren't going to stop this useless debate, but if someone else reads this on their trek for information, just stop now. This argument is a waste of time.</p>

82

<p>Harvard</a> College: Transfer Admission Announcement</p>

<p>Yeah, sucks to be you.</p>

83

<p>dontno: since when is getting help a sign of weakness or stupidity? and how does taking advantage of office hours boost the notion that cornell is the "worst" ivy. for someone who claimed to have graduated in the top 3% of your class, you obviously have a horribly weak argument.</p>

84

<p>Cornell is a phenom. university. I have met a few Cornell students in my career t tracks and they left behind a terrific impression of the university. It doesn't hurt that I have a sister who graduated from Cornell who became a successful Investment Banker either!</p>

85

<p>kotchian123 what did your sister major in because im looking to be an investment banker and i hope to go to cornell</p>

86

<p>You can major in whatever you want and still be an i-banker. Fields like medicine, law, and i-banking don't look for specific majors. They look for demonstration of logic, analytical skills, and intelligence. They'll teach you what you need to know.</p>

87

<p>
[quote]
I actually have to wholeheartedly agree with meurteapablo. I was utterly appalled at the ubiquity of, let's face it, dumb kids at Cornell.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Quoting Gomestar from an earlier post: Smart students look out for people like you and avoid them.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Each time I go to office hours

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That implies that you were lost too. That's hilarious. You're so conceited that you're insulting other students who are getting help even though you need clarification from the professors at the same time.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I think he's quite right in stating that only about 1/4 of the students here are worthy of the Ivy moniker, most of them being foreign.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Is this BS based on research and statistical evidence? The Ivy League students at a top Ivy League school don't deserve to be Ivy League students? I think I still don't quite understand this statement.</p>

<p>
[quote]
but it doesn't have that zing that HYP has.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>By zing, you mean prestigious.</p>

<p>
[quote]
But in my mind, many of the students here reek of overachieving public high schoolers who are unable to undertake such a demanding curriculum.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Based on what you've written so far, I'm going to assume that you meant to write "overachieving." </p>

<p>Uuuummmm, if Cornell doesn't accept overachievers, who do they accept? Underachievers? Just-right achievers? (I believe I covered all three categories) So, basically, only students from private school are allowed to go to Ivy League.</p>

<p>Congratulations, you're upper class parents paid for you to go to private school and college and now you can flaunt your arrogance in front of us.</p>

<p>
[quote]
If you want my qualifications: I went to a high school ranked in the top 40. I graduated last May from the College of engineering with over a 4.0 GPA and was around the top 3% in the engineering college overall. Oh yea I have a first author publication as well.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>If Cornell students are so retarded, and you're so awesome, then why did you attend college there? Did you get rejected from HYP too?</p>

88

<p>
[quote]
"Smart people look out for people like me and avoid them."

[/quote]
?!?!?!
I don't understand the cause and effect relationship here. Why would my supposed pretentious demeanor explicitly ward off smart people? If anything, the indignation that both I and other "smart" people feel regarding those with less ability would be a source of camaraderie. </p>

<p>
[quote]
"Each time I go to office hours, I'm amazed at how ridiculously lost most of the students are."

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Does this imply that I think going to office hours should be a source of shame or an indicator of one's inability to perform highly? Umm hell no. I'm not degrading anyone for attending office hours. I referred to office hours because it constitutes an intimate setting where I can hear other students' questions and interact with them extensively. From these sessions, I've concluded that many of them are absurdly lost by virtue of their questions and academic concerns, not merely their presence in office hours. </p>

<p>
[quote]
"I think he's quite right in stating that only about 1/4 of the students here are worthy of the Ivy moniker, most of them being foreign."

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It's merely an estimate based on my experience. From a quick breakdown of my lab partners over 3 years, I'd say it's around 20-25%. Not everyone accepted deserves to be from a academic standpoint. Their admission could be the result of their parents' status, their high school being extremely exclusive, or most likely, their extracurriculars. Many academically deficient students at Cornell may have been admitted for their extensive work outside of school, but in the academic realm, their admission is not justified.</p>

<p>
[quote]
"Congratulations, you're upper class parents paid for you to go to private school and college and now you can flaunt your arrogance in front of us."

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I'm from a very middle class family of which everyone has attended pretty bad public universities. I went to a public school, albeit one that required an admission exam. And genius: your not you're. </p>

<p>
[quote]
"If Cornell students are so retarded, and you're so awesome, then why did you attend college there? Did you get rejected from HYP too?"

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I didn't say everyone at Cornell was retarded. I'm merely stating that the vast majority (~75%) do not have the intellectual merits that I expect from an Ivy Leaguer. I base this notion of Ivy Leaguer from the individuals from my high school. </p>

<p>I worked my ass off to graduate at the top of my class at Cornell. I provided this information because meuertopablo was lambasted as not worthy of his admonishment of his fellow Cornellians due to his GPA, etc... And a side note, I didn't even apply to HYP out of high school. I even got rejected from Cornell initially. </p>

<p>Even though I feel many Cornellians are undeserving of the Ivy leaguer title, the school itself is extremely prestigious, the professors fantastic, the curriculum extremely challenging. I decided to attend Cornell because it's a great school. However, Cornell is assuredly less prestigious and the students worse than their peer institutions (other ivies besides Brown and Dartmouth and maybe Penn). </p>

<p>Sorry for the long post.</p>

89

<p>dontno:</p>

<p>congrats for your graduation from Cornell, esp. graduating as a top student.</p>

<p>I just wanted to point out...although I understand what you are kind of saying, the student body at Cornell is almost as good or 'smart' as it gets. Really, if these Cornell students are really of this '2nd' rate capabilities in their academic endeavors, I have much fear for hundreds of thounsands, if not millions, of other college students who attend much less selective universities around the globe. I would say that according to your standards, many of the average students at these 'average' colleges won't be smart enough to be even mentioned as a species of human beings. Cornell, I agree, doesn't have student body that is 100% impressive academically. But, my argument is that this is about as good as it gets, really.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Not everyone accepted deserves to be from a academic standpoint. Their admission could be the result of their parents' status, their high school being extremely exclusive, or most likely, their extracurriculars. Many academically deficient students at Cornell may have been admitted for their extensive work outside of school, but in the academic realm, their admission is not justified.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Cornell's admission criteria aren't that diff. from other schools, even compared to HYPS. As an example, I have witnessed numerous cases in which students with stellar academic performances and intelligence were denied at HYPS, while much less stellar students with other specialties gained admission. Also, Harvard is famous for giving much advantage in admissions to the kids applying from super exclusive prep schools in the East Coast. Most top schools, nowadays, practice this 'hollistic' review, which takes into account of many variables in admissions. Cornell isn't the only one, in fact, all the ivies and most other top schools deploy this admission policy.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I didn't say everyone at Cornell was retarded. I'm merely stating that the vast majority (~75%) do not have the intellectual merits that I expect from an Ivy Leaguer. I base this notion of Ivy Leaguer from the individuals from my high school.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>
[quote]
However, Cornell is assuredly less prestigious and the students worse than their peer institutions (other ivies besides Brown and Dartmouth and maybe Penn).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This statement doesn't make much sense at all. Have you studied at these peer institutions? What makes you say that all Harvard graduates are deserving of Harvard diploma, in academic realm? All Yale graduates are deserving of the ivy diploma? As a prominant example, there is a very prominant Yale alum in the public sector that we all know of who is widely believed to be of average intelligence, yet got into Yale and became what he is today bc of family connections, etc. Cornell, just like any other school, has some students that aren't outstanding.</p>

90

<p>I agree with.....gomestar. Can we please let this thread die? This is quite possibly the worst time to be discussing something like this - people will get their university replies in barely a week and soon after that will have to decide which uni they want to attend. And where do you think they'll go to find out more about the unis and get a general feel for the unis? Right - this website (especially after CC was mentioned in the Chicago Tribune - <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/community-forum-issues/477953-college-confidential-chicago-tribune.html)%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/community-forum-issues/477953-college-confidential-chicago-tribune.html)&lt;/a>. </p>

<p>And whats the first thing they'll see when they come to the Cornell forum? A thread titled 'Cornell=worst ivy' right on the first page of the forum where 1 or 2 guys seem to think that most of the students at Cornell are idiots and don't belong in the Ivy League. Wow, brilliant first impression.</p>

<p>Do you really want people to base their decisions on whether to come to Cornell on the opinions of a few people? Because all of the above are only opinions and unfortunately, it is amazing how often opinion gets perceived as fact here on CC.</p>

<p>All I'm saying is I think we should let people form their own impressions of the school. I think it's unfair to Cornell that people coming to this forum and reading this thread get a bad first impression of the school because its very hard to change a negative first impression like that. I wouldn't have a problem with people forming that sort of impression of the school if there was any truth in what some of you are saying but the fact is that these are just opinions and it is detrimental to the school when people promulgate statements like 'the vast majority (~75%) do not have the intellectual merits that I expect from an Ivy Leaguer'.</p>

91

<p>I swore I wouldn't post on this thread again but.....</p>

<p>I don't feel a first author publication is a factor that makes you more deserving of "true" Ivy status....I have 3 first author pubs...1 between high school and college and 2 while in college. Plus...I feel the "honor" of a student being first author is losing its importance. I had one prof here tell me that he always puts a student first regardless of how much work he/she did and I know of students here who begged their research advisors to put them as first author so they would look good for grad/med school applications. I can say I didn't do either of those.</p>

<p>But can we please let this thread go? Cornell gave me people like me a chance to an amazing education. When I couldn't get into Princeton, my counselor called on my behalf and they said I probably would have been accepted if it wasn't for my SAT score. Cornell was able to look beyond that and give me a shot to prove that I am capable and worthy of an Ivy education. I don't have a 4.0 and am not in the top 3% of my class...but I'm not dumb (as some of you assume we "overachieving" public high school kids are). Just like (almost) everyone here I work my a** off and truly deserve to be here.</p>

92

<p>I'm not sure about weakest, but it's definitely one of the ivies that's on a separate level than HYP</p>

93

<p>Since there are over 13,500 undergraduates at Cornell, the University really does attract a wide variety of students. You get people from all walks of life and all points of view ... it's truly one aspect of what makes Cornell so unique and special. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, with the good comes the bad. Dontno and muertepablo here are two examples of the people I pity most on campus ... the arrogant snobs. A student who's a racist believes that their skin color makes them better than the 5% of black students on campus. Students like dontno and muerte believe that they're better than the vast majority of Cornell students anyways. They only represent a very small portion of the student body (there's only so much ego space in their world), and I don't want anybody to ever think that they shouldn't go to a professor's office hours for fear of somebody like dontno here thinking "god, what a stupid person we have" as they seek help or advice.</p>

94

<p>Let me make this very clear: I love Cornell. I love the campus, the classes, the challenging curriculum, and the great professors and TA's. However, I'm not going to look past the fact that many students here are far below the expectations of an Ivy Leaguer (intellectually). The top 10 kids at my high school all went to HYPM and considered Cornell to be a safety school.</p>

<p>But, it's not just me who considers many of the students here to be subpar academically. I was discussing my graduate school plans with a professor my junior year and he remarked: "If you saw the work of most of the kids in my undergraduate class, you'd never want to fly in an airplane designed by them." Additionally, in office hours one time, a completely lost student had been getting help while I waited. She left and the professor openly mocked her regarding her confusion in the class. </p>

<p>And for everyone assuming I'm a pretentious snob,you couldn't be more wrong. Yes I believe many students here don't deserve to be here, but that doesn't mean I treat them with utter disrespect. Sure, I make sarcastic comments and become frustrated at times but I'm always willing to assist lab partners and other people that ask me for assistance.</p>

95

<p>I sure as hell wouldn't want to be flying in an airplane designed solely by an undergraduate engineering student, regardless of where they are going to college.</p>

96

<p>I've had professors who comment on how nice it is to have such a smart student body to help push them to be better teachers. </p>

<p>"And for everyone assuming I'm a pretentious snob,you couldn't be more wrong. Yes I believe many students here don't deserve to be here, but that doesn't mean I treat them with utter disrespect."</p>

<p>You don't need to leave hate messages to a minority organization to be a racist either. You've openly told everybody what you think of the vast majority of students on the Cornell campus. Yes, you're a pretentious snob.</p>

97

<p>I love Cornell because I always considered the people here to be low key, friendly and not pretentious.</p>

<p>People like dontno really tick me off and are the kind of people I will not miss when I graduate. You're insulting people who are your classmates and may even be you colleague someday. Do you think it's ok to assume kids are subpar because a professor mocked a student's confusion? That is not very professional...and to think it's ok to assume students here are less intelligent because of situations like that make it hard to believe you are not a pretentious snob.</p>

<p>I'm carrying a 3.5, I'm accomplished in the field of cancer research, I'm taking a job as a research assistant at Tulane in the fall and yet I spent a lot of time in office hours because I don't always understand course material the first time around....would you consider me a subpar student? Get over yourself.</p>

98

<p>Complaining that the people at Cornell don't deserve to go to an Ivy sounds so "Any person, any study"ish of you.</p>

<p>Maybe before you matriculate into a school, you should familiarize yourself with the motto. Duh, go to school.</p>

99

<p>Why is this still a thread?
Cornell = worst ivy.</p>

100

<p>maybe because there are actually people who don't think Cornell is the worst ivy and they want to defend it?!?</p>