<p>Hi, just got accepted as a transfer to Cornell University (Arts & Sciences)! I'm so excited! Unfortunately, I have to cut my summer vacation short by a month. Oh well, small price to pay.</p>
<p>Anyway, I was wondering which courses I should avoid? Are there any teachers or courses that have a very bad reputation? I'm more of a social science/history person. Plus, are there any easy majors at Cornell? Any blow-off courses? I am trying to take it easy my first semester because I've heard that Cornell can be a tough school.</p>
<p>P.S. Does it matter what dorm I choose? I'm looking for a studious yet social environment for m first year. Which ones are considered good dorms?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Do you have options for dorms? Because incoming freshmen could only answer an environmental questionaire about sleeping habits, etc. But if you can pick, that's different. The transfer center puts you with transfers like yourself, which might be nice; depends on what you want. Court and Mews are the newest and have been described by some as "like a hotel." Anything more specific than a "studious but social environment?" I think that pretty much every dorm is studious to the extent at it's full of hardworking people. The townhouses are a little quieter in general I hear, but other than that, it doesn't make much difference it seems. Since dorm assignments are random, the makeup of each hall is also random, and hall personalities change from year to year. I have heard the physical layout of Donlon and the pervasiveness of singles in Dickson make them perenially a bit more social.</p>
<p>I thought transfers were required to live in the transfer center their first year. I'm not positive but I believe I have heard this a few times.</p>
<p>I think you may be right about the transfer center. It seems like a nice place, and it'll be easier living with other transfer students. Still, I'm looking forward to living in dorms that look like "hotels". </p>
<p>And thanks for the ratemyprofessors site. I've heard of it before but never used it.</p>
<p>I'm 99% sure theres no garuntee on picking a dorm on north campus. There sure wasn't for us. The only things I think you can actively request are program houses (special interest dorms like spanish speaking, music, theater, etc.), Transfer Center, Multicultural Living, and possibly the "west campus community" for upper classmen, but that might not be allowed for transfers through sophomore year.</p>
<p>My point is that you really shouldn't pick your dorm hoping to get a "hotelesque" one. Just fill out your questionaire honestly would be my best advice. Of course you have the option of picking program houses, too, as mentioned above.</p>
<p>Be careful when using <a href="http://www.ratemyprofessors.com%5B/url%5D">www.ratemyprofessors.com</a>. Some of the info is really helpful, but some of the reviews are written by students who didn't do well in the class because of their own lack of effort and blame it on the professors. It's good to keep an open mind when choosing professors. :)</p>
<p>And what's easy for one student might be hard for another. It all depends on how your brain works when it comes to working with a teacher.</p>
<p>If a teacher has like 86 ratings, however, you can figure it's a pretty fair representation of him. However if the rating is entirely negative and makes personal attacks, it's probably not the most objectively written. When I wrote negative reviews on <a href="http://www.ratemyteachers.com%5B/url%5D">www.ratemyteachers.com</a> for HS, even the bad teachers had positive aspects. Just because she's a b*tch or a moron doesn't mean she didn't teach you way more material than you needed for your AP. (that's the case with several of my poorly rated teachers)</p>