<p>I know Cornell has an awesome campus, food, etc. But I heard bc of its isolation and constantly studying students, there's basically no social life, no where to go, etc. How true is that? Hopefully some Cornell students will be able to answer this question for me, thanks!</p>
<p>You sit in your room, thinking about comitting suicide. That's all there is to do.</p>
<p>There is also the city of Ithaca too, forgot about that.</p>
<p>In certain majors, like engineering, you have to be devoted to your work or you will fall behind. However, even engineering students find time to have some fun. Friday and Saturday nights pretty much. Yes, there is a social life...great friends...great times. There is not as much stupid drunkenness at Cornell as at other colleges. Cornell is a great place if you like to sail or ski. There is a lot to do on campus, if you can find the time for it. Ithaca and the area have some excellent restaurants. Cornell is not a party school (fortunately) but it is a very SATISFYING place to spend four years. The beauty of the campus is awesome. Students are serious but down-to-earth and friendly.</p>
<p>so does Cornell have anything around it like shopping centers/malls, movie theaters, arcades, etc.? i suppose you can /always/ find something to do somewhere...</p>
<p>yes, yes, yes, and yes to all of the things on your list. </p>
<p>There's bowling lanes on campus, a movie theater on campus. If that isn't enough, then go to the theaters at the mall, a solid 4 minute bus ride. Go to collegetown, or hang out at the lake. Grab coffee with a few friends at Uris or Olin. I went for a 30 mile bike ride (i race for Cornell Cycling, training for a race in RI on sunday) today and it was absolutely glorious outside! The mountains are a tough climb on the bike, but it makes for some spectacular scenery. </p>
<p>People underestimate the amount of things to do on campus. No, it's not New York City here, but the last thing i want to do is spend my undergrauate years in a fast paced city. The students here are very serious, but that makes for an academic environment that's like no other. I wouldn't trade it for the world!</p>
<p>There are TONS of threads on the social life question...do a little searching on CC here and you'll find all your answers...</p>
<p>Bottom line is that while Ithaca may be more rural than many schools, it remains a wonderful metropolis dedicated to college students...some like to complain about its large size, but this is the key to making a thriving social life... there are many many people for all different walks of life - jocks, preps, geeks, greens, etc... Greek life makes up about 33%... it is there if you want it, but its very easy and accepted to remain "independent"</p>
<p>Cornell's size was one of its main advantages in my experience.. it allowed for experimentation among different groups... I got to try on different personas... I had a group of diehard intellectuals that I hung out with... I joined a frat that was all about partying... and I played a varsity sport... sometimes these groups overlapped... sometimes not...flexibility and variety is the rule.</p>
<p>There literally was NEVER a dull moment at Cornell...</p>
<p>Your best bet is to visit.</p>
<p>I disagree with the person saying there is not as much stupid drunkness. For the portion of the student body that goes out, there is plenty of it. However, it should be noted that this behavior is limited fairly strictly to friday and saturday nights and sometimes thursdays.</p>
<p>is there stupid drunkeness even for engineering students? i am a prospective engineering undergrad, and i don't want to spend all my waking hours studying and working, i would like to know if Cornell is for people like me.</p>
<p>I drank a lot and did more than my fair share of stupid things, so yes there is stupid drunkenness.</p>
<p>you would have to define "all my waking hours studying and working." If you mean studying at 1 am on friday nights ... well, you most likely wont be. Same goes true for saturday nights. But, dont expect to be able to "go out" and party on any day between sunday and thursday. Alot of my friends are able to do that at other college ... not here. The good thing is people dont go out and party on tuesday nights, the whole student body is very committed to work, so that makes for a nice environment. </p>
<p>I'm not gonna lie, it's alot of work here; but, those who can make it are rewarded veeeery nicely with strong alumni connections, excellent job recruitment opportunites, hundreds of student clubs, and the chance to be surrounded by 12,000 of the brighted and most dedicated students in the world. I'll take that over any other college any day!</p>
<p>everyone is allowed to get trashed on weekends. you will almost always have time to as well</p>
<p>Pretty much everyone gets friday and saturday nights off, and depending on your friday classes (if they start late enough) you could have thursday night off too.</p>
<p>this is true psquared. I have to say, every friend I have shown the title of this thread to has laughed out loud, quite literally...no offense to the OP, it's a common misconception of cornell, but another motto of cornell that is often heard during the application process is "work hard play hard" which i think excellently describes the atmosphere here. It's nice that everyone is serious (not too serious, people still have fun between and after classes) during the week--fewer distractions, and at the same time so many people loosen up and go wild on the weekends.</p>
<p>a good friend of mine went there. she worked hard, played harder. she had a blast, doing virtually every activity that you can imagine.</p>
<p>If you manage your time well, regardless of your major you will be able to spend your weekends partying. </p>
<p>Please refrain from making ignorant comments.</p>
<p>in the OP's defense, he stated a rumor, and asked for confirmation or denial of its validity. That's fair...unless you were referring to someone elses's ignorant comment, mojobari</p>
<p>I went to Cornell...you've got to be kidding. The hardest thing about Cornell is not the work or competitive fellow students...it's the extra-curricular distractions. </p>
<p>I remember my first week...coming out of a Chem class on a Tuesday and seeing a frat party advertised. We studied till 10 or 11pm, and then headed out. There had to be 1000 people there.</p>
<p>50+ Fraternities, 15+ Sororities...trust me there's way too much to do. </p>
<p>Oh and walking to the bottom of the 100 foot gorge on a sunny weekend, and after a quiet walk in the woods,,,coming out at the bottom to hundreds of fellow students...swimming, jump off the falls....reading while laying in the water......it's not the Ivy you'd expect!</p>
<p>that's right biyach, it's frickin awesome! thanks for bringing back some of my O-week memories...they're hazy :p</p>
<p>Ithaca is one of the best towns in the US. It is a town, but it is awesome. It has a lot of cultural festivities and events, good restaurants and cafes, gorgeous nature etc... And then, you have a university with 14,000 undergrads, which means the campus and parts of town next to the campus will be full of life. If you want a social life, you can find one without trying too hard at Cornell.</p>