<p>Is this the kind of students at Cornell? Students who care about grades more than passionate learning?</p>
<p>Come on. How is the atmosphere at Cornell? Do students engage in intellectually stimulating discussions at seminars and outside of classrooms? I know the programs at Cornell match me perfectly, but I can't really learn a lot about the school's people on Cornell's website.</p>
<p>Welcome to pre-professionalism 101.</p>
<p>Pre-professionalism indeed =)</p>
<p>I love the atmosphere... well... apart from the fact that sometimes it's too cold :P. I've made several friends who share my interests, and with them I have intellectual discussions or crack intellectual (read: fun but nerdy) jokes. I've also made friends who are my opposite in major, interest, and even political affiliation. With them, I talk less about my intellectual interests, but we still find common ground.</p>
<p>And I apologize if I gave the bad impression that Cornell students are too focused on grades. Most are not, and I'd venture to say that I am not either. Truth be told, it is a concern; after all, we will all be out in the world one day, and it's a tough world and a tough job market. When we're all at Cornell, though, the focus is never on grades, as far as I can tell. </p>
<p>Anyway, what program interests you?</p>
<p>wake up folks...your first employer will care about your GPA TONS...</p>
<p>your 2nd employer will not...he will rely on your letter of recommendation from your first one...he will know you're a cornellian but GPA is irrelevant...</p>
<p>kind of like SAT score is irrelevant as long as you do well at cornell...</p>
<p>reality is, majority of people out there do their jobs not because they love it but because they need to to earn a living. i can definitely say that many people in cornell and elsewhere value grades a lot and are probably not "passionate learners". true that most probably go to college to get an education but its more because they need it not because they passionately want to learn. it sounds good but and may be what you believe in, but stuff like true love sounds good too and look at the divorce rate</p>
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your 2nd employer will not...he will rely on your letter of recommendation from your first one...
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<p>Righto. When you're jumping ship you're sure to ask your employer to recommend you for another job. That's exactly how it works.</p>
<p>oh, so what? it's not like being pre-professional and intellectual are mutually exclusive. Unless you're an heir, you're gonna need to get a job someday, and an intelligent person lives in reality. if you love to challenge yourself and strive to take the most difficult classes possible, chances are you're dedicated and passionate enough to also get good grades, so you'll have that nice high gpa when you apply to law/med/grad school or for the job you want. </p>
<p>i'm pre-law, and I've met pre-law students (both cornellians and students from my own college) who plan to take easy electives so they'll have a sweet gpa for T10 law school...hey, i'm not planning to do the same, but I don't judge them for it. it's possible to be a passionate learner, enjoy classes, and still value grades....and I think if someone is a passionate learner and thinks of himself as an intellectual but gets sucky grades, maybe he's not all that bright to begin with.</p>
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but stuff like true love sounds good too and look at the divorce rate
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<p>The divorce rate is skewed by the people who marry multiple times. People very do much fall in love and lead enriched lives with each other. </p>
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I've made several friends who share my interests, and with them I have intellectual discussions or crack intellectual (read: fun but nerdy) jokes. I've also made friends who are my opposite in major, interest, and even political affiliation. With them, I talk less about my intellectual interests, but we still find common ground.
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<p>The atmosphere at Cornell is frankly whatever you want it to be. There's 14,000 undergrads on East Hill, so if you want pre-professionalism and grade grubbers, you will find them. And if you want idealistic intellectuals who don't care about grades and read random books during the middle of the semester for fun, you will find them. And if you want kids who fall in the middle -- study hard, read both the national and sports pages and are well read, but aren't too interested in getting in a debate -- you will find them as well.</p>
<p>The thing to remember is that these boards are a rather self-selecting crowd. So certainly don't judge all of Cornell by the cast of characters you find on this board.</p>
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and I think if someone is a passionate learner and thinks of himself as an intellectual but gets sucky grades, maybe he's not all that bright to begin with.
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<p>I received my fair share of B minuses in my day, but I do think I am a passionate learner and that I'm reasonably bright. I did graduate with honors, after all, but grades aren't all they're caught up to be.</p>
<p>Graduate with honor as in the senior research thesis?</p>
<p>i do find people who do those are more passionate about learning in general.</p>
<p>Of course we are. Why else would we subject ourselves to such countless hours in the library?</p>
<p>But we're better because of it.</p>
<p>The library has heating =D</p>
<p>i find it easier to take naps in the library</p>