I received a likely letter for Cornell Engineering and I am majoring in Mechanical Engineering.
I really really love Cornell and it was one of my top choices, but I didn’t think I would get in.
Now that I got in, I’m honestly terrified that I won’t survive.
Does anybody have any survival tips?
They accepted you because they think you can succeed there. They know what they’re talking about – believe them! 
Engineering can be difficult, but it’s doable if you’re willing to put in the work.
They offer a very good academic support system. There are sseveral types of advisors from academic to peer advisors for their students. You need to be willing to go to them and ask for help when you need it. Don’t wait until the last minute. Time management is important. There are so many things to do socially so you have to learn to balance your social and academic life. Engineering is demanding. Be prepared, you will be able to handle it.
If you’re intent on becoming an engineer, than you’ll be facing similar rigor wherever you go… Engineering is hard, but if Cornell accepted you, they saw something in you, even if you don’t see it in yourself.
Work hard, plan your time effectively, and don’t surround yourself with kids taking easier majors 
Be sure to be part of a study group. It will make a huge difference when it comes to getting through problem sets! You can do it. Congratulations and good luck!
Congratulations! My daughter is freshman mechanical engineering major, and while she works very hard, she still has time for friends, parties, and some extracurricular activities. The key is really good time management. She is heavily involved in a student project team, so in order to fit in her 20 hours a week there, she uses every spare minute during the day to go to the library and get her work done. Lunch is usually a PB&J on the way to the library, and she goes to dinner after 7pm to cram in more studying after classes are over for the day. One of the things that has been helpful is that her roommate and most of her friends are engineers, so the heavy workload and stress seem normal. She said to me once “Mom, do you know that there are people at Cornell that go out on Thursday nights? I can’t even imagine doing that given what we need to get done!” Nevertheless, she absolutely loves it and is having the time of her life. I have never seen her happier. My 16 year-old son visited her last weekend. He stumbled off the bus on Sunday night looking very dazed, and when I asked him whether he wanted to go to Cornell for college, he said “Absolutely!”
what @patatty (and others) said:
"The key is really good time management. "
Do NOT fall behind. Ever.
To expand on this a bit:
Unlike high school (for many), it is unwise or worse to leave cramming for exams to the night before.
The critical points in the semester are prelim weeks, when you have exams, but at the same time problem sets for material not on the exams, maybe papers, lab reports, etc are still due. If you don’t manage the situation, this is where you are most likely to fall behind.
The trap is one can spend all their time cramming for the exams, then find themselves behind for the next batch. And maybe do a poor job on the routine assignments due that week or two.So manage these points way ahead of time, so you don’t fall into that trap.
It is even worse when this sequence repeats itself at the end of the semester. This is where you get a last set of prelims, last batch of HW assignments, and then just shortly after you have comprehensive final exams , maybe final papers due, maybe final lab reports due, etc. The trap here is one can spend all their time cramming for the last batch of prelims, resulting in inadequate studying for finals, which may be worth (e.g.) 1/3 of your grade, poor job on term papers (because actually haven’t been writing them all along), etc.
With some planning and forethought, these traps can be managed. And if you manage them you will do much better. have less stress, and more free time overall.
Also "…has time for friends, parties, and some extracurricular activities. " is NOT optional. It is mandatory.
You need to have a life. And when you make time for having a life, believe it or not you will do BETTER, actually, academically. Because you have to work more efficiently /in a focused manner in order to accommodate those extracurricular activities. If you are happy with non-academic parts of your life, you can focus better on academics when you need to.
BTW this is true for any of the better institutions that challenge their students, not just Cornell.
If you develop these habits in college they will also help you do better afterwards, in the workplace and in life.
Thank you guys so much for all the advice!
How many credits do students usually take per semester?
I hear that 5 is a lot, but when I look up example schedules, some have 6.
How would that work out? Are engineering students’ schedules more rigorous?
Is it possible to even explore beyond your major at that point?
Do you means credit per semester? A full time student is required to maintain at least 12 credits per semester. Taking anywhere from 12-18 credits per semester appears common.
As for total credits required to graduate for engineering, it varies by major. Check engieering.Cornell.edu for more info.
Cornell requires students to take courses outside their majors.
Generally, first year engineering students take 4 main classes per semester, plus PE and a 1 credit advisory class. Upper level students have 5 or 6, depending on the major requirements. Each class is generally either 3 or 4 credits, depending on the time commitment. If you look at the engineering handbook on Cornell’s website, you can see sample schedules for each of the majors. Every engineer is required to take liberal studies classes, so you can explore areas outside of engineering. I think the recommended credit load for first year students is 14-18. My daughter had 16 credits first semester, and has 19 now, but that is because she is taking her project team for credit.