<p>I will be applying to Cornell ED, specifically in AEM, and I have been getting the impression that Cornell is particularly harder than other peer institutions based on a number of posts here on CC. Is this true? </p>
<p>Can any current Cornell students, alumni, or anyone else attest to this widely-used saying that Cornell is "the easiest Ivy to get into, but the hardest to stay in"? I mean, is Cornell really that much harder than elite universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, etc.? I don't know if it's just me, but it seems that only Cornell gets this distinction and attention of having a tough workload, and I never hear about how hard other Ivy League schools and elite universities are.</p>
<p>Also, it would be awesome if anyone can shed some light on the workload and difficulty of AEM, relative to the other majors in Cornell.</p>
<p>First of all, AEM, like business majors at other colleges, is one of the easiest majors at Cornell.</p>
<p>Secondly, the notion that Cornell is exceptionally hard is completely false. Cornell grades no harder or easier than any of the other top schools out there. I had lunch with one of my classmates in med school (we're both from Cornell) and we were remarking how the other students in the class seem to be much more diligent than us (neither of us have been going to lectures :)). I think part of that is the easiness of Cornell which caused us to develop less than ideal study habits.</p>
<p>I had a conversation with my TA about this. It isn't the actual workload that's hard, it's moreso the competition that just makes it seem hard. In other schools, if you just get the answer correct, you get a, let's say, 20/20, but at Cornell, almost everybody gets the answer "correct" so grading becomes relative to how well everyone answers the question, how well your essay was structured, the research put into it, stylistic elements, etc. They almost always put a word limit on essays because everyone would go into too much depth trying to outperform. They can't give 200 kids in one class A's, so they try to follow a normal distribution pattern.</p>
<p>It really isn't as hard as any of the other ivies though. I have friends and family in them and we compare. Cornell's engineering school, though, is an entirely different story. That and the pre-med kids. AEM is decent. I like it because it really fosters networking and working together as opposed to the cutthroat, backstabbing atmosphere I saw at Stern. (FYI I used to go to NYU).</p>
<p>I feel that Cornell is as hard if not harder than many other elite schools. Of course, however, this depends on your major. As a chemistry major, I can say that I've definitely been working hard and Cornell has constantly been pushing me to achieve and perform to the best of my abilities. I definitely think that Cornell is hard. However, the intense workload at Cornell definitely prepares you for the real world and you will be well equipped for whatever career you choose once you leave Cornell.</p>
<p>1) Cornell will feel more like a grind in the maths and sciences, mostly due to the prelim schedule whereby you might have three preliminary exams in a semester, whereas in another school you may only have one midterm. Once you hit prelim season at Cornell you need to make certain you have good study skills or else it will feel like you never get a breather.</p>
<p>2) For some reason Cornell students like to saddle themselves up with 5 or 6 courses whereas at other schools students are perfectly content to enroll in 4 courses a semester. This will naturally make the academic workload more challenging. </p>
<p>In the social sciences and humanities, Cornell is no more difficult than any other school. In fact, I would argue that certain social science course loads at Cornell are markedly easier. At the same time, other courses will be a little bit more difficult. For instance, at Harvard, no econ student is required to take econometrics with a knowledge of matrix algebra. This is not the case at Cornell.</p>
<p>If anything, Cornell gets it rep for being "hard" due to the fact that it educates some students of a marginally lower academic caliber than other schools. The top 2/3 of students at Cornell are no different than anybody else you would find at another top school.</p>
<p>But, yeah, AEM is a piece of cake. It may be getting more difficult though. I don't know.</p>
<p>P.S. May I recommend studying agriculture instead? The job opportunities may be a little bit stronger.</p>
<p>@ CayugaRed2005: The problem with that is I don't have any extracurriculars, experience, or interest otherwise in the field of agriculture, and I feel I'll probably be going in blind. In any case, would I be applying to CALS still, or ILR?</p>
<p>"P.S. May I recommend studying agriculture instead? The job opportunities may be a little bit stronger."</p>
<p>AEM, as a primary business education, would give people more job opportunities for those who are interested in econ or business careers, especially so when compared to agriculture. Also, some people enjoy learning business concepts taught in courses more than other subjects, entitling those subsets of students to go into business school. </p>
<p>"I have been getting the impression that Cornell is particularly harder than other peer institutions based on a number of posts here on CC. Is this true?"</p>
<p>No. From what I heard, my friends at Princeton, MIT, CalTech, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard were doing more work and a bit of heavier competition than me at Cornell. From hearing several anecdotes, I get the impression that MIT and CalTech were especially rigorous and notoriously difficult in both grading and content. But, more than schools, the major would determine the level of difficulty. For instance, I have a friend of mine at University of Illinois, majoring in physics, who does much more work than I do here at Cornell.</p>
<p>Varies by major, according to students at Cornell. But any college or university with such intelligent, hardworking, focused & ambitious students is going to create a demanding environment in all aspects of student life. For a less intense environment with equally brilliant students, consider Dartmouth College or Brown University. Although pre-med & engineering majors everywhere face a challenging workload. As an aside, I am an adult & a college parent. Personnally, I would have preferred to have attended Dartmouth College largely due to the concentration on three courses per trimester--and the location is beautiful.</p>
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"P.S. May I recommend studying agriculture instead? The job opportunities may be a little bit stronger."</p>
<p>AEM, as a primary business education, would give people more job opportunities for those who are interested in econ or business careers, especially so when compared to agriculture. Also, some people enjoy learning business concepts taught in courses more than other subjects, entitling those subsets of students to go into business school.
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<p>I was kidding, in light of recent economic developments.</p>
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Personnally, I would have preferred to have attended Dartmouth College largely due to the concentration on three courses per trimester--and the location is beautiful.
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<p>Lots of woods and no vista. Plus there is nothing to do in Hanover. At Cornell you get lots of vistas and a bustling little city.</p>
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Personnally, I would have preferred to have attended Dartmouth College largely due to the concentration on three courses per trimester--and the location is beautiful.
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<p>Lots of woods and no vista. Plus there is nothing to do in Hanover. At Cornell you get lots of vistas and a bustling little city.</p>
<p>AEM is an easy major at Cornell, but compared to other schools it is significantly harder. I am a sophomore transfer from a big ten school and I have spent much more time studying already this semester than all of last year combined. That being said, it is completely worth it!!! You are getting one of the best business educations in the county, hearing from CEO's about their business and what the goals for the company are. You are not going to get this type of experience at other Universities. Also, courses that are a lot of work such as AEM 241 give you real world experience, something most classes at other schools don't offer. You are also learning about business throughout all four years of college, not fulfilling stupid requirements than learning about business. Lastly, there are plenty of opportunities to stand out in AEM, this opportunity is not available elsewhere. </p>
<p>If you want to get a business education without putting in hard work and graduate from college there are plenty of universities out there. AEM is more work but is definitely worth it in the long run.</p>
<p>Believe me it is hard. I am a freshman in College of Engineering. I am loaded with homework and assignments. I was addicted to CC, but I only have time to glance through. Cornell constantly pushes to work your ass off. Or maybe it is just me who is struggling, though.</p>
<p>You might want to see the other thread about Math 1910 Prelim. The mean was 34 or 36!!!</p>
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Btw, I am trying to double major in Economics and History within CAS.
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<p>I think your workload would be about the same as Dartmouth, Northwestern, Yale, and JHU. Definitely less than Princeton though, on account of Princeton's required junior and senior papers. And, yeah, MIT econ will be at a different level.</p>
<p>Northwestern & Johns Hopkins students are reputed to be very hardworking with significant workloads. Many JHU students are pre-med, while Northwestern students face a demanding four or five courses per quarter. Dartmouth is much more relaxed than either school. But it is also important to note that a different type of student is attracted to JHU & NU than to Dartmouth College, in my opinion. Northwestern, Johns Hopkins & the most demanding majors at Cornell are probably on par with each other in respect to workload. It's just not in the campus cultures of JHU & NU to complain since the students are simply too busy & involved. Also, I suspect that many Northwestern students in the non-specialty school-the college of arts & sciences-demand more of themselves because they were rejected or waitlisted by Harvard, Yale, Princeton or Stanford and are determined to prove themselves worthy. A recent article--I don't remember the source but it was mentioned on CC-wrote of a complacency that can affect Princeton (in this example) students due to a feeling that getting admitted into & matriculating at Princeton was an accomplished goal signifying, in essence, that the student had made it & would be set for life. Although, if true, is probably only a temporary feeling.</p>
<p>1) Cornell will feel more like a grind in the maths and sciences, mostly due to the prelim schedule whereby you might have three preliminary exams in a semester, whereas in another school you may only have one midterm. Once you hit prelim season at Cornell you need to make certain you have good study skills or else it will feel like you never get a breather.</p>
<p>2) For some reason Cornell students like to saddle themselves up with 5 or 6 courses whereas at other schools students are perfectly content to enroll in 4 courses a semester. This will naturally make the academic workload more challenging. </p>
<p>In the social sciences and humanities, Cornell is no more difficult than any other school. In fact, I would argue that certain social science course loads at Cornell are markedly easier. At the same time, other courses will be a little bit more difficult. For instance, at Harvard, no econ student is required to take econometrics with a knowledge of matrix algebra. This is not the case at Cornell.
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<p>What you said totally applies to Northwestern as well:
1. The science/engineering typically give 2 midterms. That's equivalent to 3 "prelims" in a semester. I don't know how true it is but some said orgo at NU is the toughest in the nation.
2. Typical load is 4 courses per quarter; some even take 5 (usually the engineering kids that want to double-major).</p>
<p>I don't think Cornell students enroll in more courses than students at other schools.</p>
<p>Engineers definitely do (and this might be true for engineers at other schools as well). Most of the engineers I know took 19+ credits/semester which is ironic since engineering is pretty tough already. This is why I think students in other majors really have no business complaining about their workload.</p>