While Cornell is one of my top schools at the moment, I’m concerned about finding my place there. Is there a lot of socioeconomic diversity? Does the prestige of the school equate with a sense of pretentiousness?
DD will be a sophomore this year, and is attending CU almost fully on grant money and work study. She has said that she has not felt any socioeconomic pressure at all. In fact, she says that the only time she’s felt awkward about our financial situation is back at home, when have visited with some of our more pretentious relatives 
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Our D will also be a sophomore at Cornell this year. One of the reasons it was her first choice was the more down-to-earth vibe there compared to some of the other very-selective schools she looked at. It’s a big school, and there are all types of kids from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds, but D says she feels much more comfortable at Cornell than she did her her cliquish high school.
@BioPanther16 As with probably any school there are cliques here and there of people who feel comfortable hanging around similar individuals, but, on the whole, the University is very diverse and open to all. There is an Ivy League prestige - but it is earned through hard work and late nights. I hope you make the decision to come Cornell! You wouldn’t regret it.
Cornell is a very large school, which means it offers a lot of activities on campus. It is also not in a major city, so most students tend to stay on campus. There is less need of having to spend a lot of money.