<p>I was thinking about applying to Cornell ED, but I am a little worried about its reputation for being very tough. I know you have to work hard, and I don't mind that, but is it the type of school where you can work your butt off and still only get C's and B's? I am curious because i want to go to medical school, and I don't know if it's better to go to Cornell or go to a lower tier school that I would be likely to do better at.</p>
<p>BTW, I would be applying to Human Ecology. How difficult are the courses in this college?</p>
<p>Cornell is tough...and yeah unless you were already above average (objectively) in high school then you should expect at least the median grade...</p>
<p>that being said, it just depends on whether you went to an easy high school or what you're used to...</p>
<p>i think laziness is mostly everyone's problem who perform poorly...i.e. moi :<</p>
<p>I personally believe that if your work ethic is well above average for Cornell, and you aren't too far below average Cornell intelligence, you'll do exceptionally well.</p>
<p>Well what is the average work ethic at Cornell like? Is the schol known to be tough because most people just don't really work that hard? </p>
<p>I am worried because my uncle knows someone whose son went to Cornell and this is the story - the kid was very smart and he worked very hard, but he just couldn't get good grades. In one class, he got an 89 on a test, which ended up being a B - with the curve (are curves usually this bad?). Anyway, he graduated with a 2.9 GPA and had to change his plans for the future becuase he couldn't get into medical school</p>
<p>there's likely much more to your uncle's story that you don't know about. It's very rare for somebody to give it there all and still only end up with a 2.9 - even somebody of "normal" intelligence could do better. You may want to consider the fact that maybe this person didn't study right or was always busy with other things (like too many clubs or social events), or just partied way too much when studying should have been done. </p>
<p>The school is known to be tough, but it's not grade deflated like some may believe. I really believe that in most cases, if you put in the effort, you will be rewarded with the grades.</p>
<p>I agree with you that there must be some information that the kid's mother didn't tell my uncle - of course she would be biased and say that her son worked very hard even if all he did was party. My mother, however, is very concerned about this story, and so I am trying to convice her that one story about one Cornell grad is not an indication of what Cornell really is like. But, at the same time, while I understand that it is just one story, it had me a little worried as well - I don't want that to happen to me.</p>
<p>take a look at the median grade report released by the university. Do a search for it at the main cornell website, I get it as a PDF file. You'll see mostly A's and B's.</p>
<p>Maybe the kid who worked hard and still got 2.9 did not have the aptitude for the major he was pursuing. He may have been under pressure to pursue pre-med and hence did not take the opportunity of exploring his strengths in other areas of study.
There are more number of stories that I have come across about kids working extremely hard at Cornell and getting a 3.7+ gpa. Hard works pays everywhere!</p>
<p>So the general consensus is that HD isn't that difficult, but I want pre-med. Are the required science courses for a premed very hard? Are they hard to get good grades in?</p>
<p>Yes and thank god. With the amount of responsibility we will be entrusted with as future doctors, I would hope that they would subject us to the most rigorous tests possible. Personally, I don't think the premed attrition rate is high enough.</p>
<p>norcalguy, I know that premeds should obviously be prepared for medical school and med students should obviosuly prepare themselves for a future career as a doctor (and be prepared for the challenges that such a career brings), becuase, as you pointed out, doctors are entrusted with lots of responsibility. This, however, doesn't mean that some of the required premed courses should be very difficult to do well in - lots of the material that is taught in such courses is not useful for many doctors. For example, I have an uncle that is a surgeon, and he told me that he doesn't remember anyhting from his organic chemistry courses becuase the material does not relate to his work.</p>
<p>I guess I should rephrase the quesiton though. I know that the required premed courses are hard, but are they harder than they would be at any other top school? Would these classes be easier at other colleges?</p>
<p>They're not harder than they are at any other top school.</p>
<p>It's not so much the knowledge you learn in these classes that's important. Gen chem or physics will never be very important to a doctor. You'll never need to use organic chemistry in medical school or as a doctor. So why do every single med school in the country require you to take organic chem? Because it requires a lot of memorization. And, guess what? You'll be doing a lot of memorization in medical school. It's a test, you see. That's why medical schools make us jump through all of these hoops. It's to weed out the weak.</p>
<p>Does anyone know about the curves for these courses? As I said earlier in this thread, this kid that my uncle knows got an 89 in a chem course at Cornell, and that ended up being a B-minus. This seems like a very bad curve - are the curves usually this bad? Also, I heard that most professors curve the grades so that the average grade is a B-minus? Is this true?</p>
<p>as for the 89 being curved down?? I'm in premed classes and they NEVER curve down. Maybe he got an 89 on one test and did poorly on everything else.</p>