heavy workload?

<p>i've heard that cornell has a heavy workload...how many hours do students usually work per week?
i just visited and 2 engineering majors said 15 hours per week, but that really doesn't seem right because that's a little more than 2 hours a day, lol.</p>

<p>idontliketherain,</p>

<p>Cornell's known for being pretty tough to ace... u need to be hard-working... but u also learn to have your fair share of fun.</p>

<p>Engineering is especially tough... there are a lot of credits to take... and courses are generally tough... </p>

<p>But, then again, if u do manage to maintain a 4.1+ GPA throughout, your pretty much among the hottest engineers there are... a small price to pay don't you think....</p>

<p>Arjun, I think we'd better let someone who has actually taken classes at Cornell answer.</p>

<p>I was in Duffield (where many of the engineers study) the other day at 5AM and there were not only people pulling all-nighters, there was an entire study group of 6 people pulling an all-nighter together. lol</p>

<p>hahaha... 4.1+ GPA... right. good luck and god bless.</p>

<p>yeah, there are all-nighters. there are also days where you can slack off because nothing's due the next day, and then the day after <em>that</em> is your all-nighter. It's all in how you schedule it, and no one--NO ONE--pulls all-nighters regularly (I'd go so far as to say, if you don't procrastinate, which I do, you will probably never have to do one).</p>

<p>Arjun, if you <em>graduate</em> from Cornell engineering, you're one of the hottest engineers there are.</p>

<p>nekkensj ,</p>

<p>how difficult is it to maintain a 4.0+ , especially since i'm doing Electrical and Computer???</p>

<p>4.0+ for one semester, possible with a lot of work.</p>

<p>4.0+ overall for engineering. . . .unheard of.</p>

<p>really!!!
why's it so difficult...i know a few pwople who got 4.0+ last term and they said it wasn't that difficult...
i mean...if u study fairly hard for the nest 3yrs, can'y u get a 4.0 overall</p>

<p>How many is "a few?"</p>

<p>thanks guys...what about for the college of arts and sciences?</p>

<p>Your workload depends on your major and how high of a GPA you want.</p>

<p>First of all, this is Cornell, not high school. Don't come into college thinking you're going to get top grades all the time like you're used to getting... and moreover, don't come into college thinking that your GPA is still massively important. Even if you want to go to grad school, you don't need a 4.0 (if you did, you'd have to go somewhere lame with grade inflation... like Harvard). Besides, your choice of classes is now much wider. If you want to take it slow with only 12 or 13 credits, you might get a higher GPA, but like I said that's really not the point of college.</p>

<p>I'll be happy with like a 3.3, 3.4 haha. How hard is that?</p>

<p>bump... I'd also like to know. How hard would it be to get a 3.4 on a psychology major in a premed concentration? Anyone?</p>

<p>A 4.0 can be very easy or very hard to obtain at Cornell. It depends on your major and your interests. The harder the program, the more highly regarded it is in the professional and academic world. For instance, I would higher an applied and engineering physics major with a 3.4 in a heartbeat. I wouldn't even interview an OR major with a 3.7.</p>

<p>The beauty of Cornell is mostly in the research opportunities. Graduate school and national laboratories will look at that more than classwork. Everyone goes through classwork. Its the research that sets you apart and shows your real potential.</p>

<p>Keep a good GPA (3.4 - 4.3) but think about research as well. In pretty much all fields I can think of (maybe not pre-law), research mean a hell of a lot more than GPA.</p>

<p>Yeah, that brings up the point that your major is drastically going to affect your GPA and workload.</p>

<p>For instance, I took all science and math courses my first semester with a writing seminar. I worked my ass off and got a 3.7, while a friend taking humanities courses got a 3.7 while partying Thursday- Saturday, skipping sections, and missing monday's classes for trips to other schools.</p>

<p>It varies by major, but don't worry. Everyone knows that an engineering major is much harder than majoring in something like classics or midieval studies (Not that these aren't great programs for people who pursue them, they just give higher grades in general)</p>

<p>Most of Cornell's grading is done by a curve...</p>

<p>The mean is usually set at a B (some advanced Eng. Physics are an A-), and then a standard deviation above the mean is an A, and one below is C. Your GPA/grade will compare you with the rest of those in your class, and therefore, allows one to see how she/he stands in the class. I know that for some other courses, like the writing seminars, it depends on your professor. I know of one who only gives the top 2 or 3 papers As, regardless how well written others are. </p>

<p>I know that a 4.0 is attainable, and reachable. I have a friend who is taking over 23 credits a semester (he's trying to graduate in 2 years from ENG) and has at least a 3.8, if not a 4.0.</p>

<p>wow he must only stop studying to eat and go to the bathroom</p>

<p>maybe not even that...</p>

<p>emilyanne,</p>

<p>If you look at Cornell's median grade reports (<a href="http://registrar.sas.cornell.edu/Student/mediangradesA.html)%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://registrar.sas.cornell.edu/Student/mediangradesA.html)&lt;/a>, it seems as if most higher-level engineering classes curve to somewhere around an A-.</p>

<p>forgradadvice,</p>

<p>Is OR really that much easier that all the other engineering majors? I was accepted as an ECE major but also have a strong interest in OR...it seems to be a more versatile degree overall. A 3.7 would really be easy to get in it? I certainly wouldn't major in OR simply to get a higher GPA, and I am really leaning towards ECE (but this is before I've ever set foot on Cornell's campus as a student, hah).</p>

<p>And Arjun, if you go into Cornell thinking you are going to graduate with a 4.1+, you are insane. Even more insane because I doubt you are even thinking about a coop or something that would detract from your study time (but in the end very likely help you out more than a 4.1 GPA).</p>