<p>So i sent in my common app earlier today to a bunch of schools. I used that risky essay i'm sure some of you have read in the essay forum (high school enviroment vs college/displeasement with high school structure), and there was this one bit, "Not everyone benefits from taking precise Cornell notes."</p>
<p>Problem is, one of the apps was Cornell. And yes, they do actually originate from a professor who's still there.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>do most people outside of NY/SoCal understand what Cornell notes are?</p>
<p>My APUSH teacher was a huuuuuuuuuuuge fan of Cornell notes. We had at least 250 pages of outlines that we were forced to Cornell note throughout last year.</p>
<p>I saw Cornell notes once in a class... we were never forced to follow that method though.</p>
<p>(And that's about 7 years of a NY education in elementary school, middle, and one year of high school).</p>
<p>wat are cornell notes</p>
<p>do most people outside of NY/SoCal understand what Cornell notes are?</p>
<p>My school here in Hawaii began a program this year where you have to take Cornell Notes in all your classes. Thankfully for me though none of my AP teachers care about that rule so I can still take notes they way I want to =]</p>
<p>I don't like Cornell Notes. Maybe they help kids who have trouble studying, but it doesn't help me.</p>
<p>I think the problem with Cornell notes is that they're designed for kids with bad study habits. For kids who are efficient note-takers, they'll still work, but they're an unnecessary pain in the ass.</p>
<p>so, will it hurt my Cornell app that i kinda bashed Cornell notes? =P</p>
<p>I mean, it was just one of the examples of stuff that's imposed on all HS students that is completely unnecessary. It's well reasoned, its not just mindless bashing.</p>
<p>Though I probably should have changed it.</p>
<p>Well, if they reject you because they can't handle criticism, you shouldn't want to be at such a place where people are so self-righteous. That's not to say if you are rejected, it was only because of your essay.</p>
<p>I never understood why teachers would require note-taking in a specific format. I'm not sure what real advantage those Cornell notes would have over any other method a student has developed him/herself over time.</p>
<p>where is the essays forum? and why was the essay risky?</p>
<p>that's the essay (bottom of that page)</p>
<p>(i dont think i regret it anymore, ive grown to kinda like it =) )</p>
<p>Its a good essay with a good message, but I sense a bit of hostile and arrogant independence in it.</p>
<p>I kind of like the essay. Except... "I will take risks, such as this essay." I think you should have just said "I will take risks." It's implicit that the essay is a risk.</p>
<p>But, nice.</p>
<p>I do not take it that you are bashing Cornell notes since youe are saying "not everyone benefits from taking precise Cornell notes", which means some still do. Not a bad essay, but I would have omitted that stuff about not listening to your parents ;)</p>
<p>I went to Cornell for my first two years of college, and had a work-study job working for Walter Pauk, author of "How to Study in College," and the creator of the Cornell Notes method. I only discovered a few years ago, while reading an article in the New York Times, that he was the author of a perennial best-selling how-to-study guide.</p>
<p>What I have long known is that Prof. Pauk was one of the kindest people I have ever met, and a wonderful boss. He wrote a letter of recommendation for me that I have used as a template when I'm asked to write letters of recommendation for other people. I pull it out and read it whenever I'm feeling down; after I was laid off a couple of months ago, I read it before my job interviews, for a confidence boost. (It worked - I'm about to start a great new job.)</p>
<p>Prof. Pauk told me that he had served in World War II, and then went to Cornell on the G.I. Bill. He was working toward a PhD. in philosophy when he was called back to active duty in Korea. When he returned to school after the Korean War, he had forgotten so much of what he had learned about philosophy that he felt like he would have to start over to get his degree. He ended up switching fields, and getting his PhD. in psychology; he spent his whole career at Cornell.</p>
<p>The "Cornell Notes" method isn't for everyone; my own study habits bore no resemblance to it whatsoever. But I will always recall its creator with great fondness. And the best thing that you can hope for, if you're applying to college now, is to come under the tutelage of someone like Professor Pauk.</p>
<p>By the way, I enjoyed the OP's essay, and suspect that Prof. Pauk would as well.</p>