<p>How rigorous and difficult is ILR?</p>
<p>Do the professors hand out A's freely or is there a strict curve so that only a certain number can get A's?
What classes have generous, fair professors in ILR?</p>
<p>What is the typical workload for an ILR student? Like, how many hours a day does an ILR student spend studying? And are ILR students able to have a life on the weekends or is that also dedicated to schoolwork?</p>
<p>few professors "give out As" but they arent impossible...hard work, dilligence and effort will get you one...</p>
<p>basically just stay above the class median/avg and you'll get an idea as to what you will get as your average...</p>
<p>i've been told that classes that have major papers are the best indicator as to what your final grade will be. i.e. get a B+ on the paper get a B+ in the class</p>
<p>I'd say the average ILR class has a B+ average. Most ILR classes are dumbbell curved. Get the average grade and u'll get whatever that classes average is (all differ...I'd say most have a B+ average tho). Get better and u could get an A- or an A. Be at the tippity top of the class and u could get an A+. And visa versa for the lower range of grades. It's relatively easy to coast thru ILR with like a B if u don't do that much work but are really smart. But to get A's you have to do the readings...which is a good amount each night. I'd say 3 or 4 or 5 hours a night...depends on how fast u r (I'm not) and how much u have each night. That's if u read everything tho and u want As. </p>
<p>ILR students are fortunately one of the groups of students that do have lives. I'd say the big groups with lives are majors like AEM, Hotel, ILR, etc...who can go out every weekend and have the opportunity to join frats. So be happy ur in ILR b/c u'll have a life and ur in the 2nd most attractive college (of course behind Hotel). I'd say ILRies are so outgoing b/c they aren't in a nerdy major, have a large transfer population, are rather good looking, and are often heads of HS clubs and were in HS sports which taught them how to be outgoing, how to have fun, and how to manage time.</p>
<p>Anyway, GL!</p>
<p>Thanks for the info</p>
<p>Just do your reading/studying and you'll succeed in ILR.</p>
<p>The difficulty really depends on which classes you take. I think the intro/required ILR courses are pretty easy, and there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to get at least an A- in all of them with a reasonable amount of effort. The difficulty of upper level classes varies, depending on the professor. Many of these classes are based largely on participation and a few major papers. If you manage your time well, you can definitely maintain a healthy social life and good grades. </p>
<p>Don't take classes w/ Prof. Salvatore if you want straight As.</p>
<p>Yes, I have fared much better in my ILR intro classes than the Arts ones, probably because ILR classes are generally smaller and paper- and discussion-intensive. That having been said, it's pretty rare to ever get an A+ in an ILR paper class, though that's probably true of paper classes in all other colleges. Keeping up with reading, studying, and participation is all you really need to do to pull of respectable grades in ILR, but in my experience, ILR professors reward you for extra effort and engagement. Though not usually in the form of an A+, borderline grades are often tipped in the right direction and many profs will be happy to give you recs, advice, and possibly research opportunities. </p>
<p>As for amount of time spent studying, it varies by student and how interested you are in the class/how much you love Catherwood. I straight-up love ILR, have a really hard time accomplishing anything in my room, like to keep my weekends free, and have a big group of friends who all hang out in Catherwood, so it's not at all a sacrifice for me to stick around the library on weekdays, basically whenever I'm not in class, at lunch, or working out. I'm definitely on the upper extremes of Catherwood love; many other ILRies have more of a life than I do :) </p>
<p>I can't wait for "C-minus Salvatore" to destroy my GPA! I almost took Prof. Gold and him in the same semester. Wisely chose to remove that from my two-year plan.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Don't take classes w/ Prof. Salvatore if you want straight As.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Take a class with Salvatore if you want to get the most out of your tuition dollars.</p>
<p>Labor law with professor Gold was by far the best class I've ever taken at Cornell. I always thought students that avoided him were purposely trying to get ripped off in their education buck. I even took an upper level class from him, it was perhaps my second or third favorite class (Prof. DeVault is way up there too). I learned more from labor law with Gold than in most of my other intro ILR courses combined.</p>
<p>Prof. Gross is really good, too.</p>
<p>The chairs in Catherwood are amazing.</p>
<p>gomestar: you are correct professor gold is wonderful...although his assignments/papers are a bit weird...</p>
<p>Spanks - right on about the chairs. It's not everywhere you get $800 Herman Miller Aeron chairs floating all over the place. I wanted to get one for my desk at work, then I saw the price. </p>
<p>Prof Gold's assignments are very well thought out. He's spent a great deal of time studying the topic of how to really make students think analytically and like a lawyer (when we really shouldn't be at the undergraduate level). He taught me how to read, I was scoring significantly higher on LSAT practice exams after I took his class.</p>
<p>well i never said there wasnt a method to his madness :P </p>
<p>i only wish i could have completed his course properly...</p>
<p>is he on sabbatical or something he's not teaching this semester...</p>
<p>He definitely is a great prof but my god sometimes there was sooo much work...but i do love his intro jokes, use of iclickers, and in-class participation. I learned a hell of a lot too. It just sux that sometimes he loads u up with so much work at night (during pledging...). It also REALLY sux that the other labor law course is SO much easier and 2/3 if not more of the people take that one and get an easy grade while we have to work thru Gold's class (granted we do learn more). I also agree that DeVault is great</p>
<p>I've heard that Gold's class actually gets higher final grades than Lieberwitz's class because of the tremendous curve he uses. The other Labor Law class isn't necessarily "easy." Labor Law is still most students' first experience in a class that focuses largely on legal reading, and the language/material is unfamiliar. I still learned a great deal in Lieberwitz's class. While she's not the most interesting in Labor Law, she was great in my upper-level Discrimination Law class, with 15 students or so.</p>
<p>My D (a current ILR major) says ILR majors overachieve in other areas (EC's) because it is considered an easy major (compared to engineering, architecture, etc) and they need to overcompensate to prove themselves. Therefore, she says, they are often the leaders of clubs and "things."</p>
<p>My D says she works very hard and rarely has time "for a life." She also works, has a minor or concentration in Information Technology(?) i.e. computers and is involved in several things on campus (dance group, magazine, etc). She has a 3.9 gpa, but works hard. This summer, as a rising junior, she is an intern with Goldman Sachs.</p>
<p>If you want "easy" at Cornell, ILR may be one way to go. If you want challenge and a potential very lucrative future, also go with ILR.</p>
<p>There's nothing easy about an Information Science minor at Cornell. Kudos to your daughter.</p>