<p>People say that Cornell is an extremely competitive place where most people just study all the time without doing anything else (esp the asians).. is this true? are there any laid back people or those who aren't as obsessed with grades..</p>
<p>also, i heard there's grade deflation at cornell. is this true?</p>
<p>I graduated many moons ago, but I think whether or not it’s intense depends which school you’re in. HumEc and Fine Arts, maybe even Ag not so much. Yes, for Arts and Sciences (my school), Architecture and Engineering. Again not Hotel school.</p>
<p>I don’t know about grade DE-flation. When I was there, they certainly didn’t grade on a curve or have inflation. If the class average was a D–everyone got D’s. My class of chem majors who were mostly premed were particularly sensitive when one prof in a required chem class for the major (PChem) was tough and announced very proudly that there would be no grading on the curve.</p>
<p>Doesnt it hurt chances of getting into a good graduate school though? I’m planning on applying to the Arts and Sciences college…</p>
<p>clearly essentially all students are serious about their studies, but after being here for 2 months i think that the reputation of being intense/competitive is way overstated, @ least for academics; i am however more concerned about how intense/competitive fraternity rushing will be!
maybe the reputation scares off those who can’t take it, leaving CU w/ lots of smart students who can, and who know how to balance their lives</p>
<p>@108 I don’t think it hurts chances of getting into a good grad program. I think C has this longstanding reputation of not inflating grades, so most grad programs are aware of that and take that into account.</p>
<p>if you’re one of the students who remains constantly at or below the curve (despite studying) your chances of getting into a top graduate program will hurt…</p>
<p>depends on what type of program you’re interested in. some are just cash cows. esp if they’re 1 year programs XD. </p>
<p>–</p>
<p>you could try changing your study habits but sometimes you’re just going to be mediocre (among the cream of the crop). Cs still get degrees.</p>
<p>i think that it is definitely intense and i consider myself a pretty smart guy. but there are also a lot of smart guys here. that said, as long as you study hard, you should be fine. there will definitely be sometimes when studying wont get you as far as you wanted to go, but you will be alright.</p>
<p>if you’re taking any kind of math class(except maybe Real World Applications of Calculus, aka the class I’m kicking myself for not taking instead of Calc 1) or non-introductory level science class, then you will almost certainly work your butt off. Language classes are also very difficult unless you spend a lot of time going over vocab and grammar on a regular basis(not just before prelims). My Political Philosophy class has been entirely reading and notetaking so far, which is very good unless you don’t bother either reading the books or taking copious notes at every lecture and discussion section, in which case you will bomb the final and single prelim, which account for 65% of the grade in the course.</p>
<p>I’m a Bio Major.</p>
<p>Cornell is every bit as intense as I had heard, and then some.</p>
<p>It should be noted though that intense does not equal impossible.</p>
<p>depends on the major/courses you are taking… some classes are pretty tough, meanwhile there are courses that are way easier than most courses i took in high school. i guess cornell gets its rep as an intense school bc there are many engineers/premeds/science types here + its boring and isolated location may lead some to view things worse than it really is.</p>
<p>“People say that Cornell is an extremely competitive place where most people just study all the time without doing anything else”</p>
<p>actually, i personally know of very few people who fit this exact description. many of friends i know spend more time playing video games, drinking, or watching TV than studying except exam periods… This is college, gotta have some fun!</p>
<p>As the others have said, it depends in large measure on your chosen major & courses.
Anything in the sciences will be quite demanding. Majors in the humanities & social sciences will be still demanding, but more reasonable. This is true not just at Cornell but generally. The difference is Cornell has a greater proportion of science-related majors than many other schools. Outside of CAS, engineering and architecture(I hear) are quite demanding. Some particular majors at some particular of the other colleges do not seem to be, some do. Few people will look back at their experience as a cakewalk, but not everybody is highly taxed.</p>
<p>D2 took courses at Columbia as well as Cornell, she found the level basically the same.</p>
<p>Engineering and the hard sciences/math are pretty intense so is CALS.</p>
<p>There are plenty of laid back people at Cornell who know how to manage time. My sons are two of them.</p>
<p>I’m a sophomore transfer and I don’t find Cornell very intense.
In fact, I find it a lot easier than my old school (Tufts).
Judging from how I’ve been doing so far, straight A/A+ might not be impossible.</p>
<p>But I’m not taking any science classes and am in a supposedly “easy” major.</p>
<p>I don’t know about intense.
People are very friendly.</p>
<p>Of course, the workload is hard. I don’t think it’s too crazy, though…just gotta be smart about how you study for classes.</p>
<p>The intensity is probably overblown. Depending on how smart or hardworking you are and what major you’re in, you can achieve high grades without too much work.</p>
<p>I’m in AEM and for the most part I only do work on Sunday nights and Tuesdays, I go out Wed-Sat. I mean my major is one of the easier ones, but I think a lot of people here just don’t understand the point of diminishing returns when it comes to studying and study too much.</p>
<p>I don’t feel like things are that intense, I just feel like I definitely need to keep on top of things. I am aware of the point of diminishing returns, but I try not to underestimate how long it takes me to get there. I don’t stay up studying all night, EVER, but I do devote hours at a time to reviewing the material.</p>
<p>norcalguy…you are a genious if you feel that way. My sons are pretty smart guys and they describe Cornell as very intense. That is not to say that they do not enjoy their down time. Cornell is a place for the stong of mind and spirit. It also happens to be one of the most beautiful and vibrant college campus’.</p>
<p>Just what I heard… A friend is in HumEc. Her mom said in the first semester she slept all the time while others were struggling. She never made any phone calls to her parents. The second year (now) she takes one Engineering class (thinking that will help her in the future) and cried every week when she called her mom. It seems to be quite different from college to college.</p>