<p>People keep telling me that students have been underestimating Cornell for decades and once they get there, they realize that it's RIDICULOUSLY difficult for even the brightest of kids. I've also heard a rumour that Cornell is over-kill in terms of difficulty compared to the other Ivies.</p>
<p>Is all of this pure BS or is there some truth to it all?</p>
<p>Probably not. I have a brother at Cornell and he said he slacked off a great deal and got over a 3.5 this semester.</p>
<p>One thing to take into account are the stats of students also. If you have low stats, you’ll have a harder time at a top school. Many Cornell students report their experience as harder because Cornell students have lower stats and thus have to work harder to get the same grades. To be honest, at Harvard, the competition is stiffer because you’re graded on a curve (officially or not) and your classmates are all brilliant. At Cornell, there’s a wider range in ability so having a curve is not as outrageous. My brother got into Cornell with a 25 ACT (ILR) but I know people there who got mid 30s (CAS and Engineering, and one CALS).</p>
<p>“I have a brother at Cornell and he said he slacked off a great deal and got over a 3.5 this semester.”</p>
<p>He’s probably just smarter than you.</p>
<p>Haha even he would dispute that. I got a 2350 on the SAT and ranked in the top 3% of my competitive HS class.</p>
<p>^But your gpa is only 2.7… You’re never gonna get a job xD</p>
<p>I’m a freshman…I’m pretty sure I can raise it since I’ve only had one quarter of grades so far (and 3 classes only so they won’t count much in the long run).</p>
<p>It may be because Cornell takes smart kids but their not…do you know what I mean. The students Cornell takes, their smart but some of them were accepted not because of their grades but because there was something special about their apps. Cornell’s my number 1 choice and I consider myself a little above average but not a genius. Maybe thats why people have trouble with it. Of course I’m going to have people disagree with me now but hay your entitled to your opinion. GO BIG RED!!! CLASS OF 2015</p>
<p>Cornell is as hard as the other top schools. No more. No less.</p>
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<p>You say your HS is “competitive”, yet you’re suffering now that you’re in real academics, so I doubt you.
I go to a famous and very competitive high school (one that is so selective that the acceptance rate is lower than even Ivies at 800 out of 25,000, to toot my own horn).</p>
<p>Here are the people who were accepted to ILR:
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25 ACT? 2k+ SATs are getting rejected from here. Did he go to Exeter or Andover? Either you’re lying or your brother is really smart in other factors. Cornell is known to LOVE high GPA too. </p>
<p>Anyway, @OP:
My friend who transferred to Yale to major in Biology from Cornell CALS says there is no difference in difficulty. She actually regrets the transfer a bit since she misses her friends. I guess after a certain level, difficulty doesn’t variate much.</p>
<p>Also, just because the Harvard inflation stops GPAs from dropping too much, it does not make it very easy to get a high GPA. Britney Lane wouldn’t have had so much publicity if a 4.0 at GPA at Harvard was easy.</p>
<p>Awww… Poor Chicago. How did you get accepted to the University of Chicago with a 2.7 GPA (assuming that based on the user name)? You still mad about not getting into Cornell?!
Well, whatever, looks like you can try to raise your average to at least a 90 by the end of your senior year… Maybe.</p>
<p>As for the post, I’m just going to say that Cornell is an Ivy with the best engineering program out of them (according to US News) and a top notch CAS and then still good other colleges. So, yeah, it definitely is harder than your HS. Therefore, if you are struggling in HS to get good grades, then prepare for even worse at Cornell! <em>dun dun dun</em></p>
<p>O one other thing, my cousin was accepted to CAS with a 21 ACT and a 88 gpa. Not a minority, no legacy, not an athlete. It goes to show that grades are not everything.</p>
<p>haha, I just wanted to say that everyone should be nice because I’m starting to feel bad for Chicago. Also does anyone know how Cornell ranks among the other Ivies in terms of grade inflation/ deflation?</p>
<p>Even people with high sat scores have trouble dealing with the curriculum sometimes. SAT scores and grades are not entirely indicative of academic success at cornell, but rather determination and perseverance. I applied to CAS ED and got in with SAT I at 2300+s, 4.7 gpa, and 800s on my science/math sats IIs and I’m expecting some difficulty myself, hearing from friends relatives who have really good stats go through what i’m expecting.</p>
<p>@LockLockBoy, is there a similar data chart for CAS? :D</p>
<p>It really depends on your major. The only evidence I have that Cornell is “harder” is people who have transferred from other schools always comment on the significantly higher workload/difficulty.</p>
<p>But what schools did those individuals transfer from??
D2 transferred from a pretty decent school, and she reported the course levels/ workload were essentially the same. She feels the grading is a little stiffer though, but not dramatically so.</p>
<p>Biology majors have it easier than Chemistry majors right?</p>
<p>"O one other thing, my cousin was accepted to CAS with a 21 ACT and a 88 gpa. Not a minority, no legacy, not an athlete. It goes to show that grades are not everything. "</p>
<p>…I have a very difficult time believing this. What major and had they done something extroidinary pertaining to this major?</p>
<p>He created a club at his school and he did lab work at an oncology lab. He also hired someone to help him with his app. He also did a bunch of summer programs in the summer. I think his SAT 2s were good 600+</p>
<p>No it is not harder in my experiences.
I transferred from another school (ranked a bit lower, but still top 30) and found my classes at Cornell to be far easier.
My major is considered easy (AEM) but only half of my classes are AEM classes.
The rest are science, econ, and language classes offered by A&S.
I earned a 4.08 this semester without much difficulty (I take 19 credits).</p>
