<p>i heard that cornell is the easiest to get in but hardest to graduate.. true?</p>
<p>It's hard to gauge difficulty. For one, the difficulty of Cornell's separate schools varies. Cornell is known for being "rigorous" (perhaps in part attributable to its strong and prominent engineering program), which its comparatively lower graduation rate (relative to other Ivies and top privates) can attest to. Then again, some would say that Cornell has a "weaker" student body--justifiable if one looks at the world through a pinhole and sees only "objective" data--which may be the cause of a slightly lower graduation rate. Some also say that it's because Cornell doesn't have the financial resources for all its students as many of the other Ivies do, and so its advising and academic support are not as strong, leading to a lower graduation rate. While this is debatable, I would say that Cornell is the hardest Ivy to graduate from (with Columbia close by--no, not Princeton).</p>
<p>Cornell has a high graduation percent. Students succeed. I think the reputation comes from the intense workload (grueling in engineering) and from the willingness of faculty to give low grades, C, D, and failure. There is no entitlement to good grades at Cornell. Students work for grades. Is this not true everywhere?</p>
<p>No, it isn't. Many of the Ivies have insane grade inflation.</p>
<p>It depends what you do at Cornell. If you are an english major planning to take 5 years it probably isn't so bad. If you're AEP or something else incredibly hard, you're in for quite a ride in 4 years. Same can be said anywhere. I think the largest factor in 4 year graduation rates in the country as a whole is ability to pay, not needing to take a semester off to earn money, and other financial issues. Cornell has discounted rates for NY residents in several of its schools (Ag, ILR, Human Ecology) so those instate residents might not be as advantaged as the super rich in CAS or in the other Ivies, and might not be getting <em>as much</em> aid as someone at Harvard or Princeton.</p>
<p>Venkat has it right. It all depends on what you choose to do at Cornell. Any engineering, any Science, or architecture subject is usually insanely hard to get through, but other those subjects are about on par in difficulty with any other Ivy's programs.</p>
<p>Not all Ivies have grade inflation. Harvard, Yale, Brown, and Dartmouth seem to have the most though. The amount of inflation Harvard has is ridiculous- but the kids there are so brilliant so I guess you could explain it.</p>
<p>How about this question: Which schools produce the best prepared, hardest working, roll up your sleeves, "can do" type of graduates? The answers may surprise you. Hint: it may not be the schools that pamper students and fill up their egos.</p>
<p>^^Do you really think all Ivies pamper students and fill up their egos?</p>
<p>"Hint: it may not be the schools that pamper students and fill up their egos."</p>
<p>So they should instead try to discourage their students (who are among the most intelligent young people nationally) and give them low grades, while their peers who chose to go to easier state schools get 3.9 GPAs? I think that's hardly fair.
When people talk about grade inflation, they never take into account the caliber of student bodies at different universities. If we're going to be fair and eliminate grade inflation/deflation at the top schools, why not just normalize grades for all universities in the entire nation?</p>
<p>If you are in Engineering or AAP, yes, it is the hardest Ivy to graduate from. If you're in Hotel it's probably the easiest Ivy to graduate from. For everything else, it's as difficult as any Ivy-students get average GPA of 3.4, which means if you're willing to work hard and you're smart you'll likely get a 3.6 or better.</p>
<p>Hint:It may surprise you which schools pamper students and fill up their egos. I promise you, it's not the Ivies or their peers.</p>
<p>Cervantes, where are you finding average GPA figures for colleges? I haven't looked for Cornell, but I had trouble finding it at other top schools.</p>
<p>Cervantes is probably guessing. I couldn't find Cornell's average GPA anywhere. I did remember coming across Princeton's though, before they implemented their grade deflation policy- it was a 3.4.</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is that many of the students at these top schools tend to work harder and be more intelligent (NOTE:ON AVERAGE) than kids at state schools. This seems to explain why Ivy GPAs are usually higher than state-school GPAs. Ivies don't pamper their students (at least the ones I've visited: Princeton, Penn, Cornell, Columbia).</p>
<p>Well, when I was admitted to Cornell I checked the average grades for most of their classes it was mainly B+'s with few A-'s and fewer B-'s. Also, I know Stanford's is a 3.4 from a newspaper article. MIT, which is known for grade deflation relative to it's peers has a median GPA of 3.2, from the MIT forum. So I don't think a 3.4 can be that far from the actual. But yeah, it's mainly a guesstimate but I'm pretty sure it's pretty close.</p>
<p>Cornell, at least, does not pamper nor feed egos. In fact, attending an elite school is humbling. You were probably one of the very best students in your high school and were probably pampered and stroked in HS. Then you get to college and suddenly you are completely average. Everybody seems smarter and has more laurels. Cornell actually takes away your self-esteem and then gradually gives it back to you. Probably the same elsewhere.</p>
<p>One thing to bear in mind is that the statistic of mean grade given in all courses is not the same as the statistic of average GPA. The following data from Princeton illustrate this point: Princeton</a> University - Dean of the College - FAQ</p>
<p>I understand that. But the data there shows that I was very close with a 3.4.</p>
<p>Yeah I wasn't criticizing your posts :). It's just one of those statistical fallacies that many people don't know about.</p>
<p>Okgita: it isn't fair, but that's what should happen. It happens at private high schools a lot where I live. People who get high gpas at easy publics get into colleges like UGA over people who are more middle of the road at a private school but have better test scores. I'm talking 3.8/1100 over 3.3/1300 type things.</p>
<p>So, your argument is that it's not fair, but it should happen because that's the way private schools do it? Again, I don't see why.</p>
<p>My argument is that just because my private school is harder than the public school I would go to doesn't mean I automatically get good grades, which I was comparing to your Cornell vs. state uni comparison.</p>