<p>Well I know someone who went there and he told me that he was expecting everyone to be a genius and while a lot where really smart he was surprised that there were some students that were just "idiots". I thought at first that getting good grades at Cornell would be impossible because everyone would be so smart but are there some people that are just stupid making it easier?</p>
<p>Also what are your experiences in terms or grades and how hard you had to work compared to high school? Like what kind of grades did you get at first and how hard did you work compared to how hard you worked in high school?</p>
<p>cornell is easier. there definitely are reallly smart people at cornell. but there are also a handfun of not smart at all people. i felt it was easier than HS and the people are dumber</p>
<p>Really? Another weird, inappropriate thread (like the one criticizing the female population that has, thankfully, disappeared)? </p>
<p>Just trying to get a rise out of people? What’s your motivation for saying something so ridiculous? This only reveals something about you - nothing about Cornell.</p>
<p>There is a substantial amount of unqualified people that get in every year because of hooks/ just plain luck, but that goes for every school. There may be substantially more of such types of people from the land grant schools, but in the end, the rigor of Cornell academics screens the unqualified from the qualified.</p>
<p>Some people don’t appear intelligent outside, yet keep acing tests of all sorts and end up getting top jobs/ grad schools. Can’t judge a person by how the guy looks outside, or the way he talks, etc. There was one guy who got into Harvard Medical School that really surprised me. He never seemed to study or appeared intelligent. You get the point. </p>
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<p>Depends on your major and courses you take. Generally, it is quite easy to get Bs. Getting As takes work. In some courses, getting As (or even Bs) are quite hard. </p>
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<p>I think in terms of workload, Cornell was easier than my high school. In terms of grading, it was definitely tougher. It really depends on what you major in and what courses you take.</p>
<p>Ok, thanks for all the replies. @swimmer726 I just wanted to say that I am in no way trying to say that Cornell is in anyway bad, in fact it’s a great school. I was just wondering if, like some other people said if there were some people that got in off of hooks and were actually really stupid. </p>
<p>This actually came up because I was talking with my friend and I said it must be weird to go to a school where everyone probably as smart or smarter than you, and he told me that I would be surprised if I was actually there?</p>
<p>I am wondering, could this be partially because of drugs? I have friends at my school who used to be super smart but then they started doing pot and now I can actually see there grades falling more and more. So, is there a drug scene at Cornell (not really alcohol, but other drugs) and do you think this could be a reason for some of the less intelligent people?</p>
<p>i agree totally with lazykid on this one. sure there are a few kids here who got in because of other lucky aspects of their talents/family, but i’d say the overwhelming majority of people here at smart. that, however, does NOT mean that they are all the same in other aspects of their personality. there are a good amount of smart people who spend most of their time working and in the library. there are smart people who balance work and play well. there are smart people who barely do work and play videogames 24/7 yet manage to do well. there are smart people who are constantly party yet still manage to do well. </p>
<p>i’m pretty sure that people who talk about how there’s a ton of stupid people here are referring to the decent number of people who go out four nights a week and act like typical college kids and never show up to class. what you can’t tell from just observing these people is that if you actually get to know them you might be really surprised. i know so many people who seem like they do no work yet can pull themselves together and do insanely well in pretty difficult classes.</p>
<p>Some of the dumbest people I’ve ever encountered went to Harvard and Yale, so I suspect your friend just had a myth about top schools in his mind rather than the reality. That said, I also suspect your friend has a very narrow idea of what makes someone “smart”. </p>
<p>The thing about Cornell is that it takes different intelligences to fulfill different fields. Some are incredibly booksmart but can’t tie their shoes. Others can’t write a sentence but can run a stellar business. </p>
<p>It’s not a sea of geniuses, but people are generally pretty bright. Same with any of its peer schools.</p>
<p>In my experience, those whose outward social skills or appearances are not to the validity of others are, just as we all are, eccentric or specialize in something else. Some people just don’t have common sense, and in no way does that negate their intellect. Look at Einstein - one of the quintessential figures of the 20th century, but had little social skills.</p>
<p>@deadhead pls don’t inflate your vocabulary if all it does is make your post more confusing than need be. @Spooge you are not making a very good impression of yourself</p>
<p>“appearances are not to the validity of others are, just as we all are, eccentric or specialize in something else”
makes no sense</p>
<p>intellect can’t be “negated”</p>
<p>did you really need to say “quintessential figure”?</p>
<p>It gives me a headache to even try to read your post. No need to beef up your post with basic SAT words to make it seem like you are smarter than you really are.</p>
<p>by the way some simple grammatical knowledge like knowing when to use then and than would also help. Maybe then you can get higher than a 1530 on your SAT.</p>
<p>I honestly could care less that you would stoop so low and throw somebody’s SAT score in their face. Were you the victim of harsh criticism from your peers for everything you would say? Seems like you spend way to much time being a ****** and less being a contributor, I congratulate you.</p>
<p>No but i just don’t like pretentious people like you. If you have something to say, don’t rely on inflated vocab and make everyone else more confused.</p>
<p>hey you guys, I just saw your posts. don’t take this stuff so seriously. Just make a truce and call it a day. SAT scores are a big thing here on cc because it is a way to compare the objective. If you guys actually knew how many unhooked kids get into HYPS, cornell and others with real low scores because they have something else special, you would be amazed. Upenn for example indicates that scores are now just “considered” , one column away from not considered. Upenn according to my college counselor at school is probably going sat optional next year, like NYU. we had 2 ed admits to upenn in December - unhooked with 1920 and 1940 sat, but they both had a nearly perfect 4.0 with all ap courses taken and very strong ecs. sat is becoming less important everywhere, especially at UPenn, and I think Cornell also looks at it less than they did int he past.
just chill out. no big vocabulary words allowed on cc.</p>
<p>^hahaha. very good.
if someone wants to write a bit fancy that’s not a problem, or if you want to write a little casual like me that’s fine too. we should be accommodating of differences in writing style so long as everyone can be reasonably understood by an adult reader.</p>
<p>as for the OP’s concerns:
I would say that most people at Cornell are smart, and the hidden or unexpected smart person is very prevalent. it’s natural to follow stereotypes, but you’ll look silly if you write off someone just because they like to party or have a seemingly frivolous outside of academics. there are probably a few people who are less qualified, but I think everyone can coexist pretty reasonably. I have found that in most classes with discussions, or in small interactive classes, there are so many students who are quick to speak up AND have valuable comments to contribute. </p>
<p>as for difficulty, I have said it here many times, and sometimes people disagree, but I think Cornell is way harder than my high school was. I always had my high school classes under control and I did really well, but here at Cornell a few classes have slipped away from me. I haven’t failed any, but I’ve been very frustrated and ended up finishing the course not really having learned everything, and with a grade reflecting that. I have to work really hard for all of my As and I never remember being so worried about any class in high school. I would not definitely not hold myself up as a particularly intelligent person but I did fit in with that group during high school, and I might have self-identified as smart back then. now I know better!
no matter what you think of yourself, though, I would not let concerns about this hold you back from Cornell. I am always really glad to be here even no matter what, even when I am feeling rather exasperated with a given course.</p>
<p>Yes, getting A’s do take quite a bit of work, and in some classes, getting A’s are extremely difficult. Cornell is an Ivy and people should know what that means coming in. If you want easy A’s, go to cheap, party state schools where getting A’s are as easy as your attendance to classes. My high school friend from Arizona State tells me that getting A’s in his school is like 2-3 times easier than our high school honors/AP classes.</p>