Hey, I was just wondering if any current or former students of Cornell can describe their social life? I know in such a diverse and relatively large school there is no one common experience. However, any descriptions of life at the school would be appreciated. Also, I was wondering truly how bad the weather is? I grew up in an area with relatively cold winters, with a decent amount of snow, but with nice falls and very hot summers. Is it really always cloudy? Thanks.
The social life at Cornell is very mixed, because it is so large.
Personally, I was involved in Greek life. I had a pretty positive experience with it, as it offers social opportunities most weekend evenings as well as sisterhood/brotherhood events during the week. It definitely is what you make of it; there are minimums for attendance and involvement but you can do this as much or as little as you prefer and as it works with your courseload/other obligations. It is important to remember that only a third of students are involved in it, so this isn’t the only way to be social.
A lot of clubs on campus will also have social events. These can be places where you work, interest groups, student publications, athletic clubs, etc. Definitely try to join groups upon getting to campus because when you start early and stick through it until the end, you get very close to the other members.
Cornell is also great in that it holds a lot of events for students. There’s always some type of activity indoors/outdoors, whether it’s a sporting game, concert, panel/lecture, movie screening, etc.
The weather in Ithaca isn’t terrible, i would say it’s more…volatile. In the week after spring break, there were a few days of 30 degree/snowy weather and then an entire weekend of 60+ degree weather and sunshine. The falls are absolutely beautiful in Ithaca (albeit a little short-lived sometimes as they end around November sometimes) and the Spring starts late (April) with random nice days scattered in between. You get used to the weather and it’s something that bonds Cornell students. Just pack different types of layers and you should be prepared for anything Ithaca throws at you.