<p>I recall reading, I think in Fiske's guide though I'm not sure, that Cornell was supposed to have somewhat of a "pre-professional feel." I have my ideas about what this might mean, but I'd like to hear from someone who goes there, went there, etc. What do you suppose this means? How did this manifest itself? Good, bad? I have also heard that phrase used to describe UPenn. Why?</p>
<p>If you take any intro chem or bio course your freshman year, there's a very good chance that the person you sit next to in a crowded lecture hall is premed. A good 75% of the freshman Animal Science majors are prevet.</p>
<p>I presume you are a student or alumni...
Did you find this to be a real problem? Was it hard to find people that were genuinely interested in learning?</p>
<p>Hmmm, well, I'm prevet/premed myself, but I'm only a freshman (been here a little more than 3 weeks). It hasn't seemed too competetive yet and many of us prevets - I'm an AnSci major - will study together despite the fact that we'll be fighting for spots in 4 years. I wouldn't see it as a problem, but it can make the atmosphere a little more intense.</p>
<p>Cornell has some specific schools/colleges. that are or can at least be viewed as preprofessional-esque like "hotel" or "architecture" "engineering" and some majors like "AEM" (undergrad business), and of course all those pre-med, pre-vet students. There are also degrees in stuff like interior design, landscape architecture, yadda yadda yadda</p>
<p>The Arts and Sciences college is like a traditional arts and sciences college though. Students major in things like spanish and government. </p>
<p>It's really like 7 different schools/colleges united under one name and spirit on one campus rather than one school with a really pre-professional atmosphere.</p>