<p>A couple times over break, adults in various situations have asked me where I to go school. . .here's how the general conversation goes:</p>
<p>Random Adult: So, where are you going to school this year?
Me: I'm a bio major at Cornell.
Random -: Which college are you in? (<em>not much of a reaction</em>)
Me: Arts and Sciences
Random -: Wow, that's really good! (<em>eyes light up</em>)</p>
<p>They ask it almost like if I said I went to Ag and Life Sciences, it wouldn't be as great. Now, the bio program is the same at both schools, and I literally sit in the same class rooms as all the other CALS students. . .I just don't get it.</p>
<p>Has this happened to anyone else? Or is this kind of unusual?</p>
<p>um yeah.....my doctor asked me the question</p>
<p>i said arts/sciences, he was like is that the "real" school, I am not even kidding, i said yeah, and it still didnt get to him, he was like so thats the normal school right, the ivy league right, i was like u bet</p>
<p>he said where else did u get in, i said u chicago and northwestern, he eyes LIT UP, he was like why didn't u go there.....</p>
<p>Yeah, that must be a regional thing with Northwestern and U Chicago.</p>
<p>Cornell carries a lot more weight in Upstate NY, than either of the other two. People here know about Northwestern and U Chicago, but there isn't much "wow factor" associated with either of them. </p>
<p>(haha, refered to it as "wow-factor" because I'm talking about to an average person, refraining from using the word prestige, because the people who matter are going to know that Northwestern and Chicago are solid schools)</p>
<p>Honestly, there are many of Ag bio majors who are really qualified. Couple of my friends were valedictorians of top Long Island high schools. They gave up much higher ranked school just to come to Cornell Ag for bio. The reason: MONEY.<br>
Maybe it's easier to get into Ag college than A&S, but it's definitely not easier to get into Bio major in Ag. Two people I know from high school had almost identical grades, SAT and similar research experiences. The both applied to Cornell ED three years ago. One got accepted to A&S as a bio major and the other one got deferred by Ag as a bio major.</p>
<p>Cornell used to take a lot of crap for its Ag school, mainly because of the "agriculture" part. But the image is changing.</p>
<p>i reported this to college confidential administrators, b/c many of the posts under my name haven't been made by me. I have used this account in a few of the libraries at cornell, perhaps, i didn't sign off</p>
<p>Sorry bball, it seems that the inference was made from your comments on the thread that I linked to. I'm not trying to attack you, I was just curious because I never heard of it being done at Cornell before.</p>
<p>yea, I got the same type of response here in California from more than half the people that found out I got accepted to Cornell. For some reason, they just stand there with an expression that conveys a "so what" type attitude. I felt bad for a couple weeks but then I realized I wouldn't have to worry about what they think once I get to Cornell. I guess it's still a little annoying since I inherently have some type of ego.</p>
<p>^^^ I notice that the same here in the Bay Area, some have never heard of it before. Most college educated people I have spoken with have heard of it though.</p>
<p>I dunno, a lot of people I have talked to have been like "holy $#!T!" and they are very impressed. That includes people in New Jersey and in the Southern Tier of New York. I think the name Cornell carries PLENTY of weight among the educated majority.</p>
<p>Let's see, one of my friends gave up Columbia College and Penn. The other one was an intel finalist + valedictorian, you go figure what school he can give up. Another friend of mine was too modest to say what school she gave up for. Beside the bio people, one of my friends at the biological engineering major gave up MIT to attend Cornell just so he can pay three years of in state tuition and still graduate with an engineering degree. You would be surprised how many Ag bio people gave up schools that are ranked higher by the USNews to attend Cornell.</p>
<p>yeah cornell is very prestigious in NYS (obviously)</p>
<p>but when I went to new orleans everyone there considers cornell the crappy ivy league and they think vanderbilt and tulane are much better for some reason</p>
<p>pugachev: that was unnecessarily arrogant and offensive. i approve!</p>
<p>stonecold23: well, no one said retardation doesn't afflict the wealthy :)</p>
<p>my thoughts? 4/5 of my schools are virtual no-names in my neck of the woods, and everyone thinks the local dumps are better.</p>
<p>cornell
"oh you mean cornell college in iowa?"
penn
"why would you go to a state school in a different state? the lions are pretty good, though"
wash u
"you're going to washington? that's really far..."
carnegie-mellon
"huh?"</p>
<p>it baffles the mind, but i get the most enthusiastic response from the university of illinois. true, they're better than most things out here (besides U of C, NU), but i feel like a more informed population would be less impressed with it after hearing the others. also, as if you care, please don't think that i consider u of i to be a "local dump" - i respect it to the point that i'm considering attending.</p>
<p>anyway, that was my mini-rant, and i am somewhat sorry it didn't compare the endowed and public colleges at cornell. to not be considered a post-hijacker, here are my succinct thoughts: i'm inclined to say, as a non-NYer, that i have more respect for the private colleges. no data in front of me, but i recall that CAS and engineering tend to have higher scores. not that the state-funded ones don't have bright kids; that's far from true. there are loads of intelligent students at each college, and i have large amounts of respect for any cornell graduate.</p>