Quick Questions about Life at Cornell

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>Hey everyone,
I recently got into Cornell and am having a tough time deciding whether I should go. Obviously, Cornell is a great place but I have a couple questions about some key issues:</p>

<p>1) Study Abroad
2) Multiple Majors (The difficulty of doing so and the difficultly of taking class not relating to the major. Also, when do you officially declare your major?)
3) Ithaca is a relatively small city. Does that detract from the social life at Cornell (I'm not into partying. I'm referring to whether there is a lot to do).
4) Atmosphere (Is it uptight/ chill etc.)
5) Research (I've already been given some opportunity from honors but was wondering how research at Cornell was? (Independent projects, schedule, opportunities, changing projects etc...)
6) Other stuff you think is worth stating.</p>

<p>I have a relative idea of the answer to some of these but decided its worth asking anyways.</p>

2

<p>1) Study Abroad: very easy, I can easily list a good amount of people who do study abroad their junior year. Financial aid follows you abroad, so Cornell will give you aid to study abroad (nice, eh?) and you’ll pay the same as if you’re studying at Cornell. Some colleges (I think CALS and Hum Ec) do a direct exchange program where you pay the same in-state tuition if you’re a new york resident for studying in select universities.</p>

<p>The only problems may be if you didn’t decide on your major, then you would have to play catch-up. But if you start planning your frosh/early soph year (say take an extra required class per semester), a year abroad is very feasible.</p>

<p>2) I have a senior friend majoring in economics, math and computer science… But I don’t recommend doing that for the faint of heart. Engineers have a strict curriculum, so it’s hard for them to take a lot of non-engineering classes unless they’re international students who aced their GCE A-level exams (which means they have enough credits to be sophomores/juniors as first year students). </p>

<p>But changing majors and schools outside of engineering is pretty easy. I think they recommend that junior year you should “declare” or apply for your major (which just means maintaining 3.0-3.3 in the pre-req classes). Outside of engineering, it’s pretty easy to switch around as long as the majors you’re considering have similar pre-requisite (EX: Chem 2080 is pre req for a ton of majors). Again, engineering has a ton of unique pre reqs so it’s hard to switch into it after your first year. Many advisers say to take engineering classes first if you’re unsure.</p>

<p>3) The small town feel just means there’s a lot more to do on campus. Plus, if you’re into nature, there’s a ton of trails you can hike and Cornell has a huge outdoor program. I don’t notice it really.</p>

<p>4) I come from California, so I thought Cornell was a lot different from the super chill environment I was used to. People dress better here and it’s… different. Not better or worse, just different. I think once you find your group of friends though, it doesn’t matter as much.</p>

<p>5) I do research here and it’s really easy to get involved with the hundreds of labs on campus. If you really want to do your own research there’s the honor thesis which you start your junior year. You conduct your own research with a faculty adviser and then it’s really all up to you. Many departments will fund your honors thesis research pretty easily (upwards to tens of thousands of dollars). If you’re into that, Cornell has some amazing resources when it comes to research! The engineering school has a lot of student-led undergraduate project teams and research projects that have done some ground-breaking stuff. I think most of the students in the engineering school are on either a project/research team so you get the opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds in the country (you also don’t have to be an engineering major to be on one of the teams).</p>

<p>Cornell also has a fabulous co-op program in the engineering school with strong ties to top companies. You basically spend a semester at a company around your junior year (getting full pay as an employee) and many will receive a job offer from that company after graduating. I know a lot of my engineering friends came to Cornell specifically for its great co-op program.</p>

<p>If you have any more specific questions, let me know!</p>

3

<p>For full pay students, study abroad could be less expensive than Cornell. Unlike other schools, Cornell allows you to pay directly to the host college plus 2500 to Cornell. My older kid studied in Sydney and my younger one will be going to London next fall. Both of their tuitions are half of Cornell’s tuition - tells you how expensive it is to go to school in the states. When you study abroad, your grades overseas will not factor into your GPA, just P/F. </p>

<p>My older daughter double majored in math/econ and minored in gender studies, so it is very doable. My younger daughter is doing a special program at Cornell, so she doesn’t even need to declare a major, but she is focusing on philosophy. </p>

<p>Ithaca is not NYC, but it is rated as one of the best college towns. It has a lot of great restaurants, spas, just not a lot of shopping, but with a lot of online shopping you won’t feel too out of sort. Cornell is a huge campus with a lot of ECs. For most weekends, my kids tend to have more things to do than they have time for. They said parties at Cornell are better than other schools or cities they have been to. </p>

4

<p>Thanks for the replies guys. They were awesome and full of information :slight_smile: . You answered all my questions and I’m definitely thinking about attending Cornell.</p>