Rumor

<p>i would like to either confirm or dispel the rumor that cornell is very competitive and especially hard on its students, more so than other ivy leagues. is this true? do students really feel pressured in the cornellian environment? if you have an opinion, a response would be appreciated very much. thanks =]</p>

<p>there's the old saying that cornell is the easiest ivy to get in, and the hardest to stay in. but i dont think that's really true. Of course, someone that goes there would actually know. Sorry for the pointless reply.</p>

<p>A lot of people say that the work at Cornell is difficult, but I think it really depends on what you intend on majoring in. For example, if you're a biology major (AND you're pre-med,) then yeah - the course load is going to be tough. But if you're, say, a psychology major, your course load won't be as large. It totally depends on what you want to do. </p>

<p>I just want to stress here that, contrary to what you may have heard, the Cornell environment itself is NOT cut-throat. People here are smart and competitive, yes - but no one here is going to steal your notes or anything like that. The vast majority of the people I've met here are friendly, grounded individuals.</p>

<p>cornell is perfectly managable. Stressful at times, difficult work, strong competition, but people are nice, and like I said above, the work is doable and you can still have tons of fun.</p>

<p>I don't see why cornell would be too hard for any intelligent diligent student. The environment is assuredly supportive, not like (this is something i've heard not experienced) at MIT where they try and cut you down to size.</p>

<p>is it best to major in biology if you want to do premed, or can you major in something like psychology, as you said, and still be a strong candidate for med school?</p>

<p>you can major in w.e you want. you just have to do well and take the required classes to be admitted to med school</p>

<p>in that case, do you happen to know what the required classes are and if those classes also fall under the required classes of a certain major more so than other majors? like, would i finish my med school requirements quicker taking a bio major?</p>

<p>wouldn't you still have to stay in the college for 4 years anyway? lol, whether you finish your required classes for med school or not.</p>

<p>i think summerz wants to spend more time getting the liberal ed. so that's why (S)he's concerned w. finishing the req. classes quickly.</p>

<p>Anyway, i dont think bio gets you anywhere quicker. i think you only need one year/class of bio. and then one of chem, and one of english and i think one of math and im not sure what else. i dont know the req classes really bc im not in college. so someone who is will prob yell at me/give you better advice. anyway, cornell has something on their website (not sure where) about pre-med and it's requirements and whatnot. i believe it discourages taking bio, but im not sure.</p>

<p>Two semesters of general chem (207+208), an organic chem sequence (357 + 358 +251), two semesters of general bio (101 +102 or 105 +106), two semesters of physics (101 + 102), a semester of calculus (many people take two, 111 + 112), some schools recommend statistics, two semesters of English composition, and at least one advanced biology class is recommended:)...makes me wonder why I'm doing this to myself, lol. </p>

<p>I got this from the health careers booklet they gave us at the pre-med meeting.</p>

<p>You do not have to major in bio to do premed, many people don't.</p>

<p>depends on what you want. it's pretty easy to get B's and C's, but pretty difficult to get A's in general.</p>

<p>ps. psychology can be really competitive considering the PhD program in clinical psychology is more competitive than medical school (10% for clinical psych vs. 50% for med. school)...just an fyi, don't generalize to broadly. every major has the potential to be very hard and easy. just depends on what you want, what you're willing to do for it, and just luck sometimes.</p>

<p>"it's pretty easy to get B's and C's, but pretty difficult to get A's in general."</p>

<p>Bingo. Unforunately, B's and C's don't cut it for premed.</p>