<p>I visited them both, love them both, and I am torn.
I wanted to know peoples opinions on campus, location, course load, social life, food etc.
Thanks</p>
<p>Well, what would you be studying at Penn? And which college at Cornell would you be enrolled in?</p>
<p>A lot of the decision may come down to what you are interested in studying.
If you are interested in business, the answer should be pretty obvious. Similarly, if you are interested in engineering, animal science, hotel management, nutrition, science of earth systems, or any one of the other wonderful niche majors Cornell offers, well I think the decision is pretty much made up for you as well.</p>
<p>If you are interested in a the liberal arts education, it's obviously a toss up in terms of academics. Penn's offerings are stronger in the social sciences, Cornell's offering are stronger in the humanities and the physical and life sciences. Cornell has a less pre-professional and much more down to earth feel about campus, and I know of some Penn liberal arts students who felt overshadowed Wharton and thought that the career services office was trying to push them towards a career in business.</p>
<p>And I wouldn't make your decision based on the perceived academic caliber of the student body: Cornell's numbers are really skewed by all of the niche majors.</p>
<p>But to your points, I'm going to delve into some boosterism. Keep in mind that I am biased.</p>
<p>Campus. The best way to describe Cornell's campus and feel is that it can be all things to all different types of people. It can feel like Dartmouth for a fraternity member, going to barbecues on keg parties while playing frisbee on the Quad. It can feel like MIT for an engineer, spending all of their time doing research in Duffield or Rhodes Hall. The hipster has her fair share of coffeehouses, dorms, co-ops, and art galleries to make it feel like RISD. And the person who secretly wishes they were on a Big 10 campus for the sports, can get lost in the sea of 13,000 other students and follow Cornell wrestling, hockey, lacrosse (and now even basketball!) to their hearts content. </p>
<p>In Philly, well you will have to worry about crime and could find yourself living in a high rise with little social interaction. And everybody around you will be talking about getting internships on Wall Street from the first day of classes.</p>
<p>Location. You will have the rest of you life to live in cities, but very rarely will you have an opportunity to live in a college town as great as Ithaca. The restaurants in Ithaca are fantastic, the bookstores, used clothing stores, and art house cinemas offer a lot to explore, and anybody who has ever spent a summer in Ithaca knows that it is heaven on Earth.</p>
<p>And to top it off, there are tons of things to do in the surrounding countryside if you are at all interested in the outdoors: wineries, skiing, snow shoeing, the different state parks, kayaking in Cayuga Lake, flyfishing. This was a major selling point for me at Cornell.</p>
<p>In Philly, well Central City is nice. </p>
<p>Course load. Unless you are an engineer, they will be about the same. As long as you have a decent work ethic, you will do fine at either school and have plenty of time for fun.</p>
<p>Social life. Echoing the earlier comments, Cornell has unrivaled breadth and depth in terms of social life. The fraternity and house parties at Cornell are some of the best in the Northeast. And the Collegetown bar scene is fantastic as well. There's nothing quite like the corner of Dryden and College Ave. after last call.</p>
<p>But if partying is not your scene, Cornell offers a lot of different alternatives. From the cooperative houses to the new residential colleges on West Campus there is something for everyone. Cornell is so diverse it's impossible not to find your niche and graduate with valued life long friendships. Some people go camping or rock climbing every weekend. Af fair number of kids travel with the hockey team. For a lot of others, people have a social life that revolves around club sports or other activities (Glee Club, literary journals, religious organizations). </p>
<p>Food. We make our own ice cream at Cornell, and next year we will have our own winery. Enough said.</p>
<p>Student body. From artists to engineers, philosophers to hotel managers, and plant scientists and nutritionists, you will not find a more diverse student body in the country. My senior year, I lived in a house with seven guys, all of us studying vastly different things -- history, ILR, design, biology, physics, and communications. You can learn a lot from your fellow students.</p>
<p>Thank you so much, I'm still waiting for replies in the Upenn section, but your post is very helpful. thanks again.
By the was I would be at CAS for both.</p>
<p>No problemo.</p>
<p>just so you get both sides, i'll throw in a negative slant on cornell. in my experience here, cornell is isolated, boring, and completely detached from the real world. the term "cornell bubble" really sums it up. true you have your whole life to live in a big city, so if the whole "this is the only 4 yrs of your life when you get to get wasted in the middle of nowhere and jump in gorges" thing works for you, cornell is your place. but if youre not of that mentality and arent amused by the idea of living in an isolated hippy town for 4 yrs, you won't like cornell. i can see why people think ithaca is cute (i guess?) but i'm ridiculously sick of it and all that it (doesn't) offer. i'm transferring out of cornell, so this is a negative viewpoint on the extreme end of the spectrum. but at least you got two different perspectives lol. good luck.</p>
<p>just to throw this out, Elgguj makes up for rather a minority of the Cornell population who doesn't enjoy the cornell social atmoshpere. Of course, there are many people here w/ different tastes and preferences. Some would rather be at a urban campus for school, but, for many people like me, Cornell's location isn't much of a bother. Yes, it is isolated compared to Penn, but I think it has good sides to it socially bc all the undergrads here are living at this small place together and many people do everything, ranging form watching movies to playing sports to going out to parties, together as a group. Cornell, in that respect, would perfectly serve anyone who is looking for a 'traditional' college experience with good balance of social and academic life. </p>
<p>Penn is also known for a good social scene. However, when I visited, I wasn't so impressed with their campus and their urban surroundings. Again, some would prefer Penn in respect to Cornell, but I would rather be at Cornell, which has good outdoor activities and a gorgeous campus. Besides, if you ever feel that you want to explore a city over the weekend, the train ride will take u to NYC in about 3-4 hrs. Besides, Penn's location is in relatively dangerous and poor neighborhood of Philly, and the scenary there isn't so nice. It is not like Cambridge, MA or NYC where many college students prefer to be at.</p>
<p>In regards to academics or job prospects, both schools are excellent and you can't go wrong.</p>
<p>i believe i indicated that i was a minority opinion by saying my opinion was the extreme end of the spectrum. also, for the record, i fully tried out the social scene...i went to frat parties, went in the gorges/did outdoor things, did campus sponsored events, rushed, pledged (then depledged, im transferring...made no sense to stay in lol)...so although I am a minority viewpoint (to some extent), i'm not like some antisocial hermit.</p>
<p>I think the two schools are similar except in two respects:</p>
<p>1) Food-Cornell has really good food. I'm not sure you can find better food at any other college.</p>
<p>2) Location-What I love about Cornell is that there is so much to do on campus. It is a large campus with its own bowling alleys and museums and movie theaters. There are always seminars, speakers, concerts, conferences, etc. going on. There was never a time when I missed not being in a city. No, I didn't grow up in Nebraska or Oklahoma. I grew up in the Bay Area. But, for me, college was a chance to get out of my comfort zone and to do and experience things that I won't get to again. If I want the opportunity to attend a MLB game or to go to the MET, I can do that after graduation (heck, I can do that during my breaks). But, how often would I get the chance to walk by gorges and waterfalls everyday? When else would I get the chance to slide down a big hill in the middle of winter of a dining room tray? When else would I get the chance to attend a course so popular it has 1300 students in one lecture?</p>
<p>Elgguj, I was writing in refernce to your social perference, when I wrote that you represent a small smaple of the Cornell population. You sound like you would fit better at a urban environment, yet, what i am saying is that the fact that you tried out these activities at cornell and didn't like it should imply that Cornell isn't a proper fit for you and that you came to the wrong school in the first place...yet, imo, way more people here tend to enjoy the social settings of Cornell compared to others who don't.</p>
<p>^ fair enough...i think thats true</p>
<p>Just to play devil's advocate, but what do you think will be different about the social scene at your new college, wherever that may be? </p>
<p>Most students, wherever the college, spend the majority of their time going to student parties and going to campus events. I've lived on or very near to the campuses at Harvard, Oxford, and Georgetown (for two years, six months, and three months, respectively), and there's no real difference in the day to day student experience. At Harvard and Georgetown there was the presence of a big city, but for most students there was no difference in their lives -- maybe they would go to a professional sporting event or a museum twice a month, but that was it. And when you turn 21 you can go out to the clubs, but it doesn't sound like you are that into partying. And if you are interested in volunteering, I can say that there is no meaningful difference between doing Habitat for Humanity, say, in Boston as opposed to Ithaca.</p>
<p>Oxford definitely was a cut above the rest, though. Then again, there was a student pub two flights down from my room and we would drink with the professors. So I can't really compare.</p>
<p>A lot of one's social experience revolves around the people who you immediately live and interact with. So your living situation and your extracurricular activities inform a lot of your social life. </p>
<p>Cultivate your gardens where they grow.</p>
<p>Well, there's no reason to argue w/ Elgguj. He/she at least came to Cornell, tried it out for a year, and didn't like it.</p>
<p>I think there are many many students who would've been happy at Cornell but never gave it a chance. They convinced themselves that they can only be happy in an urban environment. And, yes, Cayugared2005 is correct that students overestimate the number of times they'll be able to go off campus. But, there are a few students (like Elgguj) who must have the urban experience, regardless of how little it'll factor into their college lives. Those students won't be happy at Cornell.</p>
<p>Fair enough. Perhaps I'm being a bit too adamant. Elgguj, I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. The following is from a Cornell poet, A.R. Ammons:</p>
<pre><code>May happiness
pursue you,
catch you
often, and,
should it
lose you,
be waiting
ahead, making
a clearing
for you.
</code></pre>
<p>nah its ok i'll engage in a little debate about it, beats working on this monster of a paper thats kicking my ass lol. i agree with you that the day to day at any school is about the same, but for me, just having a big city event to go to a couple times a month would be a big thing for me. i dont need something huge going on all the time, just once in a while. also, i just need to see non-college people sometimes...just want to be able to interact with real world people once in a while...keeps me sane. and finally, as far as the city experience, i just want to be able to walk down the street and shop casually(i know i know ithaca commons has shops...but cmon...lets be real about the fact that theyre pretty "unique" lol) and go to cafes to study, etc. i don't want to have to take a TCAT to get to a starbucks. anddd...actually i do like partying :) but the beer soaked frat thing is kinda losing it for me. though i agree that lots of sketchiness happens in clubs too...but w/e lol. and being able to intern during the school year would be cool i think. its nice to have the opportunity to do it anyway.</p>
<p>that being said, i'm trying to represent an objective viewpoint that I think may help people. i'm trying to avoid, as best i can, flaming cornell or being disrespectful. gotta give me a little credit for at least trying right ;) ?</p>
<p>p.s. thanks cayugared :) you can argue with me though, it all helps people reading the board...so its constructive</p>
<p>p.p.s. i'm a girl lol</p>
<p>So what you are saying is that you need a car? A car can really change one's perspective of Ithaca. Suddenly you can head down to Wegmans on a moments notice, have brunch at the Farmers Market on the weekends, and take unplanned road trips to Ottawa and Montreal.</p>
<p>But if you really want an urban shopping experience, only a couple cities in the country can offer that.</p>
<p>And isn't there a Starbucks in Collegetown now?</p>
<p>a car would help, this is true. but i still think im craving the big city experience in between the time i spend stressing out about my GPA lol. yeah there is a starbucks in ctown...but im on north...and the 20+ min. walk gets to be a pain.</p>
<p>Bah! When I was living near Georgetown and Harvard a Starbucks was still a 15 minute walk away. People walk or bike. And biking is pretty easy at Cornell, at least between North, Central, and Collegetown.</p>
<p>I don't know your situation at all. But if you honestly have no better reason to transfer out of Cornell other than that you would like a more urban environment once or a twice a month -- you aren't having problems making friends, feeling comfortable with yourself, having financial issues, or dislike the academic or social experience you are getting -- I would venture to say that transferring out of Cornell might not be worth it in terms of lost time, opportunities, and relationships. The only schools where it would probably be worth it to transfer to in the situation I describe would be Harvard or Columbia. But Harvard isn't even accepting any transfers.</p>
<p>Isn't there a cafe in Balch now? Besides, CTB is much better. When I graduated there were no Starbucks in Ithaca, now there are three. Whatever is the world coming to?</p>
<p>haha i dont know how to better explain what im talking about except to say i know what im looking for. of course no guarantees that i'll find it elsewhere or that things will be perfect (they wont be)...but its worth a shot ;)</p>
<p>there's a cafe that serves starbucks on north, and one in the law school. Plus the "real" starbucks in collegetown. As you can see, it's quite easy for me to get my fix.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, there are 3 Starbucks cafes on the Penn campus (4 if you count the one in the Penn Bookstore, and 5 University City writ large), in addition to 2 Bucks County Coffees (regional chain). There are also countless "indie" cafes throughout University City as well.</p>
<p>If it's 3am and you need your caffeine fix, there are also 3 24/7 convenience stores (2 Wawas and a 7-Eleven) and a full-blown supermarket that is also open 24/7. It's across the street from the 24/7 McDonalds. And there's the requisite diner as well ;)</p>