<p>I've heard that students are Cornell are overly competitive. Despite being the easiest Ivy to get into, the students are most competitive with each other and least supportive. Is this true, thoughts? And are all the Ivys really preppy?</p>
<p>Lie! Everyone is very helpful. Every single fellow engineer I asked for help from willing obliged.</p>
<p>I haven't found anyone who is competitive here. There are your typical kids who work all the time (and tend to be socially awkward) and a smaller group of students who are apathetic about their work.
Aside from a couple fraternities (Alpha Delt, maybe half of Sig Phi or Psi U), there is hardly anyone who is preppy here. Even the kids from prep schools tend not to be that preppy. Nonetheless, if you are normally able to pull the look off it will still work at Cornell.</p>
<p>People aren't really trying to compete with one another. People here just work really really hard because it's who we are. What I've noticed from comparing Cornell to other colleges I've visited (my sister is a freshman at a second tier school) is that it's totally normal for students to work that hard. It's not at all weird to spend the entire day at the library and to ALWAYS have more work that you could be doing, and to party hard on the weekend, but to work your ass off during the day in order to go out that night. At my sister's college, spending time in the libe or doing a lot of work on the weekends is not normal. At Cornell, students work hard b/c they want to, because it's what people do, and because it will definitely pay off one day, not because they feel like they are competing with other students.</p>
<p>For example, when a representative for my sorority's nationals came to visit our chapter to see how we were doing, she actually asked us when our "study hours" were. Apparently, at other schools, sororities have to designate a block of time each day for their sisters to study, otherwise, the members might not make the minimum GPA. When she asked this, we all laughed. There is no need to force a Cornell student to do his/her work most of the time.</p>
<p>My experience is that Cornell is not overly competitive. Cornell is competitive in that in most cases you have to work as hard as everyone else in order to make the mean. This does not, however, encourage a "me against everyone else" mentality or promote sabotage. I would even argue that in some disciplines the intellectual atmosphere is very collaborative; for example, engineers frequently work on their problem sets and study in groups. It's not uncommon for students naturally to push themselves, though, which might lead to the impression that Cornell is competitive. </p>
<p>I don't find Cornell that preppy. Having visited other Ivies, I think Cornell is less preppy than some. I occasionally meet "rich snobs," but I think the majority of students here are just normal, hard-working people.</p>
<p>The best thing about Cornell, in my view, is that it is a pretty unassuming place. This obviously doesn't apply to some of the students, but I feel at Cornell there is a lot less pressure to be from the right family or have the right background. Everybody is welcome, and everybody can find a home on campus where they can fit in.</p>
<p>why do some ppl say Cornell is elitist?
Becuase i never saw cornell that way, but i'm sometimes told that i'm being an elitist to apply to Cornell over canadian universities.</p>
<p>lol, you're not being elitist, unless you are simply applying to Cornell because it's an ivy league.</p>
<p>If you simply like the school better than canadian universities, if you think it has a better environment, if it has better opportunities, then you have a reason to go to Cornell over canadian universities. </p>
<p>That isn't elitism. That's called a choice.</p>
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That isn't elitism. That's called a choice.
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<p>Isn't that what the guy said when he bought a Bentley over a Ford?</p>
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That isn't elitism. That's called a choice.
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<p>Isn't that what the guy said when he bought a Bentley over a Ford?</p>
<p>Yep, it is.</p>
<p>S: (n) elitism (the attitude that society should be governed by an elite group of individuals) </p>
<p>you have got to be kidding me if you think someone buying a bentley over a ford makes them an elitist. Maybe they have expensive taste, maybe they have the money to spend on it, maybe they just want it.</p>
<p>I'm all for frugality and thriftiness, but to imply someone is an elitist because they enjoy expensive things is crazy.</p>
<p>Now if their only reason for buying said bentley (going to Cornell) vs buying a ford (going to a canadian university) is because they want to put on airs and they think that only owning an "elite car" (going to an "elite university" ) is the way you are valuable to society, then yes, they are elitist.</p>
<p>What I love about Cornell is that you can't really answer the question "what are cornell students like". There are so many types of people, and even the people who may seem like a certain "type" have some kind of quirk. You can find basically an type you can think of, and many that you would never have thought of. People may comment on the people who look particularly outlandish (like kimonos to dinner or vines woven into the hair), but no one is shunned for being different and everyone finds groups they fit into. </p>
<p>Lots of people study A LOT, but I don't feel much pressure to work or not work. Everyone makes their own study habits and work patterns.</p>
<p>accept100, you're being called an elitist because you're leaving them behind in Canada to go off to your fancy American college, while they're stuck where they are. It's like that episode of Degrassi where Jimmy wanted to leave Canada to go to NYU and have some fun, and leave his loser friends behind. But then he became a cripple, and had to stay in Canada. I think that's what happened.</p>
<p>as diverse as cornell is...sometimes you get sick of people discussing THE CITY...yuck!</p>
<p>The biggest ****** bags ever.</p>
<p>Just kidding, I have a few Cornell friends and they all seem like down to earth, cool and modest people. In terms of elitism, its way better than Princeton or Yale. Oh yeah, lots of Asians at least when I toured noticed a solid amount of East Asians so if you're East Asian I think that you'll fit in fine.</p>
<p>do people really spend that much time talking about New York City? I certainly don't experience that.</p>
<p>I am glad that there is the expectation of studiousness here.
I don't notice any really strong characteristics that dominate the campus. nice people who care about their educations (and probably cared in the past as well.)</p>
<p>it's probably b/c i'm in ILR...which probably has the most Long Island folks...</p>
<p>^ resurgam, if I get accepted as a transfer, i'll be one of those obnoxious folks always talking about the city. i'm from LI and an NYU student...if I get into Cornell, I'll spend the first 3 months being awed by Cornell, then probably whine about how it's in the sticks for the next 3 years. of course, given the choice between the middle-o'-nowhere cornell and middle-o'-manhattan NYU...I would choose the sticks right now.</p>
<p>Elitism is probably lowest at Cornell among all the Ivies. In general, Cornell students are hardworking and studious. Not genius but smart (obviously there is a gradient in intelligence). Competitive in the sense they want to do well. Not cutthroat.</p>
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then probably whine about how it's in the sticks for the next 3 years.
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<p>Oh my god. Quit whining. You are VOLUNTARILY choosing to attend Cornell. Should you get accepted.</p>
<p>If the ten percent of students who whined about Cornell would just get up and leave Ithaca would be the most fantastic place on Earth.</p>