<p>Now that I have been admitted, I'm wondering what I should know before I arrive. Small secrets like the best places to eat/study/hang out, etc... or just random stuff. There are a lot of things on my current campus that I did not 'discover' until recently, so I feel like I wasted a lot of my time on campus! I'm wondering if you have any similar thoughts that you would be willing to share.</p>
<p>i like this thread can anyone add?</p>
<p>Sitting on the slope and reading on a sunny and warm day :-)</p>
<p>when you finally walk that stage, you'll be left thinking "how did it go by sooo fast??"</p>
<p>^^I'm thinking that right now. I still can't believe I'm about to go into my last week of classes as an undergrad.</p>
<p>^^ so sad!!! So it looks like I have to use my every single minute at Cornell effectively! Well, not saying you guys didn't. Just not to regret.</p>
<p>you're not kidding....try to enjoy every minute you're here. Trust me....4 years goes very fast!</p>
<p>Bring three to four umbrellas with you when you move in. You will either lose them (one for me) or they will be destroyed by Ithaca weather (two and counting.) </p>
<p>On a more serious note, just dive in to life at Cornell and take advantage of the crazy resources here. Stay on top of who is visiting campus! Try to go to as many events and speakers you can.</p>
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Bring three to four umbrellas with you when you move in.
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<p>Bah. Umbrellas are overrated. Just get a good Goretex Jacket.</p>
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Stay on top of who is visiting campus!
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<p>So true. Be sure to pick up a copy of the Cornell Chronicle every week -- more lectures, concerts, and other goings on than you can ever dream of are on the back page. All with free food!</p>
<p>you can get the best coffee at the johnson museum's 2 naked guys cafe</p>
<p>when you go to parties, use an old sweatshirt to keep warm while walking outside instead of a jacket.</p>
<p>take advantage of office hours from day 1</p>
<p>dont be afraid to be yourself from the beginning</p>
<p>Do your homework the day it's assigned. It'll seriously help you remember everything you learn.</p>
<p>do the reading until you find out its unnecessary. dont assume its unnecessary from the first day of class. well actually i guess a lot of people here don't take many classes that involve a lot of reading. so basically, do all your work and be good until after the first prelim when you can figure out whats necessary and whats not. college is all about prioritizing.</p>
<p>So what is the best way to take advantage of "resources". The idea of "resources" seems very vague to me, and since that is a huge plus of Cornell I would love to know how to take advantage from day one....</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Gold mining and ore extraction are probably your best bet.</p>
<p>I think the best way to take advantage of Cornell's resources are to look out for the little things and to go out of your way to pursue them.</p>
<p>You will get bombarded with emails and chalking from all different sorts of University and student groups in your first couple of weeks at Cornell. Read through them and notice them -- and pursue the ones that strike up an interest to you. Go to the meetings or information sessions and ask questions -- especially of older students who will be a little bit more seasoned than you. You will learn a lot from them and they can point you in the right ways to go in the direction you yourself want to go. So join multiple clubs from the beginning, you will figure out which ones will be most important to you as the year goes by. The interaction you will have with upperclassmen who have been in your shoes before cannot be valued enough.</p>
<p>There are really all sorts of things -- something as simple as advertised dinners with professors, an opportunity to meet the professor's faculty that is living in your dorm freshman year, or a wine and cheese gather at the Johnson Art Musuem. Go to these functions and strike up random conversations with random people and learn who they are and what they do on campus. It's actually amazing how few people take advantage of these types of things.</p>
<p>Go to a professor's office hours early in the semester, even when you don't have a question, just to say hello and learn a little bit more about the professor and the course. Ask about things that you are interested and that you think the professor may know something about -- be that study abroad, or lab research. Don't go begging for hand outs or looking for a good grade. Treat the professor with respect, and show your genuine interest in the subject. Believe it or not, it's very easy to tell the students who really want to learn from the ones who are just going through the motions. </p>
<p>If you stumble across an interesting website for a club or an activity or a team but can't quite find the information you were looking for -- send an email. Most people will be overjoyed by your interest and enthusiasm.</p>
<p>And if you can't find a club that is your cup of tea -- no underwater basket weaving, per chance? Well start your own. The SAFC basically hands out money for anybody with any interest whatsoever -- curling club to meat eating club.</p>
<p>Cornell</a> Assemblies | SAFC / Student Assembly Finance Commission Home browse</p>
<p>Also, I was a big fan of just leafing through the different campus publications. There are a lot of random advertisements in the Sun or the Chronicle that will point you in the directions you want to go. Read everything, and pretty soon you will have a good handle on the place.</p>
<p>My final recommendation would be in terms of succeeding and taking advantage of things academically -- your freshman year is very important as it plots the way for success later on in your college life. A couple of good grades in the intro courses your freshmen year will go a long way for making a reputation for yourself in your department of interest, so by the time you are looking for research work or an independent study your sophomore year, your professor won't blink an eye when you ask if you can help them with an art installation they ware working on if he needs any help in his lab.</p>
<p>Above all, be honest with yourself and what you want to do.</p>
<p>Im not sure if someone mentioned this already but is there list of descriptions for some of the clubs? or at least when and where they meet?</p>
<p>Yeah. There are like 1,000 clubs.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Lot of good advice on this thread. Well appreciated. Keep it coming.</p>
<p>"Step out of your comfort zone"-- when President Skorton challenged us to do this one thing at his first speech as Cornell's president last year, I actually took it to heart. So yeah, do something you never thought you'd have fun doing (go gorge jumping, catch the Orion Nebula on Friday nights at the Fuertes Observatory, enroll in Filipino stick fighting for PE, go talk to a prof and be amazed at how much beyond class material you end up chatting about, take up salsa lessons with your two left feet, etc). You'll end up having the time of your life :)</p>