<p>So this year I was accepted into Cornell and am absolutely pumped about attending this year. I was so impressed with the campus and everything that Cornell has to offer that I chose it over the University of Chicago (I have no idea how I got in).
So naturally I've been browsing these forums and it seems the trendy thing to brand Cornell as the "worst ivy". I know this doesn't matter at all, but as a highly competitive person, it kind of irritates me. Besides acceptance rate (which is obviously going to be higher due to size) what metric makes Cornell the worst? It rates above Penn, Brown, and Dartmouth in almost every world poll, it has more major award winners than half the ivies, and it's produced way more notable alumni than at least Dartmouth or Brown. Again, I know this is silly, but I'm just curious why Cornell could even be considered the worst ivy. </p>
<p>It’s not. Most of the Cornell haters are Cornell rejects. </p>
<p>Cornell is a very large institution. They admit a lot more students than other schools. Many young high school students mistakenly take that to mean Cornell is less competitive or prestigious. Their admission requirements are also different for each college. The Hotel school is one fo the best hospitality schools in the world, but they do not necessary for students with highest GPAs, they look for fit and interest in the hospitality business. CAS admission is just as competitive as other top tier schools. </p>
<p>Both of my kids are (were) students of Cornell. The oldest said it was the best four years of her life. The young one isn’t as expressive, but she is very appreciative of all the opportunities the Uni as whole has to offer. My older kid in the A&S school took classes in AEM and Hotel. She was allowed to interview with all IB that recruited on campus, it wasn’t just limited to AEM students. My younger kid just finished a paid internship in NYC that was fully funded by an alum.</p>
<p>Cornell has much to offer, whether it is academic, social life, or alumni network. You will have a lot more opportunities at Cornell than at small liberal art schools, but it is a big red machine, you will need to take the initiatives to benefit from what it has to offer.</p>
<p>Most of those comments are coming from 18-year-olds whose worldview is rather limited. They think that GPA and test scores are everything, and define themselves by these numbers. Some people have to reassure themselves that they are better than everyone else and create ridiculous arguments to support their “best-ness.” (Yeah, I know that’s not a word). I just chuckle when someone talks about Cornell being an “easy Ivy” with an acceptance rate of 14%.</p>
<p>I usually see it as “easiest to be accepted at” rather than “Worst.” I think that most people discussing it don’t get beyond acceptance rates and test scores. They just mean that, on average, a student is a little more likely to be admitted. </p>
<p>That does not really mean much for individual applicants though. One of my daughter’s friends was admitted to Harvard this year and was rejected by Cornell, Penn and Columbia. Apparently, Harvard was the easiest one for her to get into. </p>
<p>I have to agree with @blprof about the term “easy Ivy.” To me that is like saying you like sports and want to know which NFL football team would be the easiest to play for, as if anyone could do it. There really is no such thing.</p>
<p>I would also add is that last year we visited all of the Ivies (except Dartmouth) with our daughter, and one of the things that stood out was that the Ivies spent very little time comparing themselves to each other. The schools were focused on telling you about what they do well, not on trying to tear down the others. Very classy. </p>
<p>Btw, undergrad institution doesn’t matter unless you plan to go straight into employment or pursue an MBA. The only real benefit I can see of an Ivy league undergrad is really good financial aid. </p>
<p>One of the biggest benefits in going to some of those top tier schools is alumni network, and most people have greater affinity to their UG school. </p>
<p>37,000 applicants were denied this year. I think only Cal- Berkley denies more. </p>
<p>Yeah don’t worry about it. My grandparents live in China and think that Cornell is the best ivy league school while Dartmouth is a community college. </p>
<p>Shane, I’m an alumnus and current parent. I’m also a Cornell Ambassador and a member of the University Council who has interviewed over 500 candidates. I hear the very opposite of what you describe. Many current candidates describe Cornell as their no. 1 choice with the other Ivies as back-ups. The admissions stories bear this out. This past admissions season, several candidates were rejected from Cornell, but were accepted to Dartmouth and Harvard. This tells me that Cornell is as preoccupied with “fit” as they were with any other criterion. Moreover, several recent social media lists rank Cornell as one of this hottest Ivies. I interpret this to mean that Cornell is doing a good job in marketing it’s brand – a job that the other Ivies are seeking to envy. </p>
<p>Too bad Forbes ranking that came out today dropped Cornell from #19 to #31 
I have no intention of debating pros and cons of rankings, but just throwing it out there.</p>
<p>Cornell was D’s #1 choice and she is thrilled to be starting next month!</p>
<p>Money magazine came out with its own ranking:
<a href=“http://time.com/money/collection/moneys-best-colleges/”>http://time.com/money/collection/moneys-best-colleges/</a>
Babson and Webb are ranked #1 and #2. Manhattan College is ranked higher than Middlebury. Need I say more.</p>
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<p>Aside from long ago in 2007 before social media really existed, where has Cornell been listed as the “hottest Ivy” recently?</p>
<p>Also, I know I’m going to sound like a ■■■■■■ here and realize typos happen (judging by your proper use of alumnus and criterion), but if you’re going to be an Ambassador, can you please make sure to copy edit your posts and use the proper form of “its”? Such basic grammatical errors from ambassadors really don’t reflect well on our school. </p>
<p>Anyway, to the OP, just keep in mind Cornell was founded as an egalitarian rebuttal to the blue blood elitist finishing schools of the 19th century and has done pretty well to keep that tradition alive. Its core mission is so fundamentally different that it will always be ridiculed for being different, but in reality it’s doing a pretty amazing job educating a vast array of people from all walks of life at top levels across the board in both practical and liberal studies. </p>
<p>I would be more sympathetic, I think Cornell has some really interesting features and endless offerings, but you seem to want to do to other colleges, what you perceive people do to Cornell. So you can stew away.</p>
<p>BrownParent, I’m assuming you thought I was taking shots at Brown? I was just stating how It was illogical for Cornell to be branded as the worst ivy when there was no real evidence besides acceptance rate. I’m in no position to diss any top college, seeing as I haven’t even started at one. </p>
<p>hmm i was never made aware of such a trend. (strong across the board in natural sciences, engineering, and cs. Im assuming they are decent in the humanities as well). </p>
<p>Applejack, my apologies for the typos.I was trying to type from my phone. I won’t make that mistake again.</p>
<p>Type in “worst ivy college confidential” and look what pops up. I’m not making this stuff up people haha</p>
<p>@Shane4204: congrats on attending Cornell in a month. Doing a search for “worst ivy” on CC is the equivalent of searching for “why Obama is the worst president” on the foxnews.com website forums.</p>
<p>I love @Much2Learn’s analogy about which is the easiest NFL team to join. Once you get into the real world, this Cornell as worst Ivy thing is complete crap by those who know anything. Sure you’ll get fans at football or hockey games chanting “safety school” against you guys – but it’s only in fun. In the real world, your Cornell degree, or my NYU or UMich or Sawanee or Rice or East Carolina or Yale or Purdue degree – means not too much in the actual work environment. Enjoy what Cornell has to offer you (which is a lot!). Never give a millisecond’s thought to what a 16 year old thinks of your college. It’s all fake. Been there, done that. IRL you make your own destiny. Congrats again and enjoy your time in Ithaca!</p>