<p>why is it that so many people look down on Cornell? Lots of people I talk to just simply say "Cornell isn't legit and it's a **** ivy". And most of these are top students of my class. The rest have only heard of Harvard and Yale.</p>
<p>Because some people think that doing research and education on things like nutrition, plant pathology, and labor relations are beneath them. They also think that because Cornell gets some of its funding from the State of New York that this somehow affects the quality of the education received.</p>
<p>The funny thing is that Oxford and Cambridge both have similar funding models to Cornell, and that doesn't chance their reputation in the slightest.</p>
<p>It's a question of comfort. Because Cornell doesn't fit the traditional mold of what people think of when they think of a "top" school, they shirk away from it.</p>
<p>Look at it this way -- Cornell is like a Dartmouth plus an MIT plus some really great niche programs never has ever heard of all found on the same campus.</p>
<p>Part of it, too, is that it was founded so much later than the other Ivies, the others' reputations were already entrenched. Also, being in the Ivy League is a double edged sword- on one hand, that helps attract kids, but it also keeps them in HYP's collective shadow. Cornell suffers because of the frame of reference in which it is put. Notice that it has similar SATs and a similar acceptance rate to Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame etc. Yet, no one knocks those, because they're seen in their own light.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Cornell suffers because of the frame of reference in which it is put. Notice that it has similar SATs and a similar acceptance rate to Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame etc. Yet, no one knocks those, because they're seen in their own light.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Fantastic observation. If you catch me on certain days you will find that I sometimes think that Cornell should be in the Big 12.</p>
<p>Most people in the U.S.A (and many around the globe) see Cornell as a highly competitive, selective university with several top notch programs. Regardless of whether or not it is an Ivy, it is a strong school in its own right. </p>
<p>The only people who look down on Cornell are those who go to 'upper Ivies' like HYP Columbia. And most people who go to those schools don't look down on Cornell as a crappy school, they just see it as less elite than their own colleges, which is true. I don't think even the most pretentious person at HYP considers Cornell a crappy school; most likely, they will just sneer at it for being a lower Ivy, but most are intelligent enough to realize it's a decent school.</p>
<p>Seriously, if someone considers Cornell a bad university, then 99% of colleges around the globe must be pathetic in that person's eyes.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I don't think even the most pretentious person at HYP considers Cornell a crappy school; most likely, they will just sneer at it for being a lower Ivy, but most are intelligent enough to realize it's a decent school.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Interestingly, I think in all of the interactions you will have for HYP kids, nobody will even sneer at you.</p>
<p>It's the other schools -- the schools like Penn, Duke, etc. that seem so anxious to put down a school like Cornell because they are trying to prove their own worth by the school they attend. If you notice, it is posters from these schools that routinely pop up on the message board.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the same can sometimes be said about Cornell. Too many kids I knew at Cornell would constantly try to wrap themselves in the Ivy League, when all it is is a sports league.</p>