<p>I'll be a freshman at CU next year in either bio or biological engineering.</p>
<p>I was offered an great paid research job because a professor of molecular biology liked the work I did in a high school research project, which uses the same general concept used in his study.</p>
<p>He said in his email that it is for "10-12 hours a week (out of this, I will need
your help for routine work up to 4 hours a week)". . . but this seems like a large time commitment. He also cautioned that it would be wise to take 15 credit hours or less if I took the job.</p>
<p>Next year I would also like to join a music ensemble as music is a huge hoby of mine.</p>
<p>Do you think taking the job would kill any chance of having any sort of social life? </p>
<p>I'm really looking for some input of students that have been to Cornell, who have a good idea about how heavy the workload is. . . .</p>
<p>You will have the time if you can manage it judiciously.</p>
<p>If you are planning to do all of those things, it will be tough as a freshman. I had a job for around 6-10 hrs a week my freshman year with no other EC's and had a tough time maintaining a reasonable GPA. On the other hand, it might not be a bad idea to start off at 13-14 credits your first semester to adjust to college life.</p>
<p>I would definitely try to do the research job. If you do good with it, you will receive better "benefits" than you would from doing, for example, intramural basketball or some other social activity. Sacrifice is a big part of college and it may be better in the long-run to concentrate on the things that will help you in your major/career rather than devoting large amounts of time to a hobby or partying. Hobbies are good and they relieve stress but its all about finding the balance that will enable you to keep moving forward. College costs money, so it is best to use your time wisely. Remember to look at the big picture.</p>
<p>Absolutely agree. If you are choosing between the two, I would definitely take the job.</p>
<p>norcalguy - what did you major in?</p>
<p>I'd also take it easy on the amount of credits you take your first semester if you take the job. It seems like an excellent opportunity.</p>
<p>I was a bio major (and still am). Took some tough classes my first semester: intro bio, honors gen chem, multivariable calc, etc.</p>
<p>Of course how tough Cornell is depend on what kind of a GPA you want to get. I'd say Cornell makes it relatively easy to get B's and even B+'s. But if you're shooting for a 3.9-4.0 GPA, you're going to have to do some work.</p>
<p>I took 15 credits each of my first two semesters so I dived right in. But one of my friends took only 12 and 13 credits her freshman semesters, got an awesome GPA and a lot of confidence coming into sophomore year so it might not be too bad of an idea to take it easy(er) freshman year.</p>
<p>thanks for the advice. I'll be transfering into ILR in the fall. I'm hoping to take no more than 15 credit hours my first semester to get used to the school. I'm hoping to have enough time to join a few clubs and maybe even work as well!</p>
<p>If you do biological engineering, the first semester engineering cirriculum is much more forgiving than the first semester bio curriculum. They try to weed out the bio kids from the very start, whereas they wait till 3rd semester to do that to engineers. Thinking back to 1st semester (i am an engineer if you couldnt have guessed), i probably spent at least 10-12 hours a week playing computer games, goofing off, etc, and i still got a 3.8. So if youre going into engineering i'd say you would have time. Now, as for biology, most bio majors dont even have time to be bio majors first semester. So if you do that i dunno about having time to do a job. Then again, this is Cornell, where who you know (or who your father knows) matters more than anything else. So if you are really in tight with this bio prof dude, like he wants you to be his protege or something, then I'd go for it.</p>