<p>I've researched and learned a lot about Cornell & decided to apply ED. However, I have yet to visit the school. I want to visit but my parents say it's a pain to get from Chicago to Ithaca & they also said that there really isn't a point in going unless visiting significantly boosts one's chances of admission like it does at schools like Tufts & Emory. My question is, does visiting have any effect at all on admission?</p>
<p>One more question. What is the atmosphere at Cornell like? A bunch of my friends have visted and they all said that they never saw anyone talking to each other or having fun and that everyone seemed unhappy. They also said that it seemed like every other student at Cornell wasn't happy about being there because they wanted to go to HYPS but were rejected and had to "settle" for Cornell. How accurate are these statements? Based off what I've heard from guidebooks and off this board I'm sure all of you are going to say this isn't true though.</p>
<p>Well from most of the posts on this forum you tend to get the idea Cornell is one darn sexy place to be. Even though many people there would rather be somewhere else...</p>
<p>Your parents shouldn't be complaining. Chicago to Ithaca is much closer than Australia to Ithaca.</p>
<p>There was a question about visiting and I think the result was that it would show interest but thats only if the school bothers to record that you came to visit. I'm sure many other people here could help you :)</p>
<ol>
<li>I haven't met anyone who genuinely is disappointed to be here.</li>
<li>I always see people socializing...in classes, outside of classes, at mealtimes, in the middle of the night when we should be working...;)</li>
<li>I don't think I've run into anyone genuinely unhappy in general. Stressed, yes. Unhappy, no.</li>
<li>Off topic, but what the hell is it with the rumor that people that go to Cornell are ugly...? Have the people even seen the place?</li>
<li>I just wanted to put a #5.</li>
</ol>
<p>Visiting does have an effect on admissions. Talking to an admissions rep also helps a lot. It won't automatically give you admissions but it can be the needed boost if you are a borderline applicant. </p>
<p>When you are bundled up and walking to class through 6 inches of snow at 9 am, I doubt you would be very happy. With that said, most people are happy at Cornell. Walk through dining halls or student centers to get a feel of how the students are. Standing outside and observing people as they walk to class will hardly give you a good feel of the atmosphere because students have things to do and places to be. Visiting the school will also help you make a good judgment.</p>
<p>The only people with HYPS reject syndrome are high-strung pre-med tools but they are douches to begin with so who cares.</p>
<p>
[quote]
4. Off topic, but what the hell is it with the rumor that people that go to Cornell are ugly...? Have the people even seen the place?
<p>Chicago-Ithaca is involves two legs of transportation. Either O'Hare-Syracuse airport (a direct flight just under two hours on United or American Airlines) renting a car and driving one hour in very light traffic to Ithaca, OR</p>
<p>flying Northwest Air via Detroit to Ithaca (Tompkins County Airport, ten minutes from sCornell) or a cheaper flight to Elmira-Corning airport, about 45 minutes south of Cornell.</p>
<p>You can also go via Philadelphia or NYC on US Air, but it takes longer and costs more.</p>
<p>By car it's 700 miles, about 11 hours. Buses and trains are not reasonable options.</p>
<p>You need to visit a school before committing yourself to ED. Cornell is not for everyone.</p>
<p>well, when i visited there, i saw many people talking to each other. i dunno if its just because it was the second week of school, but i thought there were plenty of people socializing and having a good time.</p>
<p>When I visited Cornell, on the 5th day of school, I stayed there from 10:30am - 6:30pm. I saw the marching band practicing on the baseball diamond in the morning at 11am, then when I was taking a tour of the campus, I saw them again (around 3pm) parading around the campus and holding up traffic. Lots of school spirit. Speaking of holding up traffic, I saw students in cars hold up traffic to socialize with their friends walking on the sidewalk and bands of people walking to and fro the dorms.
The students looked happy then, but then again it was only the fifth day of school, lol.</p>
<p>Also, after I visited the campus, Cornell sent me a letter thanking me for visiting their campus. So I guess visiting does help. =D</p>
<p>Talking to a college rep also helps get your name known in the admissions committee. But they meet thousands of prospective students a week so unless you talk to them about something memorable or funny, they probably won't remember you unless you become anal and email them everyday, lol.</p>
<p>Its located pretty much in a smallish town. Not too much shopping and stuff nearby. There's also that chick thingy- they say there's a chronic shortage of chicks. But then if you're purely after chicks there's always LAC's that have a F:M ration of like 7:3!</p>
<p>But then, I wouldn't know much because I haven't been there... although I'm going there next week lol.</p>
<p>I just got someone who was really going to do ED to Columbia, but after visiting this weekend with MVP (Multicultural Visitation Program in which I hosted 3 students) she says she really liked Cornell, a school she never even considered before this visit, and doing Columbia RD, so visiting really not only confirms your decisions, but really just shows you what Cornell is all about.</p>
<p>I actually went to Cornell this weekend to visit and honestly, I didn't like it. Now I have a feeling I'm a really isolated case because most people are completely in love with Cornell, but for some reason it's not for me! I was going to apply but now, I've decided not to. At least not ED.
I basically am a city girl - and though you may think there's tons to do in Ithaca, it's just not for me. I love being in the city, seeing tons of people walking by, watching cars go by, going on the subway, seeing people from all races and backgrounds on every street, and shopping or at least window shopping. I love dancing, going to clubs, and just walking around nyc. Ithaca is quite pretty - but it is certainly not <em>as</em> beautiful as everyone makes it seem. I honestly think Princeton is much more gorgeous, and Northwestern too. I guess it's just personal opinion - and I think it has much to do with the fact that I didn't get to visit the Gorges and plantations and whatnot. I saw the botanical gardens and I was less than impressed. But like I said, it's only a personal view! I really have the feeling like I missed seeing something in my trip because I didnt get the impression of total beauty that everyone else on CC seems to have....I must be strange & very weird. Hmm.
And also - I honestly didnt see very much diversity. For some reason, I just felt like I wouldn't fit in there. It's not for me- so make sure you visit to make sure you really love it!!</p>
<p>Just came back from a week-end at Cornell visiting my d. I am going to second pretty much everything Shizz says. It is hard to look happy when walking in 6 inches of snow OR when you have to walk from North Campus to Engineering Quad (or even ILR) even when the weather is as beautiful as it was this week-end. Cornell is a very BIG and HILLY campus. It is probably at least a 20 minute strenuous walk to go across campus. It may sound trite to some, but I know a lot of kids who did not apply to Cornell cause they thought the campus was too big. So I would caution anyone to apply to Cornell ED without seeing it first. That said-- The kids who did decide to go to Cornell seem extremely happy with their choice. Just re-read Shizz's comment. I do not agree that the girls are ugly. As I said, My d goes there and she is quite good looking and I saw many other nice looking girls too.</p>
<p>I don't suggest applying ED anywhere without visiting...It doesn't make sense to enter a binding contractual agreement to attend a school without visiting first.</p>
<p>The walking hurts at first, but it doesn't bother me anymore, now that I'm used to it.</p>
<p>And we all know that the guys aren't all that great either ;). I will admit that the hot guy girl ratio is skewed in favor of hot guys, though, which is perfectly fine, for girls.</p>