Cornell - honest opinion

[Anonymous]

DC toured Cornell in the early fall, loved the campus and felt he could fit in with the students. DC did not love it so much to do ED and we were especially cautious since DC did not visit in the winter.

So for those who have kids at Cornell how brutal are the winters? It seems like they would be more mild than Syracuse but keep hearing they are brutal.

Also how cut throat/competitive is it? DC is used to high rigor but DC HS is much more cooperative than most schools. I don’t think DC would do well when his classmates are cut throat. DC is considering environmental engineering.

Trying to see if doing another tour in mid February would be worth it to see the school in the “bleary” months as opposed to waiting until he gets decision in late March.

[Anonymous]

March will still be pretty awful probably. I’m not sure I’d make a point to visit again before then.

[Anonymous]

My son is a freshman there. He likes it but does complain about the weather. We only briefly visited once in early September and then he applied ED. So far, he has had one brutal math class but his other classes were fine.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't visit a second time until you have an acceptance. That is putting way too much emphasis on what is probably a 5% crap shoot. I would never do that to my kid.

the weather will be fine. I went to school in Chicago. it was cold from Nov until we left in May each year but we all had fun regardless. Snow and cold becomes a non-event very quickly. as to the competitiveness? You can access that once he gets accepted.

[Anonymous]

Cornell is a wonderful place. Does anyone really go there (or avoid it) due to weather?

It's a lot milder than it used to be. Cold from November to April, but less snow than even a few years ago.

[Anonymous]

I was in Boston for two 100- year snowstorm kind of winters. It sucked and I definitely moved south for grad school, but I think culture, fit definitely outweighs weather.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in California and went to Cornell for undergrad. The winters were intense, but manageable with proper clothing and footwear. I certainly won't rule it out on that basis.

I didn't find that competitive, honestly. Maybe it was my major, but I found (this was mid-90's) that most undergrads were focused on partying. Classes were serious but not impossible, and I didn't sense a huge amount of competitiveness from my classmates - we all helped each other and got through the tough classes okay. Again, experiences and perspectives from 20ish years ago so take that for what it's worth - I don't regret going there one bit.

[Anonymous]

Bill Maher went there. Today, he'd encourage your kid to become a plumber.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it gets very cold at Cornell, but the real weather related issue is the overcast, dreary days that can trigger depression/ SAD (seasonal affective disorder).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't visit a second time until you have an acceptance. That is putting way too much emphasis on what is probably a 5% crap shoot. I would never do that to my kid.

the weather will be fine. I went to school in Chicago. it was cold from Nov until we left in May each year but we all had fun regardless. Snow and cold becomes a non-event very quickly. as to the competitiveness? You can access that once he gets accepted.

This. My kid applied RD (engineering) and was waitlisted. And it's bitterly cold. Read up about suicide bridge on wikipedia. it has its own page: Cornell gorge suicides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bill Maher went there. Today, he'd encourage your kid to become a plumber.

Jews who go to Cornell only do so because they didn’t get into Columbia or hypsm-Penn

Bubbes will always compare you to your cousin who went to one of those other schools

No wonder Maher has a chip on his shoulder about Cornell

[Anonymous]

I know three kids in engineering, one girl was miserable and wanted to transfer to another college. She found engineering very difficult. The other boy hated the grey skies and could not wait to get out. The third kid really enjoyed it but he is an outdoorsy kid and I think that helped. The school is tough for STEM majors and weather can be an issue but it totally depends on the kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't visit a second time until you have an acceptance. That is putting way too much emphasis on what is probably a 5% crap shoot. I would never do that to my kid.

the weather will be fine. I went to school in Chicago. it was cold from Nov until we left in May each year but we all had fun regardless. Snow and cold becomes a non-event very quickly. as to the competitiveness? You can access that once he gets accepted.

This. My kid applied RD (engineering) and was waitlisted. And it's bitterly cold. Read up about suicide bridge on wikipedia. it has its own page: Cornell gorge suicides.

The former head of Cornell's counseling services left to become head of student counseling services at U Penn. He committed suicide while at U Penn in 2019. Left a wife 7 3 children.

https://insidehighered.com/news/2019/09/11/university-pennsylvania-director-counseling-dies-suicide#

Columbia, Cornell, & U Penn students experience a great deal of stress depending upon one's major.

[Anonymous]

I have many Cornellians in my family.

It has always been rigorous. If your child is a straight-A type and would be broken-hearted to lose that record, it's not the right place. There will be anything from Bs to Ds on the transcript...all of which is survivable.

If your family cares a lot about weather, then it should be a factor. People who don't like cold weather are people who are foreign to my way of thinking. I think a good test would be whether a person likes skiing. I can't imagine anyone who skis having issue with Cornell weather.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it gets very cold at Cornell, but the real weather related issue is the overcast, dreary days that can trigger depression/ SAD (seasonal affective disorder).

This. My freshman son was complaining about how it seems to rain all the time and that the sky is often overcast. It also gets dark by 4.30 pm in winter. The campus is spread out so lots of walking everywhere. He still thinks it is the right choice for him though. He is happy there and has no regrets