Cornell - what makes it great?

[Anonymous]

I have always heard negative stereotypes about Cornell but don't have firsthand knowledge. My dc is now looking at Cornell (CALS - wants to study fungal biology, plant science, environment & sustainability, etc). What makes someone choose Cornell over another top 25/top 50 school? She prefers the vibes at SLACs but is intrigued by all the course offerings and opportunities at Cornell. She does not mind the cold (we used to live in Vermont).

[Anonymous]

what makes a 17 year old kid know she's interested in fungal biology? (Not a criticism--genuinely curious!)

[Anonymous]

Ivy League brand.

[Anonymous]

So you make a list of Ivies and assess where you have the highest chance of admission. This is if you really want Ivy League. At the end of the day, Ivy is Ivy notwithstanding arguments from Duke, Northwestern, Chicago, Hopkins etc., Ivy is Ivy. Stanford, MIT, and Cal Tech are a different breed and better than all Ivies other than HYP.

[Anonymous]

Adults in their 30s or later who reference their “Ivy League” degree generate a lot more behind their back eye rolls than they think they do.

[Anonymous]

It has the most spots in the freshman class of all the ivies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adults in their 30s or later who reference their “Ivy League” degree generate a lot more behind their back eye rolls than they think they do.

Tell that to the in house position at a small company I can't apply to where literally the ad said Ivy League or equivalent undergrad and Top 14 Law School. I am 25 years out of law school and have been General Counsel twice in my career at smaller companies. It was for their GC position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adults in their 30s or later who reference their “Ivy League” degree generate a lot more behind their back eye rolls than they think they do.

We have a friend who, in her late 40s, makes sure that everyone she meets knows within the hour that she went to Princeton. It is so embarrassing.

I don’t have the heart to tell her. She is an otherwise truly lovely and sociable woman. But so many from our circle avoid her because she can’t fathom that she is signaling a slavish devotion to brand names. She comes off like a logo whore in a sea of Loro Piana.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adults in their 30s or later who reference their “Ivy League” degree generate a lot more behind their back eye rolls than they think they do.

Tell that to the in house position at a small company I can't apply to where literally the ad said Ivy League or equivalent undergrad and Top 14 Law School. I am 25 years out of law school and have been General Counsel twice in my career at smaller companies. It was for their GC position.

Yikes! I've been practicing for near two decades, and I've never heard of any legal employers overtly imposing such a requirement. Depending on what is considered an Ivy equivalent (does my Ninth Circuit clerkship make up for my woeful Berkeley undergrad education?), I'd qualify, but there's no way in hell I'd want to work for an employer that can't even pretend to hide its pretentiousness. Are you sure you want to work for an employer that imposes such an inane prerequisite?

[Anonymous]

It’s not a match for everyone, but for people with uniquely defined or niche interests, it’s perfect!! They have classes there my kid could not get anywhere else.

Visit. Sit in on a class.
If it’s magical to your kid, you’ll know.
If not, don’t apply

[Anonymous]

I don’t know what the negative stereotypes are but Cornell has one of the best agricultural colleges in the country, especially plant sciences. Several apple varieties exist today because of Cornell. Their “mushrooms and molds” class is usually extremely popular—I doubt any SLACs (or any other Ivies) even have such a class.

[Anonymous]

Why don’t you spend some time exploring the Cornell website and see what you think of it?
Or take your kid there on a college tour.
It is a big school with a huge array of offerings. It is strong academically. You cannot compare it to a Slac as it is very different

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adults in their 30s or later who reference their “Ivy League” degree generate a lot more behind their back eye rolls than they think they do.

We have a friend who, in her late 40s, makes sure that everyone she meets knows within the hour that she went to Princeton. It is so embarrassing.

I don’t have the heart to tell her. She is an otherwise truly lovely and sociable woman. But so many from our circle avoid her because she can’t fathom that she is signaling a slavish devotion to brand names. She comes off like a logo whore in a sea of Loro Piana.

Cool story.

[Anonymous]

We frequently vacation in Ithaca. It's a wonderful college town with, IMHO, the best group of hiking trails close by on the East Coast. If your kid likes the outdoors, they'll love Cornell.

[Anonymous]

DC got in and turned it down. Not worth the cost in his opinion. Chose large OOS public college instead. Cornell seemed like a competitive degree mill.