Cornell

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From our DMV private, Cornell takes legacy kids who are not among the top students. Not a great look.

Isn’t that the case for pretty much all ivies?

No. From the same school, Harvard admits the No 1 or 2 kid in the class (if they apply) every year.

Just to add that UPenn takes several kids (who are not athletes or legacies) every year. Not too 10 percent, but usually top 20.

This is Sidwell for sure.

No, it’s not Sidwell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From our DMV private, Cornell takes legacy kids who are not among the top students. Not a great look.

Isn’t that the case for pretty much all ivies?

No. From the same school, Harvard admits the No 1 or 2 kid in the class (if they apply) every year.

Just to add that UPenn takes several kids (who are not athletes or legacies) every year. Not too 10 percent, but usually top 20.

This is Sidwell for sure.

No, it’s not Sidwell.

It sure sounds like it.

[Anonymous]

Highest acceptance rate among all ivies. The difficult part is not getting in, is how to survive there academically. Grind school for sure.

[Anonymous]

For the natural B+ students who are tutored to an A-, or legacies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the natural B+ students who are tutored to an A-, or legacies.

My DC is straight A, highest rigor, 1580+, not yet decided on major, but will be STEM related, possibly an engineering discipline. Some of the negative comments about Cornell make the decision to attend Cornell full pay even harder. We need more positive comments to make the decision…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the natural B+ students who are tutored to an A-, or legacies.

My DC is straight A, highest rigor, 1580+, not yet decided on major, but will be STEM related, possibly an engineering discipline. Some of the negative comments about Cornell make the decision to attend Cornell full pay even harder. We need more positive comments to make the decision…

i've held off on posting since i feel like i've painted a very rosy picture of DD's freshman year so far and didn't want to go overboard. but here's my positive 2 cents - she's having a blast in CAS and mix of humanities/STEM classes. has classmates in engineering who are working hard but some are actually doing quite well. it's a grind but she feels like she grinded harder in high school and is really enjoying her time. happy to answer further questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the natural B+ students who are tutored to an A-, or legacies.

My DC is straight A, highest rigor, 1580+, not yet decided on major, but will be STEM related, possibly an engineering discipline. Some of the negative comments about Cornell make the decision to attend Cornell full pay even harder. We need more positive comments to make the decision…

No you don't. I graduated from Cornell. I would not pay full sticker for Cornell. Other schools can offer what Cornell does for less money.

Pros:
Challenging Academics
Variety of experiences
Kids who band together to survive
Fun school and large so there is something for everyone. No different than most large R1 State Schools.

Cons:
Weather--I cannot stress this enough. Your kid is either happy in cold, damp, and grey or they're not.
Pressure--there is extreme pressure to do well. Pressure comes from the other kids
Big Research Univ--you mentioned STEM but not what aspect. As a lowly undergrad, your kid is going to have a hard time competing for time in the lab
Perceived reputation---many people view Cornell as the school for kids who couldn't get into the real ivies. Not saying it's true, but perception often becomes reality.
ROI--I have a hard time believing that a degree from Cornell would make a significant difference in a starting salary or even in a 5 year out salary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the natural B+ students who are tutored to an A-, or legacies.

My DC is straight A, highest rigor, 1580+, not yet decided on major, but will be STEM related, possibly an engineering discipline. Some of the negative comments about Cornell make the decision to attend Cornell full pay even harder. We need more positive comments to make the decision…

What other schools to consider?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the natural B+ students who are tutored to an A-, or legacies.

My DC is straight A, highest rigor, 1580+, not yet decided on major, but will be STEM related, possibly an engineering discipline. Some of the negative comments about Cornell make the decision to attend Cornell full pay even harder. We need more positive comments to make the decision…

WHUT? I am pretty sure this is the wrong approach. Your DC needs "positive comments" from a forum to make their decision? Just visit and talk to kids there on the tour. If they feel lukewarm it's nto the right place, and if they love it then attend.

Cornell engineering has separate admissions, how is it possible "possibly an engineering discipline"? You should know by now.

In terms of negatives, Cornell is grade deflated, and this is transparent.

[Anonymous]

^ and make your decision not based on that it's an ivy. Ask if you would still attend if it's not an ivy. The answer is yes to DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the natural B+ students who are tutored to an A-, or legacies.

My DC is straight A, highest rigor, 1580+, not yet decided on major, but will be STEM related, possibly an engineering discipline. Some of the negative comments about Cornell make the decision to attend Cornell full pay even harder. We need more positive comments to make the decision…

No you don't. I graduated from Cornell. I would not pay full sticker for Cornell. Other schools can offer what Cornell does for less money.

Pros:
Challenging Academics
Variety of experiences
Kids who band together to survive
Fun school and large so there is something for everyone. No different than most large R1 State Schools.

Cons:
Weather--I cannot stress this enough. Your kid is either happy in cold, damp, and grey or they're not.
Pressure--there is extreme pressure to do well. Pressure comes from the other kids
Big Research Univ--you mentioned STEM but not what aspect. As a lowly undergrad, your kid is going to have a hard time competing for time in the lab
Perceived reputation---many people view Cornell as the school for kids who couldn't get into the real ivies. Not saying it's true, but perception often becomes reality.
ROI--I have a hard time believing that a degree from Cornell would make a significant difference in a starting salary or even in a 5 year out salary.

These are mostly true (with some exaggeration) and are well known.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the natural B+ students who are tutored to an A-, or legacies.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the natural B+ students who are tutored to an A-, or legacies.

My DC is straight A, highest rigor, 1580+, not yet decided on major, but will be STEM related, possibly an engineering discipline. Some of the negative comments about Cornell make the decision to attend Cornell full pay even harder. We need more positive comments to make the decision…

What other schools to consider?

Thank you. Her other options are UVA in state and Georgia Tech, and a few others that she is considering less at this point. I would say she is relatively smart (far from genius level smart of course), got good grades or SAT scores without any tutoring, stronger in STEM related subjects than humanities. She hears the reputation of GT in engineering, and GT costs much less to attend, but since she is not firmly set on engineering, she hesitates about committing there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the natural B+ students who are tutored to an A-, or legacies.

My DC is straight A, highest rigor, 1580+, not yet decided on major, but will be STEM related, possibly an engineering discipline. Some of the negative comments about Cornell make the decision to attend Cornell full pay even harder. We need more positive comments to make the decision…

What other schools to consider?

Thank you. Her other options are UVA in state and Georgia Tech, and a few others that she is considering less at this point. I would say she is relatively smart (far from genius level smart of course), got good grades or SAT scores without any tutoring, stronger in STEM related subjects than humanities. She hears the reputation of GT in engineering, and GT costs much less to attend, but since she is not firmly set on engineering, she hesitates about committing there.

Cornell is not ideal for her. Internal transfer into engineering school is not completely impossible but very rare. She won't have the flexibility/option to study engineering. Is she admitted to CAS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the natural B+ students who are tutored to an A-, or legacies.

My DC is straight A, highest rigor, 1580+, not yet decided on major, but will be STEM related, possibly an engineering discipline. Some of the negative comments about Cornell make the decision to attend Cornell full pay even harder. We need more positive comments to make the decision…

WHUT? I am pretty sure this is the wrong approach. Your DC needs "positive comments" from a forum to make their decision? Just visit and talk to kids there on the tour. If they feel lukewarm it's nto the right place, and if they love it then attend.

Cornell engineering has separate admissions, how is it possible "possibly an engineering discipline"? You should know by now.

In terms of negatives, Cornell is grade deflated, and this is transparent.

Thanks to you and the other posters who provided insights. I fully agree seeking others’ positive comments to commit to a school is not the right approach. The main reason she can’t decide is probably she is not sure about what to study in college. She applied to CAS at Cornell and indicated interest in a STEM major. She already visited, talked to current students from both CAS and Engineering, and learned that transferring from CAS to Engineering (in case she finds stronger interest in engineering) is not too difficult provided she does well in the required classes.