Cornell Engineering?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cornell Engineering is like TJ.

Not competitive between the students. But if you dont have STEM IQ (meaning you just need to be naturally good at math, physics, CS) grades are going to suffer, and every HW and Exam is going to be a struggle.

Actually being naturally gifted at STEM is probably not a gift because at TJ everyone has to work hard. My kid got a low C on an exam with every answer correct because the teacher didn't like how he showed his work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cornell Engineering is like TJ.

Not competitive between the students. But if you dont have STEM IQ (meaning you just need to be naturally good at math, physics, CS) grades are going to suffer, and every HW and Exam is going to be a struggle.

Actually being naturally gifted at STEM is probably not a gift because at TJ everyone has to work hard. My kid got a low C on an exam with every answer correct because the teacher didn't like how he showed his work.

Naturally gifted at STEM are able to show correct work. Maybe your teacher was incompetent but in general not showing work does not correlate to being more gifted. Sure everyone works hard to a degree, at TJ and at top colleges, but some get the top grades and others struggle and are still bottom of the curves. Those students do not have STEM IQ to be successful in top engineering programs. That is the difference.

[Anonymous]

lol at comparing what goes on at a high school to think you know what is expected at the very Top Engineering Colleges. My kid is at one. Completely different ball game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, as an MIT grad - you aren't actually at a hard school if you aren't studying all the time. Just a fact of life. That doesn't mean we didn't party after midterms (we did) or that we didn't have other things like research, jobs, Greek life, sports. We just took academics very seriously.

The person that posted that is in the suck. Everyone at MIT has that stairwell they cried in. IHTFP 4 evah

Truth per my ivy engineering kid. Almost always makes the A yet common tears/ angst after some very difficult exams that crush everyone (median 60-70% on purpose, filled with niche research based problems that do not have neat answers, they just want to see what you can do with the problem, high score could be in the low 80s).
At these tough schools, kids are all in it together, they cry together, work very hard, and party together when it is over, and know to shut up when one in the group really does bomb something.

Fun fact. There is only one Ivy in the Top 10 of Engineering Schools. Cornell is that one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I Have a high performing engineering kid. Engineering is stressful all around, but Cornell and Carnegie Mellon seem to make engineering much more stressful than it needs to be.

He ultimately chose elsewhere. You can get the same quality education at other schools without the Hunger Games environment that Cornell and CMU are promoting. The deans of those programs are just… I guess I can’t use the words I really want to use.

But the way Cornell and CMU are going about things should give every smart kid pause.

Totally agree. Cornell was never on our DD college list. Too remote and reputation turned us off. CMU was originally on her short list, but every interaction we had with the school turned her off more and more. The final straw was asking about co-op experiences and being told by admissions presenter that CMU pushes for students to only take summer internships and finish in four years. That's completely unacceptable for today's engineering students. After getting deferred/denied at MIT, DD decided on GT.

[Anonymous]

DC is only one semester in but loves it. An upperclassman offered to help DC learn some of the physics/math DC was struggling with. DC also got accepted to 1 of 2 project teams DC applied to. It’s definitely rigorous but manageable thus far. Socially, all schools are what you make of it. DC is naturally outgoing and is often the one inviting others to do things together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I Have a high performing engineering kid. Engineering is stressful all around, but Cornell and Carnegie Mellon seem to make engineering much more stressful than it needs to be.

He ultimately chose elsewhere. You can get the same quality education at other schools without the Hunger Games environment that Cornell and CMU are promoting. The deans of those programs are just… I guess I can’t use the words I really want to use.

But the way Cornell and CMU are going about things should give every smart kid pause.

Totally agree. Cornell was never on our DD college list. Too remote and reputation turned us off. CMU was originally on her short list, but every interaction we had with the school turned her off more and more. The final straw was asking about co-op experiences and being told by admissions presenter that CMU pushes for students to only take summer internships and finish in four years. That's completely unacceptable for today's engineering students. After getting deferred/denied at MIT, DD decided on GT.

Agreed. My DS chose GT as well for similar reasons. Loves it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:lol at comparing what goes on at a high school to think you know what is expected at the very Top Engineering Colleges. My kid is at one. Completely different ball game.

+10

[Anonymous]

Hmm…I didn’t realize Cornell engineering was like this. I knew it ranked well for engineering but I didn’t realize that meant it crushes the smartest students.

My teen has it on their list to apply (not this year). He goes to a tough STEM high school (comparable to TJ) where there are always a handful of tests during the year the whole class will bomb (40-60% scores). He rolls with it and carries on. Tries hard, but not a perfectionist who gets troubled without perfect grades. Not sure if that means Cornell will maybe be an ok fit or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cornell Engineering is like TJ.

Not competitive between the students. But if you dont have STEM IQ (meaning you just need to be naturally good at math, physics, CS) grades are going to suffer, and every HW and Exam is going to be a struggle.

Actually being naturally gifted at STEM is probably not a gift because at TJ everyone has to work hard. My kid got a low C on an exam with every answer correct because the teacher didn't like how he showed his work.

Naturally gifted at STEM are able to show correct work. Maybe your teacher was incompetent but in general not showing work does not correlate to being more gifted. Sure everyone works hard to a degree, at TJ and at top colleges, but some get the top grades and others struggle and are still bottom of the curves. Those students do not have STEM IQ to be successful in top engineering programs. That is the difference.

In reality - Engineering classes are "cookbooks". The project work makes sure you are competent but the math based exams... A majority of my class and everyone else I've met from other schools - just memorize the steps to solve the problem. The math understanding drops because you don't have the time to digest, so you default to show "work". Even math majors don't take time to understand everything just too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cornell Engineering is like TJ.

Not competitive between the students. But if you dont have STEM IQ (meaning you just need to be naturally good at math, physics, CS) grades are going to suffer, and every HW and Exam is going to be a struggle.

Actually being naturally gifted at STEM is probably not a gift because at TJ everyone has to work hard. My kid got a low C on an exam with every answer correct because the teacher didn't like how he showed his work.

💯 This has been my kids experience at TJ, as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hmm…I didn’t realize Cornell engineering was like this. I knew it ranked well for engineering but I didn’t realize that meant it crushes the smartest students.

My teen has it on their list to apply (not this year). He goes to a tough STEM high school (comparable to TJ) where there are always a handful of tests during the year the whole class will bomb (40-60% scores). He rolls with it and carries on. Tries hard, but not a perfectionist who gets troubled without perfect grades. Not sure if that means Cornell will maybe be an ok fit or not.

"Crushes"? I mean, it's tough for sure, as many engineering programs are, but I wouldn't say it "crushes the smartest students".

If your kid is coming from a TJ-level high school they will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hmm…I didn’t realize Cornell engineering was like this. I knew it ranked well for engineering but I didn’t realize that meant it crushes the smartest students.

My teen has it on their list to apply (not this year). He goes to a tough STEM high school (comparable to TJ) where there are always a handful of tests during the year the whole class will bomb (40-60% scores). He rolls with it and carries on. Tries hard, but not a perfectionist who gets troubled without perfect grades. Not sure if that means Cornell will maybe be an ok fit or not.

Here you've been presented speculation about what it's like at Cornell from parents of kids who DIDN'T go to Cornell. And then you've had input from students who actually attend Cornell and said things are going well there. Why then is your takeaway that it "crushes the smartest students?"