Cornell - honest opinion

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Maher is an Irish name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS was accepted two years ago for CS. Originally applied ED, was deferred and got in during regular decision. DS ended up going elsewhere.

While I’m sure he would have been happy there, he is really thriving where he ended up. Ultimately it was the Cornell admitted student’s day (April) that turned him off and made him reconsider. Things that made him rethink Cornell were class sizes (especially for intro classes) and lack of freshmen with summer internships. It also seemed the college of engineering did nothing for admitted students day - opened up buildings for touring in your own and a few tables in a lobby with a handful of students to answer questions. It was pretty lame. The weather was horrible that weekend too.

They couldn’t throw together a presentation on why Cornell CS or Engineering is so great. They couldn’t bother to have a few professors there. We did our best to ask our questions to the student reps. Their responses were probably the most honest we would get but did not put Cornell in a great light - eg classes could be 1000+.

This raises an important point about Cornell re 'fit'. Cornell, especially STEM but really across the board, is a research-focused university, and perhaps on the opposite end of a SLAC in terms of undergraduate attention. The Professors are great and do interact with undergrads, but their prime focus is on their research programs and (grad/postdoc) research groups. It is a good fit for an undergrad that is very self-directed and independent academically, but not as much for students who want more from the faculty than solid and rigorous courses and exposure to academic research. One exception to this is that Cornell has extremely strong professional networks across the board and these are excellent for undergrads aiming to find alumni mentors and professional peer groups. But in general I don't think it's the kind of place where departments and faculty are going to put on a big tap dance for undergrads about how great their department/program is.

I’m the PP you are quoting. DS ended up at a university twice the size of Cornell. Both have top 10 rated CS programs. Both universities do lots of research and have strong grad school programs. In fact, Cornell “visited” this university to learn about their CS program.

His intro classes can be large (~200-300 students), but never 1000+ students like we were told Cornell has. At this university, the admitted student day had a presentation from the department chairman and another professor.. Other presentations were from students. Both professor presentation were relatively canned (eg minimal effort for them to pull together). The chairman presentation was on why this university’s CS program over other universities and other professor presentation was about computer simulation work he did for movies. They made the effort. It took max 2 hours of the professors time. Cornell CS made absolutely no effort. The impression we got from
Cornell is that as student you are absolutely a number and they are living off their reputation.

As a parent, I’m making a decision to drop $240K in the case of Cornell. I traveled to them to make help this decision and Cornell CS couldn’t bother to show up. They had a handful of students in a hallway to answer our questions. That was it. Guess they were too busy with their “research” (btw - buildings were empty when we were wandering around). Other schools are able to do research and show up for admitted students.

In fact, DS’ university encourages freshmen to engage in research. One of his friends (sophomore) just presented at a conference this Christmas break. Didn’t hear about any undergrad research opportunities at Cornell at all. Maybe they do, but wouldn’t know it.

As for Cornell network, a current senior posted on our neighborhood listserv this past spring looking for an internship over the summer. It actually struck me as a little odd as I would have thought Cornell/ivy networking would kick in over our VA suburban neighborhood. Of course, this is could just be a one off type thing.

I am an active alum and generally find many of the criticisms of Cornell on DCUM to be unfair or inaccurate, but PP is correct that Cornell does an abominable job with accepted students’ day. Just really weird that they don’t try a bit harder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The opinions about the Cornell "experience" primarily depend on the major/school and, secondarily, how outdoorsy the kid is. My outdoorsy kid majoring in Psychoiogy absolutely loved Cornell. Played on club sports team, greek life, campus job, took 5 Physical Education classes (sailing, skiing, golf, mountain biking, ice climbing) when only 2 were required, etc. Graduated with very good grades.

My STEM kid there found it to be a grind -- requiring tremendous about of lab and study time in order to earn decent grades for medical school applications.

As others have said, I highly recommend spending at least one undergraduate summer on campus taking advantage of the lake, hiking, wineries, golf, easy parking, etc.

If you aren’t going to major in stem or gun for Wall Street/mbb consulting then why wouldn’t a “outdoorsy” kid go to cu-boulder instead?

Hmmm... lets see....just for starters....
1. Because Cornell is ranked #12 by USNEWS while CU Boulder is ranked #105.
2. Because CU-Boulder lacks many of the non-STEM programs offered by Cornell (e.g. Human Ecology, ILR, Hotel Administration, Architecture)
3. Because CU-Boulder requires expensive flights to/from Colorado while Cornell is only a 4-6 hour bus ride to/from DC, Boston, NY, Philly, Baltimore, etc.
4. Because Cornell has a much better reputation for grad school/law school/industry applications.
5. Because Cornell offers great financial aid -- making it less expensive for most non Colorado families with financial need.

CU Boulder gives merit aid, BTW! My DD got $15k/year. She loves it there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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).

I appreciate you bringing this up.

OP here - have been doing a bit more research and that seems to be key. Seems schools in Boston area may be cold, but somehow not as overcast and campuses are more compact. So when it snows or we enter the muddy season it might not seem so bad if things are more compact.

I do worry about SAD for DC and also worry if he will just want to veg in his room a bit too much in his free time if it is freezing outside and the place he wanted to go to was a mile away in the dark.

I asked my freshman if he goes to any frat parties and he said nah, they are too far away - 30 min hilly walk each way. He tends to just hang out on North Campus where the first year dorms are clustered

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The opinions about the Cornell "experience" primarily depend on the major/school and, secondarily, how outdoorsy the kid is. My outdoorsy kid majoring in Psychoiogy absolutely loved Cornell. Played on club sports team, greek life, campus job, took 5 Physical Education classes (sailing, skiing, golf, mountain biking, ice climbing) when only 2 were required, etc. Graduated with very good grades.

My STEM kid there found it to be a grind -- requiring tremendous about of lab and study time in order to earn decent grades for medical school applications.

As others have said, I highly recommend spending at least one undergraduate summer on campus taking advantage of the lake, hiking, wineries, golf, easy parking, etc.

If you aren’t going to major in stem or gun for Wall Street/mbb consulting then why wouldn’t a “outdoorsy” kid go to cu-boulder instead?

Hmmm... lets see....just for starters....
1. Because Cornell is ranked #12 by USNEWS while CU Boulder is ranked #105.
2. Because CU-Boulder lacks many of the non-STEM programs offered by Cornell (e.g. Human Ecology, ILR, Hotel Administration, Architecture)
3. Because CU-Boulder requires expensive flights to/from Colorado while Cornell is only a 4-6 hour bus ride to/from DC, Boston, NY, Philly, Baltimore, etc.
4. Because Cornell has a much better reputation for grad school/law school/industry applications.
5. Because Cornell offers great financial aid -- making it less expensive for most non Colorado families with financial need.

CU Boulder gives merit aid, BTW! My DD got $15k/year. She loves it there.

And CU Boulder is about $20-25k less/year than Cornell.

As far as flights go, my DS is in MA and his train ride is about 8 hours. Yes, it’s cheaper than a flight, but it’s long and requires some advanced planning (must catch a bus to the train station at the right time, but bus tickets will sell out if not done in advance; has to wait at the open-air train station for hours, as there is no place to hang out until the train comes; Uber can be unreliable when everyone is leaving campus at the same time). He now flies from CT.

I guess if you want a specific program (hospitality, architecture, etc.)m then Cornell is your school; however, CU Boulder has plenty of non-STEM programs. While they don’t have a dedicated “Human Ecology” program, they do have environmental biology, sociology, and a top-notch environmental design program.

I’m not knocking Cornell, but CU Boulder is not a bad school! If my DD had applied to and gotten into Cornell, she probably would not have received the same merit she got at CU Boulder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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).

I appreciate you bringing this up.

OP here - have been doing a bit more research and that seems to be key. Seems schools in Boston area may be cold, but somehow not as overcast and campuses are more compact. So when it snows or we enter the muddy season it might not seem so bad if things are more compact.

I do worry about SAD for DC and also worry if he will just want to veg in his room a bit too much in his free time if it is freezing outside and the place he wanted to go to was a mile away in the dark.

I asked my freshman if he goes to any frat parties and he said nah, they are too far away - 30 min hilly walk each way. He tends to just hang out on North Campus where the first year dorms are clustered

Pre-rush freshmen don’t go to tons of frat parties anyway. There are some on north campus - he will learn more about them if he rushes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The opinions about the Cornell "experience" primarily depend on the major/school and, secondarily, how outdoorsy the kid is. My outdoorsy kid majoring in Psychoiogy absolutely loved Cornell. Played on club sports team, greek life, campus job, took 5 Physical Education classes (sailing, skiing, golf, mountain biking, ice climbing) when only 2 were required, etc. Graduated with very good grades.

My STEM kid there found it to be a grind -- requiring tremendous about of lab and study time in order to earn decent grades for medical school applications.

As others have said, I highly recommend spending at least one undergraduate summer on campus taking advantage of the lake, hiking, wineries, golf, easy parking, etc.

If you aren’t going to major in stem or gun for Wall Street/mbb consulting then why wouldn’t a “outdoorsy” kid go to cu-boulder instead?

Hmmm... lets see....just for starters....
1. Because Cornell is ranked #12 by USNEWS while CU Boulder is ranked #105.
2. Because CU-Boulder lacks many of the non-STEM programs offered by Cornell (e.g. Human Ecology, ILR, Hotel Administration, Architecture)
3. Because CU-Boulder requires expensive flights to/from Colorado while Cornell is only a 4-6 hour bus ride to/from DC, Boston, NY, Philly, Baltimore, etc.
4. Because Cornell has a much better reputation for grad school/law school/industry applications.
5. Because Cornell offers great financial aid -- making it less expensive for most non Colorado families with financial need.

CU Boulder gives merit aid, BTW! My DD got $15k/year. She loves it there.

💯

Dating for a straight girl is also a LOT better at Boulder vs cornell

Attractive and athletic and outgoing guys over 6’ are dime a dozen at Boulder

At cornell, outside of some of the athletes the pickings narrow extremely quickly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The opinions about the Cornell "experience" primarily depend on the major/school and, secondarily, how outdoorsy the kid is. My outdoorsy kid majoring in Psychoiogy absolutely loved Cornell. Played on club sports team, greek life, campus job, took 5 Physical Education classes (sailing, skiing, golf, mountain biking, ice climbing) when only 2 were required, etc. Graduated with very good grades.

My STEM kid there found it to be a grind -- requiring tremendous about of lab and study time in order to earn decent grades for medical school applications.

As others have said, I highly recommend spending at least one undergraduate summer on campus taking advantage of the lake, hiking, wineries, golf, easy parking, etc.

If you aren’t going to major in stem or gun for Wall Street/mbb consulting then why wouldn’t a “outdoorsy” kid go to cu-boulder instead?

Hmmm... lets see....just for starters....
1. Because Cornell is ranked #12 by USNEWS while CU Boulder is ranked #105.
2. Because CU-Boulder lacks many of the non-STEM programs offered by Cornell (e.g. Human Ecology, ILR, Hotel Administration, Architecture)
3. Because CU-Boulder requires expensive flights to/from Colorado while Cornell is only a 4-6 hour bus ride to/from DC, Boston, NY, Philly, Baltimore, etc.
4. Because Cornell has a much better reputation for grad school/law school/industry applications.
5. Because Cornell offers great financial aid -- making it less expensive for most non Colorado families with financial need.

CU Boulder gives merit aid, BTW! My DD got $15k/year. She loves it there.

💯

Dating for a straight girl is also a LOT better at Boulder vs cornell

Attractive and athletic and outgoing guys over 6’ are dime a dozen at Boulder

At cornell, outside of some of the athletes the pickings narrow extremely quickly

This is true in general when it comes to dating in the eastern versus the western half of the country. West Coast and Rocky Mountain cities tend to have more eligible males (e.g., Menver, Man Diego, etc.). Big cities on the East Coast like DC and NYC are teeming with single, attractive chicks but have a dearth of similarly datable men. This dynamic has formed the basis for many rom-coms and TV shows, most notably Sex and the City.

The moral is if you're a male who's an ice cold hustler and wants easy pickins, go to Cornell (if you can get in). If you're a female who doesn't want to have to cat-fight for eligible men, go to CU-Boulder.

[Anonymous]

Just a word on the location, as a native Central New Yorker - - there is no real winter weather difference between Syracuse and Ithaca. Winter can be cold and snowy, and yes, gray. But the area around Ithaca has so many beautiful attractions. Some of the most stunning state parks are around an hour outside of Ithaca (Watkins Glen) or closer (Treman, Taughannock). The Finger Lakes have tons of wineries and there are some cute little towns. You can drive (a bit further) to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Niagara Falls. There is good skiing, both XC and downhill, within a few hours drive. Obv. you'd need a car. But my point is that Ithaca has lots of cool stuff nearby, unlike some other remote cold weather locations.

[Anonymous]

Syracuse gets lake effect snow so they get dumped on more often than Ithaca.

Typical storm:

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Syracuse gets lake effect snow so they get dumped on more often than Ithaca.

Typical storm:

Yikes for Hamilton! 🥶

[Anonymous]

PP central new yorker here - true about lake effect but I'd say it's once or twice per winter that SYR gets a major snow dump and Ithaca gets none. My larger point is that ppl should not assume winters are generally more mild in Ithaca.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP central new yorker here - true about lake effect but I'd say it's once or twice per winter that SYR gets a major snow dump and Ithaca gets none. My larger point is that ppl should not assume winters are generally more mild in Ithaca.

I was a fellow at Cornell for a year and I learned the meteorological term "polar vortex" when I was there. It snowed from late October into late April. In the early months of the new year, it is bitterly cold. They cancel school because it is too cold. Have fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Maher is an Irish name.

Also if you had bothered to look it up, Maher didn’t even know his mother was a Hungarian Jew until early adulthood. He attended Catholic Church with his dad. He self describes as an atheist, agnostics or apathacist

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP central new yorker here - true about lake effect but I'd say it's once or twice per winter that SYR gets a major snow dump and Ithaca gets none. My larger point is that ppl should not assume winters are generally more mild in Ithaca.

I was a fellow at Cornell for a year and I learned the meteorological term "polar vortex" when I was there. It snowed from late October into late April. In the early months of the new year, it is bitterly cold. They cancel school because it is too cold. Have fun.

School was canceled maybe once in the 4 years I was there. Never heard of classes behind canceled for cold. What was the temp?