Cornell is one of the finest institutions of higher learning in the country and the world. It "ranks" higher than any school in 40 of the 50 US states. It has a beautiful campus, in a beautiful part of upstate NY, and - uniquely for the Ivy League schools - is located in one of the quintessential American university towns (Hanover NH is a street, not a town).

Any student would be exceedingly fortunate to get into Cornell.

The ludicrous suggestion on DCUM (this is an Education forum, right?) that Cornell's appeal is unclear must come from an anxious applicant trying to dissuade others from applying.

My sibling went to Cornell and it changed her life. Like really changed her life. We were average middle class (one parent was a teacher and the other a sales person) and my sibling majored in economics and math at Cornell and went on to Wharton. We were instate for NY and my immigrant parents wouldn't let her apply anywhere very far so it was Columbia, NYU (where she got a full ride), Princeton and Cornell. She got into all of them except for Princeton but she really didn't want to go to a city school. She loved Cornell and is now living her dream.

There were a lot of kids there like this - great students from immigrant families who don't have connections and are unlikely to get into a small, liberal arts college. She was always very smart, very hard working, at the top of her class and involved in activities - but we sure didn't know how to play the college game nor was she involved in sports or had any connections. There are a million schools she could have applied to and attended but Cornell was within a few hours from home, absolutely beautiful and she loved the academic opportunities.

Cornell is a true gem.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's prestigious, it has a ton of history, it's been a boarding and prep school feeder for 100 years. The striver schools in the top 15 e.g. Vandy, Northwestern, Chicago, have nothing on Cornell. A question like this would only be asked by a public school parent who can't afford private high school or college. And someone who has never visited campus. Armchair college "experts" in flyover country.

Nonsense. I agree that Cornell is a top school, but so are Chicago and Northwestern. You can make your point about how good Cornell is without looking silly. However, I do agree with your comment about Vanderbilt. lol

Chicago, Northwestern and Vandy have no history or traditions at the undergraduate level; they don't even have a real sense of community because they kick everyone off campus after the first year or two. They are graduate school powers. Cornell has a real je ne sais quoi those striver colleges never will. You don't get that because you've probably never even been to Ithaca.

A five second google search will show that this isn't true. Vanderbilt students are required to live on campus all 4 years. Chicago students are required for the first 2 years and third and fourth year students don't tend to stray far from the main campus area for an assortment of reasons, even if they move to a non-Uni run house. Same with Northwestern.

Motel 6 management trainee programs.

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Anonymous wrote:PSA: Dragon Day @ Cornell is returning on Apr 1, after a 2-year hiatus because of Covid.

This is a good time for FCPS students (because of the alignment of Spring Break) to visit.

Get there before noon.

The next opportunity after this would be May 11, Slope Day. That's also a good time because the regional park trails will be open after shutting down for winter (they open up Mid-April I believe)

No, Slope Day is NOT a good day to visit.

Dragon Day would be good because it's mostly a normal day plus some nerds nerding it out a little bit. But go early enough that you see a "normal" day too. not just the festivities.

Hey--My son is resembles that remark! I would object to the name calling, but my son would take it as a point of pride. He loves Cornell and is looking forward to Dragon Day!

Dragon Day was really fun- that would be a good time to go.
Slope day- tons of underage drinking?! Unless things have changed in 25 years?

Anonymous wrote:PSA: Dragon Day @ Cornell is returning on Apr 1, after a 2-year hiatus because of Covid.

This is a good time for FCPS students (because of the alignment of Spring Break) to visit.

Get there before noon.

The next opportunity after this would be May 11, Slope Day. That's also a good time because the regional park trails will be open after shutting down for winter (they open up Mid-April I believe)

No, Slope Day is NOT a good day to visit.

Dragon Day would be good because it's mostly a normal day plus some nerds nerding it out a little bit. But go early enough that you see a "normal" day too. not just the festivities.

PSA: Dragon Day @ Cornell is returning on Apr 1, after a 2-year hiatus because of Covid.

This is a good time for FCPS students (because of the alignment of Spring Break) to visit.

Get there before noon.

The next opportunity after this would be May 11, Slope Day. That's also a good time because the regional park trails will be open after shutting down for winter (they open up Mid-April I believe)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's prestigious, it has a ton of history, it's been a boarding and prep school feeder for 100 years. The striver schools in the top 15 e.g. Vandy, Northwestern, Chicago, have nothing on Cornell. A question like this would only be asked by a public school parent who can't afford private high school or college. And someone who has never visited campus. Armchair college "experts" in flyover country.

Nonsense. I agree that Cornell is a top school, but so are Chicago and Northwestern. You can make your point about how good Cornell is without looking silly. However, I do agree with your comment about Vanderbilt. lol

Chicago is way above Cornell and these other schools you mentioned. It also has a top world class ranking and reputation unlike Northwestern, Cornell or Vandy.

LOL. OK.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's prestigious, it has a ton of history, it's been a boarding and prep school feeder for 100 years. The striver schools in the top 15 e.g. Vandy, Northwestern, Chicago, have nothing on Cornell. A question like this would only be asked by a public school parent who can't afford private high school or college. And someone who has never visited campus. Armchair college "experts" in flyover country.

Nonsense. I agree that Cornell is a top school, but so are Chicago and Northwestern. You can make your point about how good Cornell is without looking silly. However, I do agree with your comment about Vanderbilt. lol

Chicago is way above Cornell and these other schools you mentioned. It also has a top world class ranking and reputation unlike Northwestern, Cornell or Vandy.

Way above? Really? All of these schools are excellent and no one can argue that any of the top 40 are "Way above" any of the others academically. Prove that any given academic class is actually "way above' another.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's prestigious, it has a ton of history, it's been a boarding and prep school feeder for 100 years. The striver schools in the top 15 e.g. Vandy, Northwestern, Chicago, have nothing on Cornell. A question like this would only be asked by a public school parent who can't afford private high school or college. And someone who has never visited campus. Armchair college "experts" in flyover country.

Nonsense. I agree that Cornell is a top school, but so are Chicago and Northwestern. You can make your point about how good Cornell is without looking silly. However, I do agree with your comment about Vanderbilt. lol

Chicago is way above Cornell and these other schools you mentioned. It also has a top world class ranking and reputation unlike Northwestern, Cornell or Vandy.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard their FA is not that great. The story is Cornell admits students knowing many will opt out for financial reasons.

Anyone with personal experience on their FA?

Correct. Their FA is not as good as peer schools like Harvard, Princeton, Amherst or Rice.

Then it's not a peer school with other ivies. It's ivy league bc it belongs in the same sports conference. Otherwise, it's on the level of WashU where students are expect to pay for the degree.

HYP each offer more need based aid in the form of grants than the other Ivy or other top 20 schools. Their endowments allow them to be more generous than other schools. Like other Ivies, however, Cornell will typically match a financial aid offer from any other Ivy if you commit to attend.

PP is assuming Cornell admits receive multiple ivy offers. Some do. Many don't. If they did, even when all things are equal, not many will choose Cornell over Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton...

"Not many" is pretty vague. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of kids each year who will choose Cornell over other Ivy schools. My own kids did just that as Cornell has the best program in the Ivy League for their particular majors.

Cornell has a hotel trainee program no other ivies have.

Anonymous wrote:Hmm....Cornell is an Ivy and T20 university. That's why.

I think you will find that is not why most kids apply there; at least not the ones who get in. The applicants I know did not apply to any other Ivy or Top 20 and wrote essays very specific and unique to Cornell. they wanted Cornell, not just any random Ivy for the sake of prestige alone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard their FA is not that great. The story is Cornell admits students knowing many will opt out for financial reasons.

Anyone with personal experience on their FA?

Correct. Their FA is not as good as peer schools like Harvard, Princeton, Amherst or Rice.

Then it's not a peer school with other ivies. It's ivy league bc it belongs in the same sports conference. Otherwise, it's on the level of WashU where students are expect to pay for the degree.

HYP each offer more need based aid in the form of grants than the other Ivy or other top 20 schools. Their endowments allow them to be more generous than other schools. Like other Ivies, however, Cornell will typically match a financial aid offer from any other Ivy if you commit to attend.

PP is assuming Cornell admits receive multiple ivy offers. Some do. Many don't. If they did, even when all things are equal, not many will choose Cornell over Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton...

Many would. So many factors to consider when you actually have a real child with real life goals, attitudes, preferences, feelings about school vibes, etc. facing the decision. No one intelligent chooses based on fake "rankings."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard their FA is not that great. The story is Cornell admits students knowing many will opt out for financial reasons.

Anyone with personal experience on their FA?

Correct. Their FA is not as good as peer schools like Harvard, Princeton, Amherst or Rice.

Then it's not a peer school with other ivies. It's ivy league bc it belongs in the same sports conference. Otherwise, it's on the level of WashU where students are expect to pay for the degree.

HYP each offer more need based aid in the form of grants than the other Ivy or other top 20 schools. Their endowments allow them to be more generous than other schools. Like other Ivies, however, Cornell will typically match a financial aid offer from any other Ivy if you commit to attend.

PP is assuming Cornell admits receive multiple ivy offers. Some do. Many don't. If they did, even when all things are equal, not many will choose Cornell over Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton...

"Not many" is pretty vague. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of kids each year who will choose Cornell over other Ivy schools. My own kids did just that as Cornell has the best program in the Ivy League for their particular majors.