Anonymous
Post 04/13/2021 10:01     Subject: Cornell?!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Had not thought of the diversity of disciplines which is a good point. That region of NY is pretty and the downtown area looked like a fun town for college students.

We were turned off by the size of it all. Very large (hilly) campus (long distances to walk or wait for buses in the cold!), and large classes (at least early ones: the tour guide explained that one popular class had 800 students!). That made me think you would be unlikely to interact with their many famous faculty members. Also, due to its size, there was something impersonal. Like the Admissions tour was a cattle call. And it was one of the rare campuses where we had to pay for parking (though to be fair, I guess you encounter this in other large schools near cities, such as UMCP). As you might suspect, my DC opted for a very small school instead. But obviously, for a different kid, Cornell has a lot to offer.


9:27 here. I think your assessment is fair. Cornell is not for everyone, and frankly, speaking as a grad, in hindsight it wasn't the right school for me. I think it's a good place for someone who has a fairly strong sense of who they are and what they want to get out of their college experience. And who enjoys winter in a fairly rural environment! It is not a good place for those who are a bit lost or are still trying to find themselves and figure out their place in the world (in other words, 18 year old me!). I'm hopeful that when it's time for my kids to go to school we'll do a better job of matching them with a college than I was able to do for myself at that age.


I have a kid at Cornell and the above 2 posts are fair comment. I also agree with poster upthread that Cornell has a global brand and recognition that some of its peers do not enjoy. Honestly, nobody at Cornell really cares about ranking once there. The recruiting is strong, the alumni network is devout and the sports, well nobody watches sports there.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2021 09:57     Subject: Cornell?!
Anonymous wrote:Cornell is hard to define by a single ranking number as it covers a wide swath of instruction not found in the other elite colleges.

You have CAS which is comparable to the rest of the traditional Ivy League peers in its liberal arts focus.

Then you have CoE which is T5 for CS and top in the Ivies for engineering. Dyson is one of only 2 undergrad business schools within the Ivy League.

SHA, ILR, HumEc, CALS and Architecture provide the niche specialization not found in peer institutions.

Because of this, you go to Cornell to meet others that study and excel at very different fields from your own.


I have never heard of a T5 for CS. It is widely accepted there is a big 4 for CS -- CMU, MIT, Stanford, and UCB -- which are clearly above everyone else. Cornell engineering is very strong but I am not sure it can claim the #5 spot in CS when there are many other equally strong or stronger schools such as GA Tech, UIUC, Cal Tech, and UWashington. It's in the second tier below the big 4.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2021 09:49     Subject: Cornell?!
Anonymous wrote:Had not thought of the diversity of disciplines which is a good point. That region of NY is pretty and the downtown area looked like a fun town for college students.

We were turned off by the size of it all. Very large (hilly) campus (long distances to walk or wait for buses in the cold!), and large classes (at least early ones: the tour guide explained that one popular class had 800 students!). That made me think you would be unlikely to interact with their many famous faculty members. Also, due to its size, there was something impersonal. Like the Admissions tour was a cattle call. And it was one of the rare campuses where we had to pay for parking (though to be fair, I guess you encounter this in other large schools near cities, such as UMCP). As you might suspect, my DC opted for a very small school instead. But obviously, for a different kid, Cornell has a lot to offer.


9:27 here. I think your assessment is fair. Cornell is not for everyone, and frankly, speaking as a grad, in hindsight it wasn't the right school for me. I think it's a good place for someone who has a fairly strong sense of who they are and what they want to get out of their college experience. And who enjoys winter in a fairly rural environment! It is not a good place for those who are a bit lost or are still trying to find themselves and figure out their place in the world (in other words, 18 year old me!). I'm hopeful that when it's time for my kids to go to school we'll do a better job of matching them with a college than I was able to do for myself at that age.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2021 09:35     Subject: Cornell?!
Anonymous wrote:Okay but that doesn't really address my point. How do alum really feel about Cornell's "side" programs? And would Cornell be top 25 if it wasn't an ivy league.


No one is addressing your point because it is nonsensical. USN rankings are based on metrics. You don't get bonus points for Ivy league membership, so no, that in and of itself has no effect on its ranking.

Why don't YOU say which of those metrics is wrong, and then your point maybe can be addressed logically?
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2021 09:32     Subject: Cornell?!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Curious OP why you have an axe to grind?


Sounds like OP's kid's at "top 25 private ( CMU, Emory, Notre Dame etc.)

He's applying this year actually. I'm just curious is all. I've never heard of other top 25 private schools with guaranteed transfer, a community college transfer program, AND a public college component to the school. The closest thing to that is Emory's oxford college, but they release the stats for those students, unlike Cornell. My thing is it's very apparent that all ivy league schools get a boost in the ranking just for being ivy league, they get more applications, a higher reputation score, but yet Cornell.... you get the point.


See above OP. Every other university ranking puts Cornell relatively higher (versus its US NEWS peers). Personally, I like to consider more than one ranking source when I draw conclusions about how schools compare.



Okay but that doesn't really address my point. How do alum really feel about Cornell's "side" programs? And would Cornell be top 25 if it wasn't an ivy league.


I think that the various programs fit well with Cornell's motto:
"I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study”

Not everyone is obsessed with "Top 25" or "Ivy". Let your kid find the best school/program for him - encourage him to not stress over rankings. Have him focus on his academic and personal interests. Does he want a rural setting, certain research areas, etc.? You know, the actual, meaningful aspects of the college experience. There are plenty of great schools, including Cornell.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2021 09:30     Subject: Cornell?!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Curious OP why you have an axe to grind?


Sounds like OP's kid's at "top 25 private ( CMU, Emory, Notre Dame etc.)

He's applying this year actually. I'm just curious is all. I've never heard of other top 25 private schools with guaranteed transfer, a community college transfer program, AND a public college component to the school. The closest thing to that is Emory's oxford college, but they release the stats for those students, unlike Cornell. My thing is it's very apparent that all ivy league schools get a boost in the ranking just for being ivy league, they get more applications, a higher reputation score, but yet Cornell.... you get the point.


See above OP. Every other university ranking puts Cornell relatively higher (versus its US NEWS peers). Personally, I like to consider more than one ranking source when I draw conclusions about how schools compare.



Okay but that doesn't really address my point. How do alum really feel about Cornell's "side" programs? And would Cornell be top 25 if it wasn't an ivy league.


Just curious, but do you consider the public portion a "side" program? Because I can assure you it is not. It's a fundamental part of the school, and one of its strengths. Frankly, I'd say the other programs are good ones as well. Not sure what your problem with them are.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2021 09:27     Subject: Cornell?!
Anonymous wrote:I didn't think of it while I was going there (ok, many years ago) but I did have a wide range of friends from the different schools, which is really a good thing. I was at the Engineering school, but had friends/acquaintances from Agriculture/Life Science, Arts & Sciences, Hotel Administration, Human Ecology, Industrial & Labor Relations, not to mention the near Grad School programs. In retrospect, the diversity of fields was really neat.


As Ezra said, “I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.”

While my experience at Cornell had its downsides, I do think there's something special about the breadth of the majors one can find there. And the fact that it was founded as a co-educational institution in the 1800s. I'm pretty proud of that element as well.

Not sure why op is determined to knock it down a notch. For the right student, its a great place to go.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2021 09:24     Subject: Cornell?!
Had not thought of the diversity of disciplines which is a good point. That region of NY is pretty and the downtown area looked like a fun town for college students.

We were turned off by the size of it all. Very large (hilly) campus (long distances to walk or wait for buses in the cold!), and large classes (at least early ones: the tour guide explained that one popular class had 800 students!). That made me think you would be unlikely to interact with their many famous faculty members. Also, due to its size, there was something impersonal. Like the Admissions tour was a cattle call. And it was one of the rare campuses where we had to pay for parking (though to be fair, I guess you encounter this in other large schools near cities, such as UMCP). As you might suspect, my DC opted for a very small school instead. But obviously, for a different kid, Cornell has a lot to offer.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2021 09:24     Subject: Cornell?!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Curious OP why you have an axe to grind?


Sounds like OP's kid's at "top 25 private ( CMU, Emory, Notre Dame etc.)

He's applying this year actually. I'm just curious is all. I've never heard of other top 25 private schools with guaranteed transfer, a community college transfer program, AND a public college component to the school. The closest thing to that is Emory's oxford college, but they release the stats for those students, unlike Cornell. My thing is it's very apparent that all ivy league schools get a boost in the ranking just for being ivy league, they get more applications, a higher reputation score, but yet Cornell.... you get the point.


See above OP. Every other university ranking puts Cornell relatively higher (versus its US NEWS peers). Personally, I like to consider more than one ranking source when I draw conclusions about how schools compare.



Okay but that doesn't really address my point. How do alum really feel about Cornell's "side" programs? And would Cornell be top 25 if it wasn't an ivy league.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2021 09:23     Subject: Cornell?!
While I went there many years ago, I don't think there was a huge difference in the quality of the students in the public schools compared to the private ones. The kids in the private schools generally had more money though and were more likely to be UMC. You still had to be a super top student to get into the public side though. If anything, there was more competition than there was for the private schools.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2021 09:22     Subject: Cornell?!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Curious OP why you have an axe to grind?


Sounds like OP's kid's at "top 25 private ( CMU, Emory, Notre Dame etc.)

He's applying this year actually. I'm just curious is all. I've never heard of other top 25 private schools with guaranteed transfer, a community college transfer program, AND a public college component to the school. The closest thing to that is Emory's oxford college, but they release the stats for those students, unlike Cornell. My thing is it's very apparent that all ivy league schools get a boost in the ranking just for being ivy league, they get more applications, a higher reputation score, but yet Cornell.... you get the point.


Oh, yeah, we get the point. Why don't you try and answer that PP's question about what metric makes it over-rated? Also, the transfer thing has been shown to be a false criticism by an evidentiary link, so you should let that one go.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2021 09:19     Subject: Cornell?!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Curious OP why you have an axe to grind?


Sounds like OP's kid's at "top 25 private ( CMU, Emory, Notre Dame etc.)

He's applying this year actually. I'm just curious is all. I've never heard of other top 25 private schools with guaranteed transfer, a community college transfer program, AND a public college component to the school. The closest thing to that is Emory's oxford college, but they release the stats for those students, unlike Cornell. My thing is it's very apparent that all ivy league schools get a boost in the ranking just for being ivy league, they get more applications, a higher reputation score, but yet Cornell.... you get the point.


See above OP. Every other university ranking puts Cornell relatively higher (versus its US NEWS peers). Personally, I like to consider more than one ranking source when I draw conclusions about how schools compare.

Anonymous
Post 04/13/2021 09:15     Subject: Cornell?!
I didn't think of it while I was going there (ok, many years ago) but I did have a wide range of friends from the different schools, which is really a good thing. I was at the Engineering school, but had friends/acquaintances from Agriculture/Life Science, Arts & Sciences, Hotel Administration, Human Ecology, Industrial & Labor Relations, not to mention the near Grad School programs. In retrospect, the diversity of fields was really neat.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2021 09:08     Subject: Cornell?!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Curious OP why you have an axe to grind?


Sounds like OP's kid's at "top 25 private ( CMU, Emory, Notre Dame etc.)

He's applying this year actually. I'm just curious is all. I've never heard of other top 25 private schools with guaranteed transfer, a community college transfer program, AND a public college component to the school. The closest thing to that is Emory's oxford college, but they release the stats for those students, unlike Cornell. My thing is it's very apparent that all ivy league schools get a boost in the ranking just for being ivy league, they get more applications, a higher reputation score, but yet Cornell.... you get the point.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2021 09:01     Subject: Re:Cornell?!
Another factor to consider is Cornell's international reputation. Once you look beyond the typical US News rankings you will note that Cornell ranks relatively higher globally than other Top 20 schools. The other fine schools that the OP mentioned (CMU, Notre Dame, Emory) don't crack the Top 50 in any global rankings.

https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2021
(Cornell ranked 18th globally and above Yale)

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2021/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats.
(Cornell ranked 19th globally).