Cornell University Top Questions

Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?

Charlie

Not at all, everyone does their work but balances out the partying. No one throws themselves into the gorges because they're so miserable, and the winters could certainly be worse.

KC

The classes are challening, but the professors strive to make help avaliable. Cornell students do have a life outside of classes. Some of the students didn't get into Harvard or MIT, but for many others this was their first choice. I have no regrets about coming here, and in fact, have greatly enjoyed everything about Cornell.

Rose

Yeah - I'm female so I tend to look more critical at the girls in sororities than the guys in frats,

Tristan

Yeah, for the most part.

Christina

Yes, I'd say they are all pretty true.

Fred

We all bitch and complain about classes, but overall we are pretty happy students. And yeah, we're pretty smart.

Ally

To an extent, yes. Especially around exam time, there is a lot of stress. Students become involved but are often apathetic towards other activities or things going on. It is very hard to get people involved in other things or to get them to attend events.

Catherine

absolutely not. we'll, there are clearly "nerds" here at cornell, and we are all a little nerdy at heart, but some of us are really down to earth and cool. We're not ALL about studying. We love to have a good time.

Stefanie

Yes.

Joe

Only in some cases.

Sarah

No, Cornell students are fun and party like normal college students.

Brett

we do study hard and party hard, but i don't think the suicide rate is as high as people think.

Morgan

Yeah, to some extent they are, but obviously not for everyone. Still though there are instances that they are completly true.

colin

I really dont think so. We even have a song why cornell is way better than harvard

Chad

Not 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}

Ashley

For some people yes, for others no. Cornell is a very big school so it has a lot of different types of people

Aviva

half the time

Sarah

I think people dress very preppy here, almost every guy wears a polo. As far as competitive, I do think the classes here are pretty competitive (I guess it depends on what major you are) since they all revolve around the mean. I also think that a bunch of the guys here are tools because they think they're hot and can get any girl.

Alice

Yes

Joelle

It is certainly very hard once you are here, but I don't know if it is the easier ivy league to get into.

Rachel

we have a ton of parties - the second largest greek system in the country and pretty good bars there IS a large Asian population there are plenty of attractive girls at Cornell, but there are also plenty of unattractive girls...there is a larger pool of girls so it's pretty mixed we are often doing work and studying, but we also know how to party...we do get more work than other schools, and there is no grade inflation cornell has a larger amount of spots to accept students, so there are more spots open and we have the luxury of accepting more students. it is still NOT an easy school to get in. And unlike at certain schools (Harvard for example), there is no grade inflation. and only 8{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students here graduate with honors (as opposed to upwards of 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} at Harvard). people DO fail out. there ARE a lot of NY and long island kids. NY kids get a huge discount at the state subsidized colleges there IS a large Jewish population, and there are a lot of Jewish kids in the Greek system.

Ally

for the most part, but there are a lot of people

Melanie

Not really, but I do think the fact that there isn't that much grade inflation and that most classes are graded based on a curve leads to a very competetive environment

alex

no, lots of people drink, and some are snobby and rich, but huge numbers arnt at all either. everyone is really smart though (mostly)

Jeff

Some of them are. For example the people here are uglier than on other campuses, all the engineers and architects do is work, and there are a lot of jewish students. However, there are very few suicides (if any) in a year, and I don't find the party scene to be more outrageous than in high school

Bevan

Some of them, with some people.

Ashley

pretty cut throat, some are rich, amazing

Liz

some are

Sarah

While we are academically smart, the range and diversity of students makes it difficult to validate these stereotypes.

Josh

yes, all of them

Dana

Somewhat; we are not all nerdy, although there definitely are some. We also know how to have a good time though.

Rosie

pretty much

Julia

They are relatively accurate. There are a lot of students who spend a lot of time in the library and never go out. At the same time, there is definitely a "work hard party hard" attitude, and a lot of people will party pretty hard.

Erica

Cornell does not have grade inflation so you will work your hardest and still get a C, but people are not suicidal and not as competitive as people say. People are always either completely trashed, or studying. That is true.

Ryan

Students at Cornell are definitely more well-off than the people I knew in high school, but I don't feel like that is constantly being rubbed in my face. In fact, based on the interaction I've had with students at the other Ivy League schools through band, Cornell is one of the most down-to-earth Ivies. Really, it all depends who you hang out with and what niche you find yourself most comfortable in. You can definitely find people who go shopping every weekend with their daddy's money, but most of my friends are very thrifty, generous people who are here to get a really good education.

Rebecca

While a lot of students hail from the tri-state area, we are just as diverse as the other top schools in the country, and definitely as capable.

Christine

For the most part, no.

Kevin

Some of these stereotypes are accurate like engineers being nerds, but that goes for a lot of Cornell students and is not a bad thing. Cornell seems to have lots of Asian students mostly Korean who only talk in Korean. There are some Cornell students who applied here only and others who had it as a back up to Harvard: hence the song, "We didn't go to Harvard."

carolyn

fairly accurate

Alex

I think so...though they may not be "real" stereotypes :P

Samantha

No- not at all! While it is true that Cornell students study a lot and the courses are very challenging- studying is not the only thing they do. There are parties every weekend (and most weekdays), there are greek life organizations, and there are plenty of athletic events to participate and attend as well. Second- Ithaca really is gorges. There are a few months of the year where the winter takes over, but coming from someone from the South- the weather is really not that bad. In fact, the snow is a lot of fun. There are plenty of places to go skiiing nearby and winter clothes are so cute! Plus, who likes sunny, ridiculously hot weather all the time anyways.

Zoe

I would say that pretty much everyone is a "dork" inside, in that they care a lot about doing well and getting their work done, but everyone also likes to blow off steam and go out a lot.

Cathy

I think I answered this question above, but some of the stereotypes are accurate while others are not. The stereotype that Cornell is the easiest and the least prestigious out of the Ivy League schools is completely wrong. Students do work hard here - and a lot of the libraries are filled - but the truth is that its college and students here do know how to have fun.

Casey

While it does appear that some people are always working, the vast majority of people are social and do NOT do work all weekend :) There are tons of ways to have fun/get involved on campus and most people do something socially-related on the weekends and during some weeknights. As for the weather, it can rain a lot/be cold. However, this past winter was definitely one of the mildest and for the past few weeks (its end of April now) it's been really warm and sunny out :)

Sarah

i don't think so. people work hard, but in a positive way... and the only people who are super competitive are premeds, but no more than anywhere else. and the suicide thing is actually wrong. we're right around average :)

Jordan

no!

Quinn

umm. . .pretty much.

Will

Not even close.

Kara

Yes, except less pretentious than people think

Andy

Sort of. There are bridges. And once in a while, someone will jump off of one. In general, there is a guarantee of 1-2 suicides each school year. One year I remember thinking, "you know, it's spring, and no one's killed themselves." There were two suicides in the next two weeks. But, the official party line is that Cornell is actually slightly BELOW the national average for college student suicide. I have never personally investigated the statistics. Needless to say, if you kill yourself, you have bigger problems than "the bars don't stay open late enough," so I tend not to blame the suicides on the school. As for blaming suicides on the weather: if you're that cold, then buy a jacket, for God's sake. It's much less messy and you don't have to write a note first.