Cornell University Top Questions

What are the most popular student activities/groups?

Nathan

Greek functions.

Chyanne

Athletics, greek life, a capella groups and clubs pretty much make up most students extracurricular activities. About 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students are greek, most people are only heavily involved in greek life their sophomore year when they live in a house and then they attend less events as upperclassmen.

Rachel

The Greek system is probably the most popular student activity. There are over 40 fraternities and 12 sororities. It's a very tight-knit community. As far as sports/athletic groups go, Cornell Hockey and Lacrosse are pretty huge (our Wrestling team is excellent as well).

Claire

Again, definitely depends on what scene you are seeking out. The Greek scene definitely has large presence, if you are the one looking to party a lot.

Jordan

It's really hard to point out the most popular student activities/groups. The great thing about Cornell is that there are hundreds of clubs you can participate in, so the activities students can enjoy is fairly abundant if they are willing to spend some time figuring out which clubs are good fit for them.

Jessica

There are so many student organizations on campus that there isn't one that stands out in particular. If you cannot find a club that matches your personal interests, it is easy to create your own.

Eve

There are so many activities and groups available and active on campus, it's impossible to say which are the most popular. Greek life is pretty big here, and the party scene happens every weekend, with many people going out to party at frats. It can be fun if you have the time and are interested in greek life. However, t's also extremely easy to avoid the party scene, and it's not all-consuming or loud. I'm involved with Phi Sigma Pi, a co-ed, co-disciplinary Honor Fraternity that is not affiliated with the greek system. It allows me to find so many opportunities to network, develop friendships, and cultivate leadership, all without the social pressure of partying. I met my closest friends in the dorm. Your hall mates really do become your family, and in the beginning of the year, most people do leave their doors open in the residence halls. It's so easy to meet people freshman year, and that's when a lot of people find their best friends. If I'm looking to have a good time, it's easy to do so without partying; my friends and I love to go out to dinner or to a cafe in Collegetown or on the Commons, see a movie, go to a concert, anything. I'm never, ever bored here, and I'm not a big partier. The bus system is amazing here, and you can go absolutely anywhere in the area for just $1.50 (and it's free nights and weekends!). The dating scene here is relaxed and low-key. The majority of people here are not in relationships, but there are many who are (I am). I like Cornell relationships because they're generally founded on some very core values. I mean, think about it: you have about 6,000 undergrads in your gender of choice from around the country and around the world, all here to meet new people and study what they're passionate about. There are a lot of engaging, intelligent, and interesting people here. If you're looking to find love, the campus is so large, and you'll meet so many people, it's hard not to have a crush on someone your first year here. You'll meet all kinds of folks, and there's not a pressure to have a serious relationship or anything; just an emphasis on meeting new people and learning new things. It's a lot of fun, and one of the most exciting parts of campus. Even if you're single and not looking for anything, you'll generally make new friendships each year; and platonic or not, it's exciting to meet people!

Eve

There are so many activities and groups available and active on campus, it's impossible to say which are the most popular. Greek life is pretty big here, and the party scene happens every weekend, with many people going out to party at frats. It can be fun if you have the time and are interested in greek life. However, t's also extremely easy to avoid the party scene, and it's not all-consuming or loud. I'm involved with Phi Sigma Pi, a co-ed, co-disciplinary Honor Fraternity that is not affiliated with the greek system. It allows me to find so many opportunities to network, develop friendships, and cultivate leadership, all without the social pressure of partying. I met my closest friends in the dorm. Your hall mates really do become your family, and in the beginning of the year, most people do leave their doors open in the residence halls. It's so easy to meet people freshman year, and that's when a lot of people find their best friends. If I'm looking to have a good time, it's easy to do so without partying; my friends and I love to go out to dinner or to a cafe in Collegetown or on the Commons, see a movie, go to a concert, anything. I'm never, ever bored here, and I'm not a big partier. The bus system is amazing here, and you can go absolutely anywhere in the area for just $1.50 (and it's free nights and weekends!). The dating scene here is relaxed and low-key. The majority of people here are not in relationships, but there are many who are (I am). I like Cornell relationships because they're generally founded on some very core values. I mean, think about it: you have about 6,000 undergrads in your gender of choice from around the country and around the world, all here to meet new people and study what they're passionate about. There are a lot of engaging, intelligent, and interesting people here. If you're looking to find love, the campus is so large, and you'll meet so many people, it's hard not to have a crush on someone your first year here. You'll meet all kinds of folks, and there's not a pressure to have a serious relationship or anything; just an emphasis on meeting new people and learning new things. It's a lot of fun, and one of the most exciting parts of campus. Even if you're single and not looking for anything, you'll generally make new friendships each year; and platonic or not, it's exciting to meet people!

Jessica

As mentioned before, the Greek community at Cornell is huge. I myself am involved in a co-ed fraternity (not social) that emphasizes community service. Dorm life during the first year is definitely exciting, as all freshmen live on the north part of campus. I am happy to say that almost all of my close friends at Cornell were ones whom I made my freshman year. As an upperclassman the party scene moves to Collegetown, where there apartment and house parties pretty much every night. For those who don't like drinking, sometimes I just like to stay in on a Saturday night and watch a movie.

L

Cornell is a big university, so there are many popular activities and groups depending on what you are interested. If you are interested in the social scene, there are many fraternities and sororities. There are also professional groups, sports clubs, or even ddr clubs.

Jessica

Most students her like attending athletic events. I would say that it is the most popular activity to do. There are always people buying tickets and looking forward to sporting events. Most kids here also play sports, for boys lacrosse and track seem to be the most popular sport. And for girls it's probably volleyball and tennis. People also like to workout and go jogging a lot. I know it sounds like the school it fitness/sports crazy, but there are so many cubs it's too much to talk about all of them, I just know that there is a variety of everything, and above all there's partying. People party about every weekend except during around prelims/finals week. Fraternities and sororities are also really important, a lot of people rushed this year and got in, they are really excited about pledging and joining their frat/sorority.

Jill

I'd say that Greek life is the most popular activity on campus. I'm a member of a Panhellenic sorority and I also served on the board that oversees all of the sororities on campus for a year. (I'm also really involved in Hillel- the Jewish organization on campus, which is really popular among Jewish students at Cornell). Freshmen definitely leave their doors open in their dorm. People want to be social and to get to know each other. For students who choose to live on campus after freshman year, I find that they tend to be a little more private, probably because they already established their friend group. Hockey games are huge! Guest speakers are also quite popular- Elie Weisel came to speak last year and it was impossible to get tickets. The same happened when Billy Joel came to speak this year. I don't find that there is a huge dating scene. Some people date, but I feel like dating is more casual, and people tend to focus more on their studies. I met my closest friends in my freshman year dorm and in my sorority.

Alex

Fraternities and sororities are a big part of Cornell life, with 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body involved in Greek Life. Also, club and intramural sports are a large part of campus. I am a part of the club Ultimate Frisbee team, and I love it. We practice together, travel to tournaments on the weekend together, and party together, and the sense of unity is great. Students are usually involved in something on campus. If you are an engineer, a Project Team is a popular option, where students create some sort of project in their spare time, like an underwater robot, a fully functioning drag racing car, or an off-road ATV. Athletic events are not very popular, mainly because Cornell is not very good at athletics. People go to games for every sport, but it is not the same attendance as an SEC or Big 10 school for all sports. There are plenty of options for things to do on the weekend that do not involve drinking. Many people choose to stay in, talk with their friends, watch some TV, play games in the Student Union, go down to Collegetown for a nice dinner, or go to the Cinema on central campus for newly released movies. Off campus there are a huge number of outdoor opportunities around Ithaca, there is Ithaca Commons (restaurants and shops), or a trip to the mall for some shopping.

Maya

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David

Cornell students are extremely involved in campus-life. One of the largest organizations on campus it the Cornell Concert Commission or CCC. The CCC is in charge of bringing in musical acts to campus and setting up their concerts. This group is extremely important because Cornell is known to bring in BIG acts. Recent artists include Drake, Billy Joel, Passion Pit, Lupe Fiasco, Maroon 5, Kid Cudi, Phoenix and Nelly. Student's typically enjoy dorm life, a lot of social relationships are formed there and each dorm becomes its own hub for relaxing, studying and socializing. That being said, Cornellians do love to party. The greek system is large compared to many colleges, but it's only there if you want it to be. Many students who chose to go greek really love it and embrace the system as a part of their social lives. So many students meet their closest friends through the greek system, through dorm life and in their extracurricular activities. One of my favorite Cornell traditions is Slope Day. It takes place on the last day of classes for the spring semester and is an all day outdoor party where Cornell brings a big musical act to come and put on a show at the bottom of Libe slope and everyone hangs out and enjoys the concert outside. Another fun and quirky tradition is the 'Midnight Scream'. At midnight the night before finals start each semester, the freshman all yell as loud as they can out their windows to relieve the stress of finals. The sound can be heard all throughout campus! On a saturday night you don't have to be drinking to have a good time. Many students enjoy going out to dinner in collegetown, enjoying the Cornell cinema which gets many movies before they come out, go to a capella concerts or theatre performances, hang out in the campus community centers or just relax and play videogames in the dorm. Finding something to do is never a problem and many students are even troubled by the amount of choices! Echoing my previous messages, at Cornell you can do whatever you like, and have a great time doing it!

Nicole

Wow! This is a hard question because there are so many activities and groups that it is hard to pick what would be considered "popular" or even "predominate". Greek life is very present, but people don't have to feel pressured to join it so it is one of those things where you can be involved or have no interaction with it and it won't make change your social abilities. I actually met all of my close friends on my floor from freshman year. There are many academic clubs, sports clubs, political clubs, professional clubs, general interest clubs...so basically a club for everything. Slope day is a big event on campus the last day of classes in the spring semester where there is a big concert on Libe Slope and it is basically an all-day celebration.

Sam

As previously discussed, Greek life is quite popular at Cornell. I am personally in a fraternity, as are many of my friends. My friends who have not joined frats/sororities, however, also have enjoy their time and social lives at Cornell. Athletics at Cornell are fairly popular, especially relative to other Ivy League schools. Cornell's hockey and lacrosse teams are among the best in the nation each year, and during my freshman year, Cornell's basketball team made the sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, which was very exciting for all of us. Consistent with life at most colleges, students often go out to parties, which serve beer, on the weekends. It is extremely common for Cornell students to go out on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Not all students, however, go out to drink on a regular basis, and there's always a substantial amount of students staying in to watch movies or catch up on their work on weekend nights. Cornell has hosted excellent guest speakers and concerts since I've been here: these events include Jon Stewart, Lupe Fiasco, Hank Paulson, B.O.B, Kid Cudi, Karl Rove, Keith Olbermann, Andrew Sorkin etc.

Shannon

#1 HOCKEY (lynah faithful) #2 HOCKEY etc. Frats and sororities are big, but not the only force on campus. Dating is not common but many people do it. If you are awake at two am on a tuseday though you are studying not drinking. SLOPE DAY. awesome tradition.

K

First, sports. The most popular sport is ice hockey -- that's the one people will line up for with tickets and things. A lot of people go to the homecoming football game, but that's pretty much it. Sports aren't all that huge on campus, but I think that's fine... you can go to whatever games you want to and you'll find a small, loyal crowd of followers. Even though Cornell might not be the most sport-oriented school as far as spirit goes, there's a tremendous amount of school pride, and everyone loves proclaiming their love for the Big Red Bear, for wearing all red, and for being Cornellians. The dorms are all sort of different... Donlon is a social dorm, Dickson is a big, social dorm full of singles, Court-Kay-Bauer and Mews are the newest and prettiest and are slightly, slightly less social but still very friendly, and I don't know too much about the other ones. I met all my besties in my hall; we do everything together, whether that's going to see a Bhangra show, watching a movie, going out, eating dinner together, everything! On the weekends, people pretty much party. Study a bit in the day, party at night. I've done it a couple times, but I usually take the more relaxed route -- watch a movie with friends, play Bananagrams, sit around and talk and watch youtube videos and listen to music. There's always a lot of stuff to do in the community centers and at Willard Strait Hall (where they always have free popcorn, by the way) and there are groups that get together to do sober things and have fun and be happy. There's no pressure either way, people just do what they want to do, and there are plenty of people to do whatever that is with you.

Bryce

There are hundreds of clubs, and if it doesn't exist, you can create it. There shouldn't be a concern of "what's popular" since almost everyone has a different thing they're interested in. I am part of the Big Red Marching Band, and its been one of the most positive experiences here. Most of my friends are from the band, and the regularly organize parties for members. The drinking on campus isn't that bad. I have never found a large social pressure to drink. I think drinking at Cornell is somehow heavily exaggerated by the high number of fraternity houses present, but greek life is by no means the dominant social scene.

Bryce

There are hundreds of clubs, and if it doesn't exist, you can create it. There shouldn't be a concern of "what's popular" since almost everyone has a different thing they're interested in. I am part of the Big Red Marching Band, and its been one of the most positive experiences here. Most of my friends are from the band, and the regularly organize parties for members. The drinking on campus isn't that bad. I have never found a large social pressure to drink. I think drinking at Cornell is somehow heavily exaggerated by the high number of fraternity houses present, but greek life is by no means the dominant social scene.

Zac

There are clubs for everything. I'll rep Concert Commission and Program Board, which bring performing artists (like B.o.B, Lupe Fiasco, K'naan, Passion Pit, and Girl Talk) and speakers/comedians (like John Stewart, Aziz Ansari, and Keith Olbermann) respectively. Greek life is very popular; I'd say around a third of people are in frats or sororities. However, you don't need to be in one to have fun, or to go out. A lot of people go out and party on Thursday, Friday, and the weekends, but many don't. I don't know, you can really do whatever you want.

Zac

There are clubs for everything. I'll rep Concert Commission and Program Board, which bring performing artists (like B.o.B, Lupe Fiasco, K'naan, Passion Pit, and Girl Talk) and speakers/comedians (like John Stewart, Aziz Ansari, and Keith Olbermann) respectively. Greek life is very popular; I'd say around a third of people are in frats or sororities. However, you don't need to be in one to have fun, or to go out. A lot of people go out and party on Thursday, Friday, and the weekends, but many don't. I don't know, you can really do whatever you want.

Kris

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Drew

The student life is really active. There are tons of student organizations and events going on. There is a great new website at Cornell called omgFreeFood (www.omgfreefood.com) which shows a lot these events happening on campus (especially those events offering free food).

Alex

Tons of activities, programs, and clubs on campus. Really fun traditions (e.g. Slope Day, Dragon Day,Battle of the Late Night Foods, Chinese New Year and Mardi Gras Dinners, etc.). Residence halls usually have a number of unique events. People seem to party and drink every single weekend (but I don't!). If not, its common to hang out in each other's dorm rooms or at the mall.

Amanda

CallbaXX a cappella sings under an archway on North Campus to a crowd of people returning from their first prelims.

Dylan

Fraternities and sororities. The theather arts is another world all together and it is very competitive in of itself.

Emma

The most popular organizations on campus are Greek organizations. I joined a sorority, and it was the best thing I did at Cornell. Once you join a house you will be defined by that house for the rest of the time you are at Cornell. However, the Greek system at Cornell is different than at other schools. Though social life is the biggest aspect of joining a house, it is also a place to live (every sorority and fraternity has room for you to live in for at least a year), and a smaller community. I met all my closest friends in my sorority. Freshman year, students live on "North Campus" which is nice because then all freshman are together and it is very convenient and a good way to get to see other freshmen and bond as a class. After that, students dorms are on West Campus or in Collegetown. In the freshman dorms, people leave their doors open, but the West Campus and Collegetown dorms are much quieter. Athletic events aren't popular, other than hockey (which you have to camp out to get tickets for) and homecoming for football. A yearly tradition is Slope Day, which is the last day of classes, where students get very drunk early in the morning and then there is a band that gives a free concert on the "slope" ( a hill on campus). Past performers have been Fat Joe, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg and the Game, Ben Folds Five and Talib Kweli, T.I., and Gym Class Heroes. The dating scene is very active. Cornell is a dating school more than a hook up school. Of my 16 roommates, only 1 did not have a boyfriend while at Cornell, and 13 graduated with a serious boyfriend. We heard while there that Cornell has the highest rate of marrying other people from the school than any other college and I believe it.

Alex

Parties start on Thursday nights, for those crazies out there. If you are a straight party person all year, I would not suggest going to this school. It sucks to wait outside a party on line and while it is freezing cold or the weather is bad. You practically always got to wear a coat and when entering you have to put it some where, hoping that when you are finished it will still be there. In terms of clubs, there are so many, I can almost guarantee everyone can fit in. If you wanted to do something outside of school, that is pretty difficult since Cornell is located in the middle of no where (Ithaca). I would also suggest people do there shopping outside of Ithaca, considering the mall is really small and not that great.

Kat

See above.

Amanda

Cornell isn't all that into sports. Football and lacrosse have a decent following, and this year basketball got alot of attention since it made it to March Madness. Dorm life is alot of fun and very social, but it kind of depends on which dorm and floor you live on. I had my door open all the time when I lived in a dorm. Most students move off campus during their sophomore or junior year to Collegetown. Frats are very big on campus for partying, especially for underclassmen. Upperclassmen usually go to bars in collegetown.

Jamie

weekends often revolve around the Frat houses unless you know someone who;s involved with some other group with social opportunities, or if you aren't into big parties, there are plenty of people who avoid the frats and find activities elsewhere. Dancing, bowling, swiming, movie watching, just to name a few. Dorms are a relevent factor as well. Donlon is known as the loudest party dorm (ambulences come by everyweekend) Dickson, the largest dorm, varies widely, it was the dorm I stayed in and I enjoyed it alot Court, Kay, Bauer, and Stras are the only dorms with AC, if that's important to you, try to live there there's JAM (just about music), latino learning lving center, risely for the arts, so on and so forth.

Kim

There is a club or activity for everyone at Cornell. From intermurals to club sports to varsity, there is always a way to keep playing a sport. Hockey games are huge (everyone goes to them), and lacrosse and basketball are becoming really popular, too. Other than homecoming, no one really goes to football games. Clubs cover every topic from philanthropy to videogames and everything in between. If you are a social person and like to go out, frats and sororities will be a big deal. I never thought I'd join a sorority- I had tons of stereotypes in mind and thought there was no reason to join one. But what I found was an amazing group of girls, a great philanthropy, mixers and parties, tons of things to do like intermurals, a way to be a leader on campus, great networking, and cheap housing in a gorgeous house. I love it and joinging was one of the best decisions of my college career. I can't stress it enough- go through Rush even if you don't think you want to be greek. My friends forced me to rush, and now I am so happy I did. If you're not in Greek life, you can definitely still go out plenty, it's just a little bit harder. Frats and sororities have mixers all the time, which other people can't go to, so if you're not in a house you can only go to really big open parties or parties in collegetown or a sports houses. If you're not into partying, there are always concerts, performances, movies, sports games, etc. to go to on a weekend night. Be sure to check out the a capella groups- they're amazing!!

KJ

Traditions: Cornell has awesome activities! Dragon Day! Slope Day! From day 1 you will learn to love these traditions and hold them as your own. Be excited to be a part of them! Drinking: Yes, lots of people drink underage but there are a infinite number of ways to avoid these activities. There are definitely more things to do when you're sober! Greek Life: Rush was a pretty big event here, but no one forces you, and there are a lot of other good housing options apart from Greek life. Friends: You'll find that you are either closest with the people you live with or the people you're in classes with. Like any new environment it's awkward the first few days, but by the end of first semester you'll definitely find your niche. I recommend joining a club; Cornell Symphony definitely introduced me to lots of people. Guest speakers: People who came this year: Sandra Day O'Conner, BJ Novak, John Ashcroft, Maya Angelou, Bill Nye, Jerry Stiller, Tracy Morgan. Also some great visiting professors!

Emily

My favorite past-time at Cornell was being a "Lynah Faithful" - or having season tickets to Cornell Men's Hockey! I had never seen a game before and they're so fun! Expect to camp overnight for tickets! Greek life is as much a part of your experience as you make it. I know people who NEVER went to frat parties, and others that rushed and pledged a house. People leave their doors open all the time and usually welcome any distractions from work. My dorm had pool and pingpong tables that I could always find friends at, or people are always up for watching movies until 5 am.

Emily

Greek Life... If you're on the fence about joining a fraternity/sorority, I highly recommend that you rush. I wasn't going to rush for a sorority until about 3 weeks before rush week. I decided that if I didn't like it, I could always drop out. In fact, many people do drop out, and it's not considered a bad thing. My decision to join a sorority was based on the following reasons: 1) Networking (being a part of a national organization has so many benefits that may become apparent when job hunting, for example) 2) More social opportunities (especially if you're into partying, many parties in the spring semester are closed/exclusive and you need to know people to get in) 3) Meeting people (I know tons of people now) 4) Volunteer and leadership opportunities (you will never get bored with all the opportunities available to you) 5) Forming close friends (the guys/girls who you live with are similar in many ways and different in others, but chances are that you will get along very well and form some lifelong friendships) Many fraternties and most sororities at Cornell do not haze. About 1/3 of the student body is involved in the greek life at Cornell, and a big part of the social life revolves around it.

Erin

Cornell has a pretty good social life, and there are TONS of activities to get involved in. There are over 600 student groups on campus, and they range from cooking clubs to sports clubs to religious clubs to political groups. I actually find the idea of all these clubs overwhelming, but I guess it helps to find one or two groups that you really want to get involved in. There is a thing at the beginning of the year called "Club Fair" where hundreds of clubs set up tables of information and students just walk up and down aisles of tables getting info where they want, signing up where they want, and just generally getting an idea of what they want to be involved in. Cornell has a lot of school spirit... for a few sports. Our hockey team is the most popular team on campus, and you have to buy season tickets that are upwards of $300 in order to go to games. I did not buy season tickets (can you say broke college kid?) but I heard that they are a lot of fun to go to. We also just really got into our basketball team, which went to the NCAA tournament last year for the first time in 20 years. It was amazing. For basketball and just about any other sporting event, you buy individual tickets for the game (that are cheap- about $3) or you can buy a Sports Pass for $40 that lets you get into any game you want without buying a ticket (but you can't use these for hockey games). Our football team sucks, but the games are kinda fun to go to, especially homecoming because all the fraternities and sororities come and cheer on the team. There's also a "Freshmen flock the field" game where all the freshmen get to line up on the field before the game and welcome in our team. It's kinda fun, but not overly so. Weekends at Cornell are what we live for. We work really hard all week, and by the time the weekend comes, all we want to do is let off some steam. For those of you who drink, there are always frat parties to go to where you just have to show a Cornell ID to get in (no cover charge and no worrying about not getting beer!). For those who don't drink, there are always shows going on at the Cornell Cinema that are a bit older movies or up at the mall's movie theater, which shows all new movies. Or you can go bowling at Helen Newman lanes, which is in the basement of Helen Newman Gym right on North Campus by the freshmen dorms. It's kinda small, but really cute and very cheap. Going out to dinner is a nice way to get away from the dining halls (which actually have very, very, very good food!), and for that you can hop on a bus (you get a free bus pass your freshman year) and either go up by the mall, down to Collegetown, or down into Ithaca. My favorite activity I do here at Cornell is be a part of my sorority, Alpha Xi Delta. You can rush at the beginning of your 2nd semester as a freshman or in the fall if you're a transfer or upperclass student. Rushing for girls is hard- you go all over campus visiting the 12 different sororities and then you choose first your top 9, then 6, then 3 and then your top 1. But in order to go back to the houses after choosing your tops ones, you have to be on that houses list as well. It can get tiring, discouraging, and highly annoying (and also really cold because it's January in Ithaca) but it's highly rewarding if you stick it through. For guys, the process is a bit different because there are almost 50 frat houses on campus. For guys, you take the first few days to visit as many as you want, then you start going back to the ones you like best repeatedly. Frats also have events at night that guys can go to, and you choose to go to the frats that you think you connect the best with. Then, after a couple more days, the frats will invite you back for a bit more formal meeting and then you can only go where you were invited back to. The final pick comes when frats offer you a bid and then you have to choose which house to accept the bid from. Cornell has the 3rd largest Greek system in the nation and so approximately 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body is involved in greek life (this also includes Multi-Cultural Greek Letter Council houses that have frats/sororities for minorities). It is the most amazing experience of my life and I have met some of the most wonderful people on Earth. They will be your best friends for the next four years, and you will enjoy every minute of it.

Molly

Usually I work late into the night, but there parties all over the place. The bars suck because they close at 1am, but there are tons of after parties. If you don't drink or smoke, you can still have fun at the many university-sponsored events. There are also many great outdoor activities - in the winter you can sled down the steep slopes surrounding campus; in the summer there are tons of gorges in which you can jump; there are biking trails, running trails, wineries, farmers markets, etc... If you ever get the opportunity to stay in Ithaca during the summer, you will love it.

Jesse

There are a lot of activities around campus. I leave my door open usually, unless I am sleeping. My closest friends are within my suite n the suite down the hall. I met all of them during orientation week. People party pretty much every weekend.

Steve

There are always sober things to do around campus, and it is not difficult to find friends to have fun with if your definition of fun is not "get wasted!"

Owen

Greek life is huge here- there are a ton of sororities and fraternities that dominate the social life. Every weekend, the majority of students attend frat parties; drinking is pretty prevalent on campus. Athletic events are also extremely popular, especially hockey- everyone has tremendous pride and school spirit at these events!

Jen

The social life is great and the party scene is whatever you want it to be. There is something for everyone to do on the weekends no matter what your interests are. The collegetown bar scene is great, and frat parties are great for freshmen and sophomores. The social scene once you become Greek is the best.

Shawn

I love the theater, we get some great performances.

Michele

Athletic events are not too popular except for hockey and lacrosse, and sometimes basketball. Some of the concerts and comedians that are brought in are AMAZING and tickets sell out really fast. Frats and sororities have their presence but because I'm not involved in them and very few of my friends are, I have not felt their impact much. Slope Day is a major event on the last day of classes each spring, with a huge free concert on the slope, and mostly everyone drinks like crazy. People in my major don't party too often, but I'd say overall a lot of people go out at least once a week if not 3 times. If you aren't into drinking, there are the movies, bowling on campus, the theater, and SLEEP is always good to catch up on over the weekend. In the nicer months, there is so much to do outside in Ithaca. I love the Plantations to run in, and there is a Farmer's Market and many gorges to walk/swim in.

Kai

I feel like people do things for the sake of getting into top graduate programs etc. There isn't anything to do on a Saturday that doesn't involve drinking, but that's probably true for a lot of places. Social life is flawed here in that it is structured so that the Greek system is the predominant institution and its members are somewhat granted privilege. Kids are just flat out weird here too, and if they aren't, they are rich assholes. But there are some ok kids, most of whom I met through freshman year dorms, which is the only place to meet people in their most real essence.

Emily

Greek life is very popular at Cornell. There are a lot of sports teams. I'm on the gymnastics team and have made a lot of friends that way as well as being in a sorority with some wonderful girls.

Jen

Greek life is huge on Cornell's campus with a third of the campus being involved. There are always parties, bars, College town. Athletic events can be popular depending on the sport or how well the team is doing. There is always someone doing something that you would be interested in.