last choice ivy? - Page 4

countryangel926 · 10-27-2009, 10:38 AM

actually, ive heard many people call brown the doormat of the ivies (not that i agree or look down upon brown in any way). and asking why you've heard that cornell has a lower reputation than the other ivies is essentially asking us to defend our school. you say that you don't care about only applying to "prestigious" schools, and yet the whole ranking/reputation thing is of such great concern to you.

but to answer your question, any stereotypes that give cornell a bad rep. probably stem from our slightly higher acceptance rate.

if you like what cornell has to offer and can see yourself as a student here, then apply. if our supposed lower reputation bothers you, then don't.

whitecadillac · 10-27-2009, 11:36 AM

like i already said, it's not the prestige i'm concerned about but whether there really is any real flaw with cornell as a school that would make people consider it not as high of quality as the other ivies. rankings and reputation do have a foundation in reality. people aren't going to call a school great or less than great for absolutely no reason at all. if it's just the acceptance rate that makes people consider cornell lower, then i have no problem with it at all. if it was due to a real flaw (say lower-quality faculty or programs), then i'd have to consider that.

norcalguy · 10-27-2009, 12:04 PM

Outside of CC, I have never heard of anyone talk down about Cornell. And I attend a med school where 70% of the students went to a Top 20 college. Even on CC, you'll find that most of the "adults" and posters who've actually gone to college are much more diplomatic. All of the "lowest Ivy" talk comes from high schoolers intent on splitting hairs over a 3% difference in acceptance rate or 20 pt difference in avg. SAT scores.

ly_yun811 · 10-27-2009, 12:19 PM

I just wanna say for me it's my best

chendrix · 10-27-2009, 04:42 PM

Do you think all of the people who go to Cornell, who most have gotten in other places (even "better" places) would have come here if there were a serious flaw in the school?
No, that's so presumptuous.

The snootier ivies don't like the fact that
A) We are the youngest
B) We have a much more practical bent to learning. Farmers, Engineers, and Hoteliers? Oh my god, it's not snooty enough!
C) We have always been very inclusive, whereas HYP and others have historically been very exclusive.
D) We have the highest acceptance rate, stemming from our fundamental ideology on giving as many people as possible a chance at a great education.
E) This high acceptance rate combined with attracting students into programs that don't need high SAT scores or need high GPAs (hotel, food science, architecture, etc), "drags" our SAT and GPA and top 10% rankings down. Is this a bad thing? I don't think so.

Those are the big things people "look down on us" for. You choose whether those mean jack sh** to you.

feinyNY · 10-27-2009, 04:45 PM

stixx cornell is a garbage school compared to Brown,Yale,Harvard,MIT, UoC and the other ives.
Lets go University of Chicago!

Tboonepickens · 10-27-2009, 04:52 PM

^ UoC is a great GREAT school. But what if want to study engineering. then you are ****ed.

applejack · 10-27-2009, 08:47 PM

If you're caught up on acceptance rate, just remember that University of Chicago has a relatively high one and the College of the Ozarks has amongst the lowest. Doesn't really mean anything.

A lot of people who look down on Cornell are caught up on the elitist prep-school worldview. What makes Cornell great is that it was founded on a fundamentally different philosophy, so it doesn't align with that worldview and I think that makes people who want a uniform stereotype of the Ivies uncomfortable.

I mean, when was the last time blue bloods celebrate agriculture? Even though MIT is also a land-grant university, you'll hear people constantly rag on Cornell for being the same. It's just elitism, and nothing else. In the end, these same people rely on Cornell grads everyday for food, architecture, engineering, hospitality, etc...

I've studied at Harvard since graduating, and it wasn't until then that I realized just how perfect Cornell really was for me - the diverse programs, the natural setting and quirky city, the diverse interests and backgrounds of the student body, the mix of the pragmatic and the philosophical.

It's really not a school for everybody, but it's the perfect school for a lot of people. Usually eclectic people who don't necessarily fit into a box. I actually think its reputation isn't nearly as strong as it would otherwise be if it weren't constantly being compared to, essentially, liberal arts schools with different missions.

ChaoticOrder · 10-28-2009, 04:12 PM

One of my best friends is currently studying at Princeton and we compare our courses regularly, i.e, physics, math, and i have to say that i don't see a difference in the difficulty of the work. On the other hand, i know someone who had straight A's at Syracuse and is struggling here, because, in their words "it is so much harder".
As for rankings. Yes they are grounded somewhat in reality; however, that "reality" is relative to each person's preference and ideals about what they think is a great university. For instance, Cornell is penalized not only for being a much larger school than other top universities, but also because it offers diverse programs which are considered unorthodox in academia; as such, the acceptance is a little bit higher, but that's only because less people want to study that subject in the first place.

feuxfollets · 10-28-2009, 06:48 PM

Some girl at my school claims that she has been "approved" by Cornell, that she is essentially "accepted" but just has to apply, and it doesn't matter what her academics are. Does Cornell seriously do this?!

chendrix · 10-28-2009, 07:45 PM

No, even if she were a highly recruited athlete, she still has to go through the formal academic review process, because even athletes are required by Ivy League standards to be within 1.5 standard deviations below the mean.

She's probably blowing hot air.

countryangel926 · 10-28-2009, 08:06 PM

Yeah...that's pretty much impossible. She's probably just overconfident due to a legacy status, or maybe a family member works here or something...

feuxfollets · 10-28-2009, 09:47 PM

Ok good, I was a bit scared by that lol.

oldfort · 10-28-2009, 10:56 PM

Depending on what kind of sport it is, a coach of very hot sport could be given few guaranteed spots to recruit top players. But those athletes would still need to have a certain academic index. Coaches are allowed to contact the athletes after July 1 (I believe). Some of those athletes are committed right away. They are invited to apply as early as possible, and they'll get a likely letter from the school after their applications are complete.

The next level down of recruitment is a coach giving an athlete a recommendation, but won't use up a guaranteed spot for the athlete. In this case an applicant would have to depend on both of his academic and athletic stats to get admitted, there would be no guarantee.

It is possible your friend has already been approved, as in the coach has committed to give her a spot. If that's the case, the coach must be fairly comfortable with the girl's academic index. Many coaches will also help their recruits with their applications.

My kids' high school produces a lot of top athletes and it's also known for rigorous academic program. 50% of top school admits from their HS are athletes. I am not an expert, this is just what I have heard from my kids' parents.

All Ivies have the same policy for athletic recruitment.