<p>Though I understand your concerns, the workload at Cornell definitely isn’t as intense as many people make it out to be. I’m a pre-med biology major, I have straight A’s, I’m involved in many extracurricular activities/research that I genuinely enjoy, and I still have time to socialize on weekends and have fun. I don’t think I’m the smartest person at Cornell but I still get great grades because I am able to manage my time really well without ever really feeling overwhelmed. Your daughter doesn’t have to be genius to get good grades and still have a social life to explore her interests and grow as a person.</p>
<p>I too understand your concerns. I busted my rump at Cornell myself, but that was in the sciences, and it was quite a long time ago. My own daughter is there now, studying social sciences & humanities; she also works hard, but is doing very well and has ample time for other interests and a social life. On the other hand she advised my son not to apply, as she thought it would be tougher there for him than what he might be comfortable with.</p>
<p>So I think you are wise to inquire, but if the concensus you wind up getting is that ILR is not insane for someone like her I would believe it.</p>
<p>if she already works very hard she likely won’t be overwhelmed by the workload at Cornell … to me the kids most likely to not handle the workload are kids who cruised through high school and do not adjust quickly or well to the work level expected at Cornell. (this will be true at virutally any top school fyi)</p>
<p>that said if she is a perfectionist or needs to the best at everything then Cornell (or any other top school) might be tough since she will be surrounded by other very smart and motivated students.</p>
<p>When I was at Cornell I probably knew less than a handful of students who needed to work very-very hard and only got passing grades … the overwhelming majoirty of hard working students had at least 3.0 GPAs. Cornell is not a cake walk but anyone accepted who works reasonably hard will do fine … and it does not take killing oneself to do fine.</p>
<p>This is my concern as well. I am very grateful to have been accepted to Cornell, but the workload just scares me. I’m not the brightest but I am smart, and I know for sure that my study habits can be improved.</p>
<p>It would be too bad to miss a great opportunity because of bad information. </p>
<p>Your daughter should check out both her program requirements and the median grade reports (online) for her required classes. With all due respect, ILR students are not known for having unreasonable work loads. Unlike other colleges at Cornell, ILR has the advantage of almost all small classes, no lab science requirements, and no upper level math or language requirements. ILR is also known for great advising. It doesn’t have a lot of extremely time consuming long term projects like Arch or time consuming group work like Hotel. Plus ILR grads get good jobs. If she is in the middle SAT wise and has good time management skills, ILR should not be a problem. She will have a great time here, meet wonderful people, and she will have a degree that is respected around the world.</p>
<p>I believe that the work load at Cornell is broadly similar to that of other Ivies/top schools. The vast majority of students do much more than study in the library. Come up and visit!</p>
<p>sorry about #12, I was kidding.
Hotel and AEM are not considered by others on campus to have an overwhelming work load. Actually sort of the contrary.</p>
<p>But if one is not in Hotel or AEM, it is not really fair to make too many assertions about this. Just as I would not really comment about ILR workload, since nobody in my family attended ILR. I know my daughter took one AEM course, I don’t think she found the workload difficult or the material hard, but she got her lowest grade ever in the course.</p>
<p>The workload at Cornell, while very intense at times, is not any different from any other top school. The people who do poorly are those who can’t manage their time (i.e. smoke weed many times a week, drink every day of the weekend, etc.) Cornell and colleges in general reward students who keep on top of their work and have some self control. Cornell is not some exceptionally difficult or cut-throat school. These representations of cornell, like the suicide school rep, are myths. If your daughter comes here prepared to work hard she’ll have a great GPA and likely a fulfilling social life.</p>
<p>Dad: a couple of thoughts. DS2 also comes from a very competitive NY area school, and will be attending Cornell next year, so I understand your concern. We have decreed that this summer will be devoted to “recovering” from the killer HS schedule.</p>
<p>Right now, your daughter is probably in school something like 8-4, longer if she plays a sport, does theater, etc. At college, she will have about 3 classes a day (depending on her schedule). She will have much more time for reading (ILR=I Love Reading) and homework, and more control over her life. Also, she will have long vacations–5 or 6 weeks at Christmas, 3 months in the summer, etc. It is an adjustment, and there will be times when the workload is intense, but she will probably feel as though everything is manageable.</p>
<p>DS1 is a very recent Cornell grad. He made the Dean’s List a couple of times, while working 20-30 hrs. a week pursuing an extracurricular interest. He took advantage of many fun things on campus, from sporting events to speakers and events at the art museum. He LOVED his four years at Cornell, and we feel he really got his out-of-state tuition’s worth, both academically and in developing other interests. He now works in the area of his extracurricular, where he receives regular praise from his boss for his expertise and work ethic.</p>
<p>Dad: just re read my post and realized I should add DS1 is neither a genius nor a workaholic. A bright kid with lots of curiosity, but not one of those kids with insane accomplishments who only sleep 3 hours a night…</p>