Is Cornell the right place for a CS focused person like me?

Colleges & Universities Cornell University
1

I was drawn to Cornell by its cool CS building, great research activities, and great course catalog.

Now as I am proofreading my “why Cornell” essay I am really questioning whether or not Cornell is the right place for me.

My thing is I know what I want to do. I have wanted to study Computer Science since 9th grade and nothing has convinced me from doing it in college. In fact I originally thought the profession paid less than being a teacher… boy was I wrong. Through the years I have had as many experiences with CS as possible and none of them have turned me away from the field.

In College I want to explore Computer Science as much as possible. Cornell’s “vectors” program is brilliant. Unfortunately as near as I can tell, you only get through 1 vector during your undergraduate. I would love to get through 2 or 3.

I want to explore computer graphics, cyber security, and machine learning/ai as much as possible. While Cornell offers a bunch of classes on these topics I am not sure I will be able to explore all of them. Furthermore, I am worried that I will be ridiculed or discouraged by the staff to do so. Cornell seems to be really proud of being interdisciplinary.

A bunch of the praises I hear about Cornell is how they have so many majors and so you can easily switch or come in now knowing what you want to study. I also hear that the school is big on having you take seemingly random classes outside your major. I am fine with that but when it becomes 2/3rds of your curriculum it is a bit ridiculous.

Please understand I have nothing against interdisciplinary stuff however I consider it as salt on my educational burger. I do not want 2/3rd of my experience (the bread) to be in another major.

Compound this on my disdain for Cornell’s banning of mistletoe. Does Cornell have policies that extreme all the time? Does diversity to them just mean muted versions of all cultural practices or perhaps just English ones? I am a bit conservative will I fit in?

I love the campus, I love the course catalog, I love the research, I love descriptions of the people. But is Cornell still a school I should apply to?

PS: I also LOATHE Cornell notes. I am not sure if they have anything to do with the school but so help me if another teacher tries to force me to take notes their way.

2

I think you’re worries are very minute. At the very least, it certainly sounds like you should apply. Wait to worry until you get in and you have to compare options.

3

the interdisciplinary stuff only exists for CAS. If you want to do less of that, then look into the computer science major in the college of engineering instead which has less requirements. Also cornell notes aren’t really a thing here lol

4

the interdisciplinary stuff only exists for CAS. If you want to do less of that, then look into the computer science major in the college of engineering instead which has less requirements. Also cornell notes aren’t really a thing here lol

5

Hi! I’m a sophomore CS student in the College of Engineering. Hope I can answer some of your questions and concerns…

“In College I want to explore Computer Science as much as possible. Cornell’s “vectors” program is brilliant. Unfortunately as near as I can tell, you only get through 1 vector during your undergraduate. I would love to get through 2 or 3.”

->There’s a Renaissance vector which lets you take basically any combination of CS courses you want. The vector doesn’t limit your scope, so don’t worry. You can also do more than 1 vector; on the application to affiliate (undergrads fill it out by junior year), you can list up to three possible vectors you want to take.

“I want to explore computer graphics, cyber security, and machine learning/ai as much as possible. While Cornell offers a bunch of classes on these topics I am not sure I will be able to explore all of them. Furthermore, I am worried that I will be ridiculed or discouraged by the staff to do so. Cornell seems to be really proud of being interdisciplinary.”

->Doesn’t seem like something I’d discourage. Go for it! Cyber security is a little hard to get into quickly. For a freshman with no CS knowledge coming in, he/she would have to take CS 1110/1112, then CS 2110, then CS 3410, then CS 4410, and then start taking cyber security classes. That’s two semesters at the maximum if you do one class after the other (each one is a prereq for the next); there are other core classes required, like CS 2800, but you can take it anytime after taking 1110/1112. Computer graphics and machine learning are courses alot of CS undergrads take; I plan to take my first graphics course (CS 4620) this semester.

“A bunch of the praises I hear about Cornell is how they have so many majors and so you can easily switch or come in now knowing what you want to study. I also hear that the school is big on having you take seemingly random classes outside your major. I am fine with that but when it becomes 2/3rds of your curriculum it is a bit ridiculous.”

->CS is so intensive that even if it takes up 40% of my classes for the semester, it accounts for 75% of the workload. Plus, I like to take other classes related to my other interests but also related to CS–for example, Math and philosophy. This way I am learning a variety of concepts I can apply to CS and am delving into topics (seemingly) unrelated to CS that enhance my education/

“Compound this on my disdain for Cornell’s banning of mistletoe. Does Cornell have policies that extreme all the time? Does diversity to them just mean muted versions of all cultural practices or perhaps just English ones? I am a bit conservative will I fit in?”

->Cornell is a very liberal campus, but freedom of speech, thought, religion etc is respected. I think many of the students at Cornell acknowledge the other side and don’t promote censorship–since hearing the other side of the argument is necessary for wholesome truth. But, I won’t lie in saying that there are students who are extreme on both sides. This spread is typical in a lot of college campuses. As long as you respect others, you will be respected.

“I love the campus, I love the course catalog, I love the research, I love descriptions of the people. But is Cornell still a school I should apply to?”

->YES. I love it here. The people are great and the classes are very interesting.

“PS: I also LOATHE Cornell notes. I am not sure if they have anything to do with the school but so help me if another teacher tries to force me to take notes their way.”

Don’t worry. No one I know has even heard of Cornell notes. Takes notes however you want.

6

Also, don’t worry about what classes you can and can’t take.

I have a brilliant CS friend who’s taking graduate-level courses in sophomore year!
As long as you talk to your prof and seem really interested/capable, you can pretty much take anything.