<p>I don’t know what it would take, but somehow Cornell needs to do some image work. Maybe they just need to bite the bullet and shrink class size. That alone, back in 1999, skyrocketed it to 6 in the USNWR ranking. It’s easy to say that ranking doesn’t matter, but it does - flawed as it is.</p>
<p>If you pay attention to these threads, Cornell is more or less patted on the head and told “good dog” by the top ranked Ivies while being gnawed at and visciously dragged down by the Duke, Vanderbilt, etc… crowd. </p>
<p>Really, the only group that I have not seen do any attacking whatsoever are from Northwestern - which I would consider a pretty close peer school. Well, Brown and Dartmouth don’t either, but they’re in the same boat and are always on the defensive as well.</p>
<p>I think when people look beyond stupid admit rates to the actual programs, they get rather quiet quickly. I think Cornell’s biggest problem is that people don’t realize how good it is across so many disciplines. </p>
<p>I’m not trying to sound like a booster here - I have simply known enough people from higher ranked schools who didn’t work as hard and got far higher grades than Cornell students. I just genuinely believe that Cornell honestly deserves a better reputation than it has.</p>
<p>Plus, it’s the hottest Ivy, dammit :)</p>