Cornell University - Pictures

Cornell University - Basic Information

Ithaca, NY

Ranked #15 in 2011 edition of Best Colleges (US News)

Total undergrad enrollment: 13,931

51% male/49% female

Application deadline - Jan. 2

Early decision deadline - Nov. 1

Application fee: $70

Acceptance rate: 19.1%

Early decision acceptance rate: 37%

Range SAT Critical Reading: 630-770
Range SAT Math: 660-730
Range ACT Composite: 28-32

Required standardized tests: either SAT or ACT

Admissions interview: neither required/recommended

SAT subject tests: vary by program

Common App

Tuition and fees: $39,666

Room and board: $12,650

32% in fraternities, 23% in sororities

Most popular majors: agriculture, biological and biomedical sciences, business, engineering, and social sciences

Average freshman retention rate: 96.2%

NCAA I

Cornell University - PROS

Academic Life:

• 60% of classes have fewer than 20 students
• Strong in engineering
• 200 study abroad programs
• Outstanding research opportunities
• Best career/college placement services
• Ranked #5 - best college library

Student Life:

• All freshmen live in the same residential area
• Stunning campus
• Great spring weather
• College town is great
• Doesn't feel isolated because there are plenty of places to go out to dinner
• 3,000 acres of woodlands - walking, picnicking
• Ski slopes
• "Best social life out of all the Ivies"
• 600 clubs
• Largest intramural program
• Cayuga Lake - boating/swimming
• Big dorms
• Ranked #11 - best food
• Thriving Greek life
• Raving reviews - everybody loves it!

Cornell University - CONS

• Cold winter
• Weather unpredictable and lots of rain
• Difficult grading system - some big lecture classes purposely make the tests difficult to pull the mean down
• First year courses are large lectures
• Can be difficult to get into popular courses
• Walking to class in the winter can be difficult (big campus and cold weather)
• Difficult to travel to and from
• Large amount of school stress, intense workload
• Lack of urban culture
• Unsympathetic professors