Cornell University
Hallmarks and Quirks
Things I'm Good At:
- Hockey, hockey, and more hockey. Did I say hockey yet? People camp outside for days in the freezing cold just to get season tickets to that action. What?
- A cappella. Surprising, we know, but we love to let loose, no-instrument style.
- Abstract thought and being proud of our exclusivity. So, really, it's almost like my students do go to Harvard. Yikes.
- Parties. Just ask our seventy frats and sororities.
- Natural beauty. "Ithaca is gorges," as they say.
- Engineering, human and animal medicine, architecture, hotel management, grad business management...basically all of the things. I am an Ivy League, dudes. And pretty proud of it.
My Top 5 Must-Haves:
- Every piece of winter clothing you could possibly imagine. Seriously. Do not mess around with this, or you may come down with pneumonia.
- A very, very large bookshelf. Or a lot of cinder blocks you can make into a bookshelf. You'll be buying a lot of texts every semester for your full load of smarty pants courses.
- Season tickets to Big Red Hockey.
- Some extracurriculars. Geez, do something fun already—I don't like when my students just sit around and study all day.
- Friends to come visit you, because I assure you: My campus is prettier than theirs.
Why You Might Have Heard of Me:
- Because I'm a Northeastern Ivy League. Duh. (Sorry, I can be a little overconfident sometimes…)
- We have gorges. A lot of them. And puns about how gorges are gorgeous. Better get used to those if you want to come here.
- Three words: lake effect snow
On a regular Saturday night, you can find me...
I love me some a cappella sing-offs beneath the arches of our many beautiful dormitories. Some students are courageous enough to brave the several-hour bus ride to NYC for a weekend away, but hey, not everyone can be so bold.
Most of the time, I'm cuddling it up with close friends inside, where it's warm. I also may be devouring all of the most delicious bagel sandwiches imaginable at Collegetown Bagels. (Known by locals as CTB; don't make the mistake of not using the acronym, future Cornellians.)
I may even indulge in some of those frat or sorority parties. Or get a crew together to venture downtown, to one of the delectable eateries—Moosewood and Lost Dog Café, say what?—or fabulous townie bars—see you at the Chanticleer?
Favorite Hangouts:
- I may be a little biased, but my arts dormitory, Risley, hosts some pretty rockin' concerts, spoken word events, workshops—all the artistic weirdness you can imagine to get your creative juices flowing.
- If it's your first year on campus, I bet you'll be munching on burgers, pizza, and other junk food at Bear Necessities, at least two late nights a week.
- CTB has the best bagel sandwiches around. 'Nuff said.
- The internationally famous Moosewood Restaurant, because Ithaca is your oyster. (Can you tell I like to eat?)
- If it's not frigid outside, then one of my many gorges and lakes. Some people even like to take out a special someone in or around them. You, of course, can choose your own adventure.
Quirks:
- So many students, so little time. Listen up: Because I've got so many enrollees, my logistics can be kind of a nightmare. I care about you, I do…but have you ever wanted to know what it's like to get an email the day before classes start about how there's something wrong with your financial aid? You'll hurriedly report to the aid office, only to get there and have to wait two hours to talk to a human being. If that sounds acceptable, well then I'm the university for you, friends.
- I don't like grade inflation. Those rumors are true—I'm not afraid of failing you. Especially if you're an engineer, architect, or other "hard science" maven.
- I've got a lot of different colleges on my campus. This fact may cause some confusion for you, especially as you try to navigate my labyrinthine campus (bahaha) or learn all of the acronyms for your friends' majors. What in the world is ILR again? Oh right, Industrial Labor Relations. Just try to sit back and enjoy this learning experience, because that's what college is all about, right? Right...?
Famous Alumni:
- Bill Nye, the super awesome Science Guy. Huzzah.
- Huey Lewis, the singer
- Bill Maher, a talk show host and political pundit
- Kurt Vonnegut
- Keith Olberman
- David Litman, founder and CEO of Hotels.com