Cornell University - Inside Scoop

Quick Stats

School Slang		AAP: College of Architecture, Art, and Planning AEM: Applied economics management, which is the business major Aggies: Refers to students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Arch Sing: When a cappella groups sing under one of the many campus arches, usually near the dorms Bear Access: CIT’s package of network services CALS: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences CAPS: Counseling and Psychological Services, free short-term on-campus counseling group Chalkings: Advertisements for events that are drawn in chalk on the roads and sidewalks of Cornell CIT: Cornell Information Technologies, computer and network services Cocktail lounge: Reading room that is undergroung in Uris Library (A great place to sleep—I mean, study) COE: Cornell outdoor education The Commons: Downtown Ithaca, containing shops and restaurants, very hippy-style DOS: Dean of students EARS: Empathy, Assistance, and Referral Service, a student-run helpline for counseling FWS: Federal work study or first-year writing seminar (required for all freshman) Gannett: Cornell’s health care center Haven: Peer support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students Hotelies: Students in the School of Hotel Administration IC: Ithaca College (sometimes called IK) ILR: School of Industrial Labor Relations ISSO: International students and scholars office JA: Judicial administrator (the people who get you in trouble if you’re under 21) LGBTRC: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender resource center Libe Slope: The hill between Uris Library and the west campus dorms Louie’s Lunch: Truck on north campus that serves fast food Midnight Howl: The night before finals students yell as loud as they can at midnight to let out studying aggression Nasties: Name given to Bear Necessities, a convenience store in Robert Purcell Community Center on North Campus. OL: Orientation leader POST: Pre-orientation service trips Prelim: Preliminary exam, any full-length exam that’s not a final, often scheduled at night instead of during class Program House: Residences organized around a theme Quarter Cards: Ads handed out or found in mailbox on a quarter piece of paper RA: Residence advisor RHD: Residence hall director ROTC: Reserve Officer Training Corps(military program) RPCC: Robert Purcell Community Center SA: Student Assembly, the student government SAFC: Student Assembly Finance Commission, gives funds to student organizations SAO: Student activities office SHIP: Student health insurance plan The Sun: Cornell Daily Sun, the student-run newspaper TCAT: Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, public bus system WSH or The Straight: Willard Straight Hall, the student union Zeus: The Temple of Zeus, a café in Goldwin Smith Hall
Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School		A picture is worth a thousand words. Booze cruises are tons of fun. Buying the bed sheets and linens from the school catalog is a waste of money. Cornell does offer free services—if you look for them. Depending on your college and major, you can get free peer tutoring, essay revisions, resume building, and business cards. Country music is popular in upstate New York. Don’t forget to sleep! Explore the campus and meet new people at the beginning. If you don’t get along with your roommate from the get-go, find another. It gets better after the first semester. Olin Library has the best study lounges. Senior Week rocks. Take five courses first semester of freshman year. There are loads more housing options than just dorms or Collegetown. Explore the Cooperative Living scene for relatively cheap rates and a great, diverse group of people. Walking up a steep hill is good exercise. Wegmans has the best subs. When it snows, it is a blizzard. You can buy your textbooks at Kraftees, a store in Collegetown, for much cheaper than at the Cornell Store.
Tips to Succeed		Consult the librarians for comprehensive information on indispensable research. Don’t ever fall behind. Don’t limit yourself to specific groups. Explore everything Cornell has to offer. Find an advisor you get along with and can talk to candidly. Get involved in campus clubs/activities, but don’t spread yourself too thin. Plan ahead of time and develop a course of action first semester of freshman year. Seek professors and TAs out in supplementary office hours. Stay in touch with professors. Study from your notes, not the textbook. Take advantage of the Cornell career services office. Take advantage of the many study areas, library stacks, and computer labs.

Cornell Student ReviewsWhat's This?

Sort by:

Inside Scoop at Cornell University

eh368

'13

Biology and Biological Sciences

B+

Research

Research is very abundant at Cornell, and basically anyone can participate in it.

Jan 17, 2012

Comment actions: Rate

Report as inappropriate/inaccurate

Inside Scoop at Cornell University

taralynnw

'14

Marine Biology and Oceanography

A

Clubs Galore!

There are so many extracurricular activities at Cornell. When you have time to relax and do something fun (take advantage of it! take advantage of it!), it's a good idea to look at the clubs. I have been a part of the kendo club, the Japanese animation society, and the student-run farm, and a few of my friends and I have just started our own a-capella group! The diversity is great here.

Jan 04, 2012

Comment actions: Rate

Report as inappropriate/inaccurate

Inside Scoop at Cornell University

Tigrrr

'15

Physics

C+

Full of Douches

I like a lot about Cornell. I don't quite like how many douchebags get in though. It's not even that the students are super competitive or condescendingly intelligent. They just act like they are better than everyone else, think they are more "cool" than everyone else, and in general act like jerks. Now, there are plenty of kids who are nice here, but the douchebags are commonplace enough to always steal the attention away.

Nov 16, 2011

Comment actions: Rate

Report as inappropriate/inaccurate

What do you think of your school? Register to submit reviews to let others know what it's really like »

First

Facts

Traditions		The Chimes: McGraw Tower had become the symbol of Cornell University. It is visible from much of Ithaca and contains the chimes, which are played everyday (occasionally ringing out the Beatles, Disney songs, or Jingle Bells). Dragon Day: Every year, the architecture students make a huge dragon to parade around campus in and then they burn it. Some years, the engineers also make a large Phoenix, and the event becomes a contest. It begins when the architecture students sell Dragon Day T-shirts. The night before, the architecture students beautifully toilet paper the arts quad. The next day, the parade of the dragon begins. Freshman/Seniors on the Field: On the first home football game of the season, the freshmen rush the field; on the last, the seniors do the same. Slope Day: On the last day of classes, students gather on Libe Slope to celebrate the end of the year. It used to be an unstructured event full of very drunk students, but now that it is organized by the University, only those over 21 can easily drink. On Slope Day, there are vendors selling food, a carnival area, and famous bands playing (Rusted Root, OAR, Kanye West).
Urban Legends		Cornell has one of the highest suicide rates. This is not true. It does have some suicides, like any school, but in proportion to the student population, the rate is not excessively higher than at other schools. If a couple walks around all of Beebe Lake holding hands they will get engaged. If you are asked for a kiss at midnight on the suspension bridge and say no, the bridge will fall into the gorge. When a virgin crosses the arts quad at midnight the statues of AD White and Ezra Cornell get up and meet each other in the center of the Quad to shake hands and congratulate each other on the chastity of Cornellians. (I don’t know anyone who has tried it, but there are footprints on the quad, so maybe it’s true).

Buy The Guidebook

Buy a hard copy of "Cornell University 2012: Off The Record"

Buy the eBook:

Amazon Barnes & Noble Google Smashwords Download the FREE Printable Summary (PDF)

Most Recent Student Author

College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at Cornell

Name: Mandy Kain and Radhika Arora

Hometown: Hewlett, N.Y., and Ithaca, N.Y.

see all student author bios > Become a student author to help update the guide for this school

Cornell University
- Inside Scoop

Yes

Maybe

No

Jump to a section:

CP Scholarships

Inside Scoop

Quick Stats

Cornell Student ReviewsWhat's This?

Sort by:

Inside Scoop at Cornell University

Inside Scoop at Cornell University

Inside Scoop at Cornell University

Facts

Buy The Guidebook

Most Recent Student Author

Find a college

Find a major

Scholarships

Reviews

You are a . . .

Company

Finding The Right College:

Picking The Right Major:

Paying For College:

Just For Current College Students:

Cornell University - Inside Scoop

Yes

Maybe

No

Jump to a section:

CP Scholarships

Inside Scoop

Share grades:

Quick Stats

Cornell Student ReviewsWhat's This?$("#689e5800-ff41-4e93-9675-791a3f35f12e").qtip({content: { text: 'Student reviews for each section are submitted by current students at this school through our college student survey.' },position: { at: 'top right', my: 'bottom center', viewport: $(window) }});

Sort by:

Inside Scoop at Cornell University

Inside Scoop at Cornell University

Inside Scoop at Cornell University

Facts

Buy The Guidebook

Most Recent Student Author

Find a college

Find a major

Scholarships

Reviews

You are a . . .

Company

Cornell University
- Inside Scoop

Cornell Student ReviewsWhat's This?