| Full-time undergraduate program |
Cornell can be an incredibly fun school. The fraternities and sororities
- though slowly being dismantled by the administration - are enormous and
beautiful and the system, while not quite as large as it once was, is in
my opinion still thriving. The opportunity to make life-long friends and
network is simply unparalleled anywhere else in the United States.
Collegetown is also incredibly fun, there is fun to be had virtually
every night of the week, and the isolated location removes the students
from the stresses of living in a city. This, however, can have some
unhealthy side-effects - there is certainly a lot of underage binge
drinking and students are removed from the stressful, average life of
most Americans, and certainly do not get the same college experience as
someone who goes to school in a city. That said, I would not trade the
experience for anything. I see graduate school as an opportunity to study
in a city environment, when one is more concerned with their studies'
direct connection a career. Rather, as an undergraduate, you can concern
yourself with receiving a general, liberal education, and enjoy the
isolation and immerse yourself in a totally new culture. Due to the
party-centric atmosphere, dating tends to be informal to non-existant.
Mama Theresa's pizza is good (though it will only barely satisfy someone
from the tri-state area who is used to good, New York style pizza), there
are many excellent restaurants in Ithaca, and as I understand more and
more restaurants are being added to the Cornell dining plan each
semester. Hot Truck on West Campus is great after a night of drinking
(though you'll wake up with a pit in your stomach) and Louie's Lunch is
the favorite among those that spent freshman year on North Campus. In
conclusion, though I am biased, I would not trade my college experience
at Cornell for anything, and having visited many other schools across the
east coast, I can say there is no school that offers even close to a
better mix of social and academic life.
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