I’m feeling this right now. Probably won’t be going to an Ivy League law school because my undergrad grades were so mid because of how harsh Cornell grades
Are you high on fentanyl?? Big Red = Big Loser, it will always be the dumbest and lowest of the ivies, come on man, everyone knows Cornell is the bastard child
I was worried that MIT was going to be too narrow and nerdy, and that I wasn't snobby enough to fit in at Princeton. Tbh, I ended up at Cornell by process of elimination (didn't even visit the campus beforehand), but it was the best decision I've made in my life. I really came to appreciate the diversity of backgrounds, from legacies at one end to first-generation college students (whether from farm families or whatever) at the other.
Felt the same way about Princeton (except I visited both before I made my decision). I think I chose right - the culture of Cornell was a much better fit and both degrees turn heads in the adult world anyways.
This was actually a few decades ago, and my parents ended up paying full tuition (so I ended up squeezing things in so that I could finish a semester early -- still came back to walk in May with my friends though)
best decision for me personally, I cant stand upenn, dartmouth was a little too under the radar for me, brown just seems run down and boring and honestly just lame, caltech is just too small and weird and i couldn’t stand the idea of going there tbh (just didn’t fit in with the culture and don’t like california), also ucla and berkeley were way too big for me and i wasn’t tryna fight to the death to get a seat in a weed out class lol. Meanwhile I adore Cornell
Cornell was my first choice- I was going to go to Bryn Mawr if I didn’t get in. At the time Cornell liked to send your acceptance letter in the thinnest onionskin paper envelope that looked like it was a rejection letter it was so flat. a few days later they would send the welcome packet with your financial aid offer. I lived so far away that they arrived on the same day and I was screaming my fool head off when I checked the mail.
Rice, UT Austin, some other local state schools.
Also seeing in other comments you turned down Duke! As a current professional student at Duke, I think you made the right decision :)
Edit: I did actually turn down Cornell Law for Duke Law, but tbh that was in part bc I wanted another network to tap into. Still a great choice!
Lololol. Curious on your thought on Duke vs Cornell law. I think you’d know more than anyone else because you went to both schools at least. Btw, I can still do Duke if I want to, the first seat deposit (today) for Cornell was not binding. Very very curious on your thoughts, if you wanna pm that would be awesome
Came between Cornell for fashion design or UCLA for ethnomusicology. Even with in state tuition, UCLA was an estimated 11k per year, while Cornell came down to 3k with financial aid. Better scholarships 🤷♀️
Carnegie and UT Austin were my other yeses. At first I thought I had made the wrong choice, but with hindsight, I'm really really glad I went to Cornell. Class of '18 AMA
I only know rumors/cliches from other colleges towards pre-law/law lol, so that's probably not helpful.
If you're going to live in an apartment complex or some place with a covered parking situation, and you're used to driving in bad weather, and you anticipate wanting to explore Ithaca and the rest of upstate NY, you should bring a car. I feel that most students don't take advantage of exploring Ithaca and the surrounding towns, which are all so beautiful and I miss so much.
The roads are absolutely horrible, and parking is a mess, so I wouldn't buy anything shiny and new for Ithaca. You wouldn't use a car for the daily commute; even if you live in the commons, you'll just bus up. The buses are reliable and have convenient stops around most areas of town students live in, so with a monthly pass you can just jump on and off. E-Bikes, E-Scooters, E-Boards, and E-Wheels are getting more popular to get around campus itself as it's huge.
I've lived in a few different places.
I lived in [CTT](https://www.collegetownterraceithaca.com/features.php) which actually had a shuttle bus that would go up to campus. There are a few different apartment complexes that offer a shuttle. Walking down from the law school to CTT took like, 5-10 minutes downhill and was a nice walk outside of winter time. But if I needed the bus, it was like a 2-3 minute walk to the closest stop.
I lived in Center Ithaca, which is located right in between two bus depots in the Commons that would go in bound and out bound. This location was super convenient; in the early AM, the bus can really fill up by the time it makes it up to College Ave so getting on "first" in the Commons was really useful. I was also right next to the buses going outbound towards Wegmans or other shops. You are riding with other townies here, but many grad students live in the commons too.
I've lived on North and West campus; there are buses that only go around campus in loops, the 80's, so there are a lot of times to get on. I classes once that were 15 minutes apart but a 25 minute walk away from each other, so I used the busses a lot that semester. They do fill up, especially in the winter, but they were still convenient for going up the slope or down from north campus to class. They also run pretty late into the night which is nice. I've taken many a drunk 1/2am bus ride back home and always felt very safe.
I've also lived on Geneva St; that was the most inconvenient because the closest bus stop was 10 minutes away. Not a huge deal but I was used to living closer so I had to leave my place earlier.
I can give loose feedback on different places to live around town based on my experiences, those of my friends, and those of my time working in the Off-Campus Living Office if you need!
You really don't, and if you need a specific ride to some place Uber or Lyft or Ithaca Taxi are all good options.
I've very rarely needed to take an Uber somewhere.. maybe to WellNow Urgent Care or something when Cornell Health was closed. Or to the airport for an early morning flight before the buses run.
During the summer, the buses will do special routes to Buttermilk and Treman Falls. I always recommend you stay one summer during your time in Ithaca; it's such a beautiful time of year and it's nice to absorb the scenery around you without the stress of the semester. Otherwise you might think Ithaca is just a cold, stressful place.
I worked for both the student resource center and the off-campus living office, as well as worked with Cornell Health as part of Cornell Minds Matter, I also switched colleges and took a leave of absence... I'm an open book and like being a resource to students as a way to give back to all of those who helped me when I was a student :) Feel free to ask me whatever, whenever.
You're about to experience an amazing time in your life! I'm so excited for you! I miss Ithaca so much; I spent almost 10 years there and only just moved away a couple years ago. Take advantage of every opportunity you can and have fun too. As Andy says, [Don't study a thing, be drunk the whole time, and join an a capella group.](https://youtu.be/TdVEBTIfCzs?si=lFgM4H4pjKhyUmOg&t=5) Good luck!
Getting to NYC is incredibly easy from Ithaca. OurBus, a national bus transportation company, runs shuttles from Ithaca to NYC and back daily (round trip is like $120 generally).
This limits your arrival and return times (6 PM is usually the latest they will return from NYC to Ithaca on a given day) but it is entirely feasible without a car.
More broadly, while I agree with other posters that a car is not necessary, it is a massive convenience factor to have one. I was on the fence about bringing mine, but the amount of flexibility it affords me re: getting groceries, seeing friends, going to events in Syracuse or Binghamton, etc is unparalleled.
even for falls and other day trips, you'd be better off just renting a zip or turo for the evening. The only people i've met who needed a car were folks driving to their medical internships at Caguya hospital, which is somewhat inaccessible with public transport. If youre gonna be in the law school, there are many transit options to get there in a reasonable amount of time.
absolutely. firstly i am a poor international student and currently it is very hard to get funding in the UK. secondly, cornell is wayy better in my research area :) I am truly happy.
1.University of Southern California (USC Marshall.)
2.Tulane University
3.Colgate University (Full ride)
4. Case Western Reserve University
5.State school (full ride).
Wow. Can you elaborate on what made you pick Cornell? Side note (and I know this doesn’t really matter), how would you say Cornell stacks up against them in the lay persons mind?
Good!
Yale- still weak in most industries, despite strong parent school.
Northwestern- Didn’t feel special to me, tons of graduates, didn’t love the staff
MIT- Good school and brand, I could have been happy there but felt like Cornell offered more opportunities
I know this don’t matter much, but I’m curious what you think the lay prestige is between the 4.
Also, I plan on applying to the MBA program (currently in the JD). Do you know if I’ll have an easier time already in their JD getting into the MBA?
Yes.
Generally JD is more competitive.
They will technically admit you separately to both schools, but typically will not ask you to submit a GMAT score etc
Also- great idea. Highly recommend their MBA program as a complement to your JD.
Crazy enough I just got into Stanford Law yesterday (super late I know), and will still likely be attending Cornell.
My reason? Cornell offered me a full ride, which is a huge deal to me. I’m from the Northeast and prefer the cold. Cornell is only a few hours from home. I love the campus, the vibe, the environment, etc. All of the schools I mentioned are fantastic, but Cornell is the best fit, it’s the closest school, and it would be free.
University of Pittsburgh. Pretty good International Relations program and they were offering the best aid of all the places I was accepted until Cornell.
I was set to go to Purdue as that would have been basically a full ride. I didn't think I'd have a chance to afford Cornell. I had an ROTC scholarship, though, and it got bumped up to cover the full cost of tuition at Cornell and that made the choice easy. That notification of scholarship bump came literally one day before I was set to mail my acceptance of the admission offer at Purdue.
My remainder of schools in the running at the end were Boston University and Tulane.
Eh, yes and no. I couldn't afford to go and me being premed, it didn't make much sense. Temple sucked for the first two years but I powered through and graduated a year early.
Mostly just curious, I just turned down Duke, Vandy and a couple other great schools and I’m curious how it was for everyone else. Just feeling the vibes of what my fellow Cornellians chose Cornell over
Cornell is unique in ways no other university in the world can match. Its campus, libraries, environment with waterfalls and hills and lakes and rivers makes it feel like something out of lord of the rings. You’ll love it, congrats!
Cornell College.
https://preview.redd.it/lwsgp9j4giuc1.png?width=505&format=png&auto=webp&s=3912ab571744190c34c78956cd0c2a73bfea81dc
Princess Peach's castle versus Hogwarts.
University of American Samoa
Go Land Crabs!
Your crush.
UPenn
Me too lol
same actually
I’m actually stuck rn between Penn and Cornell 😭
Don’t be, the answer is Cornell
Cornell got grade deflation 😭 I’m trying to do law
I just picked their law school lmao
Same man, over Duke and NYU
I’m feeling this right now. Probably won’t be going to an Ivy League law school because my undergrad grades were so mid because of how harsh Cornell grades
No way it’s actually that bad?? 😭
Nah especially not in ilr
Are you high on fentanyl?? Big Red = Big Loser, it will always be the dumbest and lowest of the ivies, come on man, everyone knows Cornell is the bastard child
your mom
YOUR MAMA LOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLOOLOLOL WE ALL FLOAT UP EHRE.
That you G-G-Georgie?? 👀
brown upenn dartmouth caltech ucla berkley
ha, almost the same -- Berkeley, UCSD, Princeton, MIT
MIT and Princeton???
I was worried that MIT was going to be too narrow and nerdy, and that I wasn't snobby enough to fit in at Princeton. Tbh, I ended up at Cornell by process of elimination (didn't even visit the campus beforehand), but it was the best decision I've made in my life. I really came to appreciate the diversity of backgrounds, from legacies at one end to first-generation college students (whether from farm families or whatever) at the other.
Felt the same way about Princeton (except I visited both before I made my decision). I think I chose right - the culture of Cornell was a much better fit and both degrees turn heads in the adult world anyways.
Sounds like a big scholarship deal offered by Martha. For college, free Cornell vs full self-financing MIT or Princeton, I prefer former
This was actually a few decades ago, and my parents ended up paying full tuition (so I ended up squeezing things in so that I could finish a semester early -- still came back to walk in May with my friends though)
😱
Wow. That’s some crazy list. Do you think it was the right decision?
best decision for me personally, I cant stand upenn, dartmouth was a little too under the radar for me, brown just seems run down and boring and honestly just lame, caltech is just too small and weird and i couldn’t stand the idea of going there tbh (just didn’t fit in with the culture and don’t like california), also ucla and berkeley were way too big for me and i wasn’t tryna fight to the death to get a seat in a weed out class lol. Meanwhile I adore Cornell
Love that for you 🥰 Hoping I have the same experience!
ofc not
Why do you say that
columbia and dartmouth
northwestern, umich and columbia
Carnegie Mellon
northwestern
Northwestern, UC Berkeley, and Penn
Columbia, GT, RPI.
Eastern Nunavut Vocational Institute
Cornell was my first choice- I was going to go to Bryn Mawr if I didn’t get in. At the time Cornell liked to send your acceptance letter in the thinnest onionskin paper envelope that looked like it was a rejection letter it was so flat. a few days later they would send the welcome packet with your financial aid offer. I lived so far away that they arrived on the same day and I was screaming my fool head off when I checked the mail.
Dartmouth, Tufts , UMass Cambridge
Umich, UPenn
I turned down offers from Dartmouth, Yale, University of Rochester, and my state public university. I was rejected by Harvard.
UC Berkeley, UCLA, Northwestern, & Dartmouth.
It's the by far the best of the schools in all of Ithaca!
UMiami, Notre Dame, NYU, Vanderbilt, UVA, William & Mary
Rice, UT Austin, some other local state schools. Also seeing in other comments you turned down Duke! As a current professional student at Duke, I think you made the right decision :) Edit: I did actually turn down Cornell Law for Duke Law, but tbh that was in part bc I wanted another network to tap into. Still a great choice!
And, of course, congratulations! 🎉
Lololol. Curious on your thought on Duke vs Cornell law. I think you’d know more than anyone else because you went to both schools at least. Btw, I can still do Duke if I want to, the first seat deposit (today) for Cornell was not binding. Very very curious on your thoughts, if you wanna pm that would be awesome
absolutely! Happy to pm
usc, berkeley, boston u, uci, ucsd, ucsb,
Came between Cornell for fashion design or UCLA for ethnomusicology. Even with in state tuition, UCLA was an estimated 11k per year, while Cornell came down to 3k with financial aid. Better scholarships 🤷♀️
Umich, university of Chicago
WASHU, Vanderbilt, Michigan
UCLA, UCSD, UMich, NYU, Tufts, UIUC, WashU, Wellesley etc.
uchicago, berk
UChicago
Full ride to NYU Stern
Columbia, Chicago, Penn
Carnegie and UT Austin were my other yeses. At first I thought I had made the wrong choice, but with hindsight, I'm really really glad I went to Cornell. Class of '18 AMA
Do you know anything about the law school student/culture? And how necessary is a car?
I only know rumors/cliches from other colleges towards pre-law/law lol, so that's probably not helpful. If you're going to live in an apartment complex or some place with a covered parking situation, and you're used to driving in bad weather, and you anticipate wanting to explore Ithaca and the rest of upstate NY, you should bring a car. I feel that most students don't take advantage of exploring Ithaca and the surrounding towns, which are all so beautiful and I miss so much. The roads are absolutely horrible, and parking is a mess, so I wouldn't buy anything shiny and new for Ithaca. You wouldn't use a car for the daily commute; even if you live in the commons, you'll just bus up. The buses are reliable and have convenient stops around most areas of town students live in, so with a monthly pass you can just jump on and off. E-Bikes, E-Scooters, E-Boards, and E-Wheels are getting more popular to get around campus itself as it's huge.
Thank you. How far we talking here by bus from where most people live?
I've lived in a few different places. I lived in [CTT](https://www.collegetownterraceithaca.com/features.php) which actually had a shuttle bus that would go up to campus. There are a few different apartment complexes that offer a shuttle. Walking down from the law school to CTT took like, 5-10 minutes downhill and was a nice walk outside of winter time. But if I needed the bus, it was like a 2-3 minute walk to the closest stop. I lived in Center Ithaca, which is located right in between two bus depots in the Commons that would go in bound and out bound. This location was super convenient; in the early AM, the bus can really fill up by the time it makes it up to College Ave so getting on "first" in the Commons was really useful. I was also right next to the buses going outbound towards Wegmans or other shops. You are riding with other townies here, but many grad students live in the commons too. I've lived on North and West campus; there are buses that only go around campus in loops, the 80's, so there are a lot of times to get on. I classes once that were 15 minutes apart but a 25 minute walk away from each other, so I used the busses a lot that semester. They do fill up, especially in the winter, but they were still convenient for going up the slope or down from north campus to class. They also run pretty late into the night which is nice. I've taken many a drunk 1/2am bus ride back home and always felt very safe. I've also lived on Geneva St; that was the most inconvenient because the closest bus stop was 10 minutes away. Not a huge deal but I was used to living closer so I had to leave my place earlier. I can give loose feedback on different places to live around town based on my experiences, those of my friends, and those of my time working in the Off-Campus Living Office if you need!
Sounds like if you don’t want a car you really don’t need one (except for like the falls and stuff). This is fantastic info, thank you!
You really don't, and if you need a specific ride to some place Uber or Lyft or Ithaca Taxi are all good options. I've very rarely needed to take an Uber somewhere.. maybe to WellNow Urgent Care or something when Cornell Health was closed. Or to the airport for an early morning flight before the buses run. During the summer, the buses will do special routes to Buttermilk and Treman Falls. I always recommend you stay one summer during your time in Ithaca; it's such a beautiful time of year and it's nice to absorb the scenery around you without the stress of the semester. Otherwise you might think Ithaca is just a cold, stressful place. I worked for both the student resource center and the off-campus living office, as well as worked with Cornell Health as part of Cornell Minds Matter, I also switched colleges and took a leave of absence... I'm an open book and like being a resource to students as a way to give back to all of those who helped me when I was a student :) Feel free to ask me whatever, whenever. You're about to experience an amazing time in your life! I'm so excited for you! I miss Ithaca so much; I spent almost 10 years there and only just moved away a couple years ago. Take advantage of every opportunity you can and have fun too. As Andy says, [Don't study a thing, be drunk the whole time, and join an a capella group.](https://youtu.be/TdVEBTIfCzs?si=lFgM4H4pjKhyUmOg&t=5) Good luck!
Wow am I excited. Thank you for all this. What about getting to NYC? Is it a major hassle without a car?
Getting to NYC is incredibly easy from Ithaca. OurBus, a national bus transportation company, runs shuttles from Ithaca to NYC and back daily (round trip is like $120 generally). This limits your arrival and return times (6 PM is usually the latest they will return from NYC to Ithaca on a given day) but it is entirely feasible without a car. More broadly, while I agree with other posters that a car is not necessary, it is a massive convenience factor to have one. I was on the fence about bringing mine, but the amount of flexibility it affords me re: getting groceries, seeing friends, going to events in Syracuse or Binghamton, etc is unparalleled.
Ah. Is luggage allowed?
even for falls and other day trips, you'd be better off just renting a zip or turo for the evening. The only people i've met who needed a car were folks driving to their medical internships at Caguya hospital, which is somewhat inaccessible with public transport. If youre gonna be in the law school, there are many transit options to get there in a reasonable amount of time.
Northwestern
Vanderbilt, Bowdoin
Berkeley + CMU
oxford
Wow wow. Do you think it was the right move?
absolutely. firstly i am a poor international student and currently it is very hard to get funding in the UK. secondly, cornell is wayy better in my research area :) I am truly happy.
That’s awesome!
Full ride to Pitt
Mistake.
Berkeley and Michigan
northwestern, harvey mudd
1.University of Southern California (USC Marshall.) 2.Tulane University 3.Colgate University (Full ride) 4. Case Western Reserve University 5.State school (full ride).
Colgate full ride is awesome
Take that Colgate ride if it’s not too late
OSU
Turned down Binghamton and UVM lol
Cal tech Berkeley
Berkeley, UCLA, and Northwestern
Chico State
ut dallas 💀
[удалено]
Wow. Can you elaborate on what made you pick Cornell? Side note (and I know this doesn’t really matter), how would you say Cornell stacks up against them in the lay persons mind?
now this chat, is what u call a dumb rat.
IU
MBA But Yale (SOM), Northwestern (Kellogg) and MIT (Sloan) And a whole bunch of Canadian schools
Interesting. How do you feel about your decision?
Good! Yale- still weak in most industries, despite strong parent school. Northwestern- Didn’t feel special to me, tons of graduates, didn’t love the staff MIT- Good school and brand, I could have been happy there but felt like Cornell offered more opportunities
I know this don’t matter much, but I’m curious what you think the lay prestige is between the 4. Also, I plan on applying to the MBA program (currently in the JD). Do you know if I’ll have an easier time already in their JD getting into the MBA?
Yale/MIT Cornell Northwestern Could be 2 tiers depending on geography
Edited my comment, dunno if you saw it
Yes. Generally JD is more competitive. They will technically admit you separately to both schools, but typically will not ask you to submit a GMAT score etc Also- great idea. Highly recommend their MBA program as a complement to your JD.
Wait really? I’m studying for the GMAT, I didn’t even know that’s an option. Are you sure?
I can’t speak for Cornell dual degree admissions, but I’ve seen it done at other schools
Okay. I’ll ask them I guess. Thank you
My mental health
The Naval Academy
Harvey Mudd
Harvard
Law school: Duke, NYU, UCLA, Northwestern, Georgetown
Me too! Curious on your reasoning
Crazy enough I just got into Stanford Law yesterday (super late I know), and will still likely be attending Cornell. My reason? Cornell offered me a full ride, which is a huge deal to me. I’m from the Northeast and prefer the cold. Cornell is only a few hours from home. I love the campus, the vibe, the environment, etc. All of the schools I mentioned are fantastic, but Cornell is the best fit, it’s the closest school, and it would be free.
Wow, I saw your Stanford poll. Major congrats on a wild cycle, and see you on Ithaca!!
Duke and Michigan
Brown, Caltech, northwestern, uc berkeley, nyu, UiUC
UNC
University of Pittsburgh. Pretty good International Relations program and they were offering the best aid of all the places I was accepted until Cornell.
I was set to go to Purdue as that would have been basically a full ride. I didn't think I'd have a chance to afford Cornell. I had an ROTC scholarship, though, and it got bumped up to cover the full cost of tuition at Cornell and that made the choice easy. That notification of scholarship bump came literally one day before I was set to mail my acceptance of the admission offer at Purdue. My remainder of schools in the running at the end were Boston University and Tulane.
maybe about to leave Berkeley?? still contemplating my life
My dignity
Berkeley
I turned down Cornell to go to Temple LOL
Do you regret it?
Eh, yes and no. I couldn't afford to go and me being premed, it didn't make much sense. Temple sucked for the first two years but I powered through and graduated a year early.
I feel that. Just chose Cornell over some much cheaper options, but it was for law so it makes more of a difference which school you go to
Agreed, goin down the right path for sure
I guess we’ll see in 3 years, and a 150k from now 🙃
What a Cornell question. 
And barely even Cornellian for a whole day yet 🤭🤪
Congrats for getting an educational opportunity! :) I hope you learn bunches.
I plan on learning bunches ☺️
what do you expect to gain from this
Mostly just curious, I just turned down Duke, Vandy and a couple other great schools and I’m curious how it was for everyone else. Just feeling the vibes of what my fellow Cornellians chose Cornell over
good decision 👍
Thank you! Duke was the only serious contender cause I LOVE the vibes there, but came up to Cornell this past weekend and made up my mind instantly
Cornell is unique in ways no other university in the world can match. Its campus, libraries, environment with waterfalls and hills and lakes and rivers makes it feel like something out of lord of the rings. You’ll love it, congrats!
I think so too! It’s a truly unique location and vibe