Cornell University

Phenomenal breadth and depth of courses, incredibly strong in nearly all subjects (from humanities to science), challenging programs of study, surrounding yourself with highly motivated people

2nd Year Female -- Class 2005

Education Quality: A+, Surrounding City: B-

In my particular case, my own department did a good job of watching over students during the entire course of the program. In particular, the small class sizes helped to build strong relationships between students, faculty, and staff.

The university at large, however, treated students from my department very differently. I think because we will not graduate to make a lot of money, and donate a lot of money, the university tended to look at us as unimportant and often failed to respect students and to my particular annoyance, also treated some of our professors and staff very poorly. It was personally offensive to me that some of our staff worked extra hours for free so that students had adequate access to equipment we needed to maintain the quality of our education. The best schools no only treat students well, but also realize that retention of good professors and staff contribute to the overall quality of education. The university's failure to approve money to our college (there are 7 at cornell) was incredibly disappointing. To sum it up. Individual departments and colleges are run very competently and most professors will treat you well and have willing moved to the small town of Ithaca because they enjoy teaching. The university system, however, is run like a corporation and both students and staff are treated accordingly.

5th Year Female -- Class 2010

Innovation: A, Surrounding City: C-

The ratings I gave above do not paint a good picture of Cornell. Into my fourth year I have to say that about 75% of the time I love the architecture department. We have some very bright, friendly, open, and exciting professors who I have loved getting to know. The small setting allows you to create meaningful relationships. The university bureaucracy, however, is awful.

While in your own department people will treat you like a student, a human being who has worked very hard to get into the university and will appreciate your efforts if you are working hard--the university sees students as a money making machine. I've lost count of the number of I have been yelled at, demeaned, ignored, and just generally disrespected by University staff. This has occurred most often with the registrar offices (both in my own college and the university administration level) and especially with the bursar. Every semester it is the same cycle with administration, I really think Cornell should just admit that they are run like a large corporation--and a bad one at that like Walmart as opposed to a good model like Google (the other Ivy Leagues tend to fall into the latter category).Considering that Cornell is far from a major city and lacks the pretige/networks of other schools at the same level I would at least expect the university to compensate by keeping a professional demeanor and nurture students to succeed. This work, however, is all left to individual professors, who while well meaning are seriously under funded, under paid, and treated just as badly as students are. Only a few of the 'star' professors are treated well and those are the ones that bring in funding to the university.

1st Year Female -- Class 2010

Campus Aesthetics: A+, Individual Value: D