Cornell's campus is truly beautiful, is set on a campus of rolling hills and breathtaking gorges. Unfortunately, it is very cold and windy in the winter, as it was during my day-long visit in February.

The college town, Cornell, New York, isn't great, but it does have some restaurants and a few movie houses. Cornell is basically in the middle of nowhere, but it is possible to drive to New York City on weekends.

This is the largest of the Ivy League schools with 11,000 students, so there was a range of students. One aspect they shared was they seemed friendly and happy. Many came over to the tour to encourage us to come to Cornell, and others would joke about the school: one student even came running out of the student union building yelling, "I can't take it anymore!" but then added, "Just kidding, this is a great place."

The tour (although too long for such a cold day) was very informative. The guide took us to its seven colleges, a unique feature, telling us a little about each one. They included the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Human Ecology, the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering, the School of Hotel Administration, and the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Unfortunately, the tour did not take us into any buildings. Although I didn't attend any classes, I learned that the classes usually have 10-20 students, with the most popular class, Freshman Psychology, having about 2000 students in one lecture!

Cornell is an excellent school, but it does have its drawbacks. It is definitely not for a city person or a person who dislikes cold weather.


Reviewed in 1990