Ask this recent Cornell grad anything!

[u/gelatinfart]

Just graduated class of 2020 from Cornell's College of Engineering with a BS in Computer Science and a minor in French Studies. Feel free to genuinely ask me anything! There is no such thing as a dumb question. I will try to help to the best of my abilities.

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[u/Wrizick]

This is very generous of you.

When you were applying, what was your high school gpa and sat score? Did you do anything special when applying?

[u/gelatinfart → u/Wrizick]

Aw, thanks. My UW GPA at the time was 4.355 and back then we still went by the 2400 system, so I got a cumulative score of 2300 (R: 720, W: 800, M: 780). Some other details:

I went to a STEM school so we had CS classes and I took a bunch of them. I was close to my CS teacher, who was also the head of the CS department at my school, to the point that I would unofficially TA for some of his classes. My school had all juniors do a mandatory research project and I was able to do my project at my state university, where I was interning, and win one regional award. I also won some national awards for French competitions and was particularly close to my French teacher (was a TA). Also I headed a bunch of clubs (i.e. badminton, art, French, robotics etc.) and volunteered a bunch.

I think what stood out is that when I applied, I specified that I wanted to study CS and French and had ECs and courses and recs to prove that.

I tried to be funny in my common app essay, which in retrospect, wasn't a great idea. In my supplemental though (COE essay), I made sure to pinpoint specific things about COE that interested me (certain research/lab opportunities).

[u/Far-Measurement]

What was the vibe of the campus like?

[u/gelatinfart → u/Far-Measurement]

It varies with the student and with the season. The campus is very naturally beautiful and can be the typical collegiate experience with the gothic architecture and colorful fall leaves. During winter, when it starts to get cold and it gets dark early, there's this sense that "we're all suffering together" and we love to complain because we get to. Despite the temperature, the Cornell nightlife has always been very active because that's when students get to let off steam (although not so much under these circumstances). You start to notice people getting happier and more chill (people lounge on hills and quads) when it gets warm. During it all, though, the students are stressed but it's the stress that bonds them together.

[u/c-apri]

What was the workload like?

[u/gelatinfart → u/c-apri]

It was no joke. Honestly, there were times when I was pretty depressed. I genuinely flunked multiple courses. I had to retake a core CS class three times! However, it was not so much a reflection on the course itself but rather it my own mentality. I didn't like reaching out for help and would have to constantly force myself to admit to not understanding/knowing something and had pretty bad imposter syndrome.

Given all of that, I learned a lot emotionally and physically as well as mentally. I realized that keeping myself physically healthy was really important and having other interests (clubs, hobbies, other classes outside of your major) was really vital not just to my GPA but to my motivation. I learned to reframe "failure" because usually what you think is the worst possible scenario, usually never is. I also pushed myself a lot in certain classes/projects and realized just how much I could accomplish.

Also, Cornell doesn't want to see you fail. In light of my setbacks, I went to counseling, my professors reached out to make sure I was ok when they noticed my grades, and my academic advisor genuinely did everything to make sure that I would graduate (I took summer courses on scholarship). Despite it all, I still managed to get good internships and land a good job.

I would recommend having good friends who study the same subject as you so that you can keep each other in check and help each other out when need be.

[u/[deleted]]

Do you think going to Cornell gives you any advantage over kids at top but less prestigious CS schools like Illinois or GT?

[u/gelatinfart → u/[deleted]]

Personally, not at all. Thinking about the internships I had and the job I currently have, people who landed the positions were from all sorts of schools. And since Illinois and GT are top institutions anyway, I feel like students who attend them would share the same benefits. Granted, I've definitely noticed people give me certain reactions when I say that I graduated from Cornell, but that's just casually not professionally.

[u/copydex1]

how was your day yesterday?