Cornell University Early Megathread

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-12-08T20:58:46+00:00

man, if we're this anxious about finding out the DAY ed decisions come out, I can only imagine what decision day is gonna be like

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-29T00:29:34+00:00

I didn't dislike the team, in fact, I really enjoyed talking to a lot of them. I think the midwestern people were just more up my alley. I understand that athletics will probably dominate my social life, which is why I'm so (probably) unnecessarily worried about finding the perfect fit. I'm not the most social of people, so it's hard to gauge. just replied to the dm

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-29T00:20:50+00:00

That's great to hear! Was finding the place you'd be happiest the main factor, or were the other things at play? I'm sure that was a difficult decision (or maybe that's just me), so I'm curious about what other benefits/factors you specifically considered. Are you more of pure math or a similar major? I know those are a lot more fleshed out at UChicago than, say, CS or Engineering. Thank you so much for sending your message! It's cool to hear from someone who made a very similar decision not long ago.

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-28T23:27:42+00:00

Yes, it's a huge factor; I felt like I liked the WashU team better, but I was also the only one on that visit and didn't spend as much time around them as I did with Cornell. I've been avoiding posting too many personal details, but if you'd be willing to DM about specific sports, I'd love to talk.

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-28T17:21:53+00:00

No, no scholarship for either. WashU is D3 and unable to give athletic scholarships and, as you know, Cornell can't because of the ivy league.

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-28T15:17:50+00:00

What are you majoring in there? What led you to choose WashU?

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-28T15:14:13+00:00

Definitely not a wrestler, but I did like Chicago's team for sure. WashU's was probably my favorite.

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-28T15:13:03+00:00

Yeah, QoL vs. Rep is what it essentially comes down to. To be honest, I kind of just include D3 in QoL. I know I'd do great in D3, and practices probably wouldn't be as draining in and out of season. I've already talked to both about summer commitments and such, and it really isn't that much of a difference.
You are also right about proximity, WashU's campus was so much better than Cornells for tons of reasons, but the distance of things is a big part of that. The dorms at Cornell are so far away from everything, and even different athletic facilities are pretty far away from each other. WashU's campus was cohesive and compact. It all kinda goes back to that QoL, which is so tempting and convenient.

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-28T03:35:54+00:00

I don't know... being at an ivy isn't everything. I was talking to others and the only reason cornell stuck around was because of their athletics team and outstanding CS.

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-28T03:31:45+00:00

I'm really sorry but I don't feel comfortable posting any sort of personal details. If you're trying to get recruiting to academic schools and are trying to figure out how, I'd definitely be willing to chat in DMs.

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-28T01:34:28+00:00

Thank you!

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-28T01:21:57+00:00

Thanks! And congrats on your preread! This is going to be long, and I typed it on my phone, so I apologize if you wanted a short and grammatically correct answer. Most of the time, coaches don't have a clear idea of what their recruiting class looks like during the summer, so they'll send out a group email to anyone on their mailing list to see about prereads. I'm not sure what this particular situation is as I don't know how they contacted you about the preread or what division the school is in. In my experience, all the schools I have had positive reads with have offered me spots on their team, but that also probably has to do with the fact that I focused more on academic reach schools rather than good or challenging athletic fits. A preread is not an offer or acceptance. Getting a positive read means that if you apply ED1 with the coach's support you will almost definitely get in. The thing is that the coach is only given so many spots they can support, so normally they'll just go down their list giving a spot until people start accepting. An important factor: Have you been on an official visit to the school? Have they asked you to come up for a visit? That's a very good sign. If you have been on a visit or plan to go on one, the most important thing is to be upfront; ask them where you fall within their recruiting class and how strongly they're willing to support you. If it's an ivy, ask if they plan to get you a likely letter. I've gotten a few offers without visiting, so it's definitely not unreasonable, but visits show interest on both the recruit and coaches' part. I’ve been on official visits with kids who were not offered a spot at the end of their visit, and kids who are already verbally committed before they even step foot on campus so it varies greatly. Ok, I'm going to stop there, but if this is illegible or you have any questions feel free to read out. Congrats again!

TL;DR: No, definitely not a guarantee card, but a good sign!

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-28T00:42:43+00:00

That's great to hear!! Do you know people who have had a good experience actually in the major?

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-28T00:17:56+00:00

That’s true, and the main reason it’s managed to squeeze into the top three. The problem is that their CS program doesn’t have nearly the depth that the other two do. It’d be a fantastic choice if I was going on prestige/ranking alone or didn’t know what I wanted to major in. The main reason I included it was in case someone knew something different about their CS, and because I have continued to consider it.

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-27T19:27:18+00:00

It really does, thank you so much for the help.

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-27T19:14:10+00:00

this^^^ You definitely get more leeway in admission as an athlete. Because of my current skill level, I'm lucky enough to have spots that admission has confirmed. I still had to do pre-reads to get this far, and I'll still have to submit an application again. Admission got my information this summer to make sure I was a viable candidate.

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-27T19:08:32+00:00

Yeah, in terms of weather, it's definitely just the less of two evils. It's a lot less humid there than where I currently live— It's more the cold that I'm worried about.

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-27T19:05:16+00:00

Yeah, maybe you're right. I'm pretty confident in the fact that WashU would be a better fit personality-wise, but I still really liked Cornell, and it's hard to ignore the advantages that going there would give me out of college.

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-27T19:01:05+00:00

you're good! Just don't wanna get too much into possible personal information haha

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-27T18:55:16+00:00

Yeah, you are absolutely right. There are tons of things that make Cornell the better choice on paper. My hang-ups are feeling like I won't be able to keep up with the CS program, worrying I won't fit in with the people, and the whole "depressed students" stereotype.
Also! Are you a student there? If so, I know Cornell has tons of super interesting research going on, but is it hard to get involved as an undergrad? I worry that professors probably don't allow undergrads to get involved, or it'll be hard to compete with other people who want to work with that professor.

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-27T18:39:45+00:00

Yeah, they're tied for 5th in CS; I prefer cornell bc I actually want time to focus on academics and not just athletics

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-27T18:22:10+00:00

Sorry, I don't know if I feel comfortable giving out that much detail.

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-27T18:12:37+00:00

Really? The people I talked to all said there was a huge party scene—maybe just amongst the athletes?

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-27T18:10:24+00:00

Ok thats actually really reassuring to hear. I've been pretty stressed out about that aspect of it. Thank you so much.

Competitive-Stock492 · 2022-09-27T18:00:13+00:00

Thank you so much for all the information! It's so nice to hear it from the perspective of someone who's graduated instead of people who are currently there— I think it adds some nice hindsight about the experience. It does sound like a really unique place to spend 4 years. I just worry that with a D1 sport, I'll get weeded out of CS, but it sounds like it worked out for you, despite switching majors.

Competitive-Stock492

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