Biology Cornell University
- Neil ShahIndia
- Cornell University, USA
- Biology
The Indian community is enormous and vast at this university, with all sorts of interest groups for different regions as well as all-encompassing groups throughout the campus and university population. There are so many different departments to choose from when it comes to education, that it is very difficult to come across something that is offered elsewhere but not at Cornell. The classes aren't too difficult, and usually most people end up choosing the major (program of study) that suits their study habits and other such habits, and if not, the switching process is painless and very smoothe. Large campus can be a problem for unity amongst certain majors, but there are many different ways around this. Diversity is one of the greatest aspects of this university, and if diversity is something you're interested in, as in meeting people of descents, places, and heritages that you never even knew could exist, then this university is for you! The winter sucks, although it can be variant from mild to harsh, but the summer and spring times are quite warm here.
Be sure to have taken a testing equivalent of the SAT's if you cannot take the SAT I (Reasoning Test) in a testing center in India, or any other neighboring country. Try and take some SAT II Subject Tests as well, such as ones in Biology, Mathematics, History, etc., to boost your chances of acceptance to this university, as they do indeed look for both academic excellence and the rigor of the courseload and work you have accomplished before applying. Feel free to e-mail the individual departments or the financial bursar about any questions you have (e-mail addresses can be found off the www.cornell.edu website). As for travel, there is a small airport in Ithaca, NY (where the university is located), but the best bets for getting here would be to either fly into JFK airport near New York City, transfer to LaGuardia Airport and fly to Ithaca Airport from there (take a cab from Ithaca Airport to Campus), or to fly into Syracuse Airport (Syracuse, NY).
The University's costs can be quite astounding, as they are considerably high. The School of Hotel Management, the College of Engineering, the School of Art, Architecture, and Planning, and the College of Arts and Sciences the tuition is approximately $35,000. For the College of Agriculture and life Sciences, College of Human Ecology, and the College of Industrial Labor Relations, the tuition is approximately $33,000. Scholarships are usually given out only on a financial-need-basis, thus you must apply for financial aid, however from what I hear, financial aid for foreign students is very sparse from Cornell.
Like I said before there are many Indian student associations. There is the Society for India (puts on different shows and events to promote South Asian Culture), the Pakistani Student Association, MECA, the Bengali Student Association, ASHA (a south-asian humanitarian and community service organization), and 3 dance teams (Raas/Garba, Bhangra, Classical/Fusion/Hip-Hop). The shows put on by the Society for India, the Raas/Garba team, and the Bhangra team tend to draw the largest South Asian crowds. Other than the academics, as I mentioned above, the university has many things to offer. It boasts an enormous array of Student organizations to choose from, as well as 42 fraternities and 13 sororities, which are sort of like brotherhoods and sisterhoods, respectively. Some can be wild, others are humanitarian-based, so the choice is yours. Jobs are available all over the campus, as offices, departments, and research labs are always looking for students. The city itself is built to accomodate students, with hundreds of different restaurants and small shops to choose from. There is a small unimpressive mall in the area. There is an area called Collegetown, where students not choosing to live in Dormitory Halls after their first year can choose to either reside in a house or apartment with some friends, with houses ranging from 3-15 bedroom places, and 1-10 bedroom apartments. Prices can really vary from $200-2000 a month.
Located in New York.
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Ranking for this institution
- SHJT: 13
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