More than one-third of incoming freshmen have joined the “Cornell Class of 2010” Facebook group. Other class members who are itching to get to Ithaca are members of “I can’t wait for August 18th at Cornell baby!!!”
Come orientation, over 3,000 of the best and brightest will descend upon Ithaca to begin their college experiences. This year, Cornell admitted 6,927 students from a pool of 28,097 applicants, giving an overall admission rate of 24.7 percent — the lowest in years.
The applicant volume increased 15 percent from last year and a represents a 35 percent increase over the past two years, according to Doris Davis, Cornell associate provost for admission and enrollment. Of the applicants, there were 2,688 students on the wait list this year.
Up from last year, over 35 percent of incoming freshmen identify themselves as minorities.
A quarter of the freshmen hail from New York State, 21 percent come from Mid-Atlantic states, 10 percent from New England, 13 percent trek from the Far West (up from 9 percent), 9 percent reside in the Midwest, 6 percent come from the Southeast, 5 percent from the Southwest, 1 percent from U.S. territories abroad and 573 are international students.
Since the Office of Admissions has not yet released a Class of 2010 profile, the Sun decided to talk to some incoming freshmen.
“I’m a townie, I’ve been here for the last 13 years,” said local Ithacan Wynn Maxwell ’10 who has heard about professors at C.U. because his parents are faculty members. He’s taking classes in economics and is looking forward to a change from high school.
Kristina Wang ’10, who was drawn to Cornell for it’s reputation as a good school far away from her native Los Angeles, said, “I wanted to experience life in a different part of the county. They say that you work hard and party hard, it’s not all studying or all partying, there’s a good balance.”
However, Wang is nervous about the notoriously bad Ithaca weather, saying, “Everyone keeps telling me that it’s freezing.”
Emily McAdams ’10, a native of Chapel Hill, N.C., is working at an art camp this summer. She was drawn to Cornell’s engineering program and fell in love with the campus after visiting last year.
Like Wang though, McAdams is nervous about the winters. “I live in the south, so everyone tells me, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s going to be so cold.’ and I’ve heard that it’s gray a lot,” she said. McAdams is looking forward to meeting new people and “getting to live on my own, away from my family.”
Stephanie Chu ’10, the creator of the “Cornell Class of 2010” Facebook group, is an Ithaca High School grad who said she’s looking forward to meeting new people, more rigorous class work, good food and independence. Chu was inspired to create the group after talking to friends in the “Cornell Class of 2009” Facebook group who said that it promoted discussion among classmates. She wants to study neurobiology and in her free time likes to play violin, badminton and tiddlywinks.
Chicago native Candice Gant ’10 is spending her summer at the Cornell pre-freshman program. While she wants to be a research scientist who develops cures for genetic diseases, you might catch her knitting, listening to music or going to movies in her free time.