Cornell opens its doors each year with the same empowering message: Welcome to a top-tier university. It’s a proud stamp that echoes during campus tours, in brochures and through countless acceptance letters. Students soak it in almost instantly — prestige is in the air here. However, what often goes unspoken are the hidden costs tied to that reputation: the stress, the burnout and the quiet transformation of self that occurs when excellence feels mandatory rather than a personal choice.
Burnout is perhaps the most glaring symptom of this trend. Many Cornell students discuss the relentless academic stress as though it’s simply part of being driven, not a system we actively foster together. One student’s blog captured this reality with striking honesty: “Cornell students are high achievers, and we naturally end up taking on more and more. … We overcommit, pile on responsibilities, and eventually hit the wall: burnout.” Another thought from the same blog is even more relatable: “We even romanticize it. We glorify exhaustion, burning out, and overloading ourselves.”
A 2021 article in the Cornell Daily Sun highlighted the burnout crisis during an uninterrupted semester, with one student saying it felt like being “on autopilot, with a sluggish brain.” Another pointed out the overwhelming surge of prelims, leaving little time to prepare adequately. Even as circumstances worsen, the mindset remains unchanged: push through, keep excelling and continually prove you’re worthy of that ID card.
What’s often hidden beneath prestige is how swiftly it can undermine self-worth. Students who enter as stars find themselves in a sea of other high achievers. This transition can be unsettling. In an April 2022 article from The Cornell Sun, one student remarked, “Being in a competitive environment makes you want to measure yourself against others. … This type of setting motivates me to excel, but often at the cost of my mental well-being.” Another student added, “Being around so many bright individuals makes it easy to feel like I’m never enough.”
These feelings are not unique. They belong to a familiar emotional landscape in which a tiny city of over 20,000 students feel the same; no matter the season, no matter the holiday, no matter the company.
This pressure isn't just internal. Cornell's own Student Wellbeing Surveys have revealed troubling trends. A 2020 report — still widely referenced — indicated that nearly 48% of students surveyed experienced “moderate or serious psychological distress.” A follow-up by The Sun in 2022, found that 42% of undergraduates had "struggled to function for at least a week due to depression, stress, or anxiety."
Prestige also tends to limit authenticity. Students often select activities not out of enjoyment or curiosity, but because they convey competence, ambition or leadership. Clubs become strategic game plans and networking opportunities rather than a time to hang out. Conversations lean towards transactional. The once-cherished freedom to explore in an immerse education to learn more about oneself is often overshadowed by the urge to optimize.
I couldn’t help but wonder, can there be a version of an Ivy League education that doesn’t sacrifice authenticity and mental health? I believe that prestige should lift students up, not push them into a never-ending quest for perfection that robs students of enjoying their experience. If an excellent education is what we strive for, it should also mean taking care of the community that is a part of it.
Recognizing these challenges doesn’t undermine Cornell's strengths; instead, it paves the way for a more genuine conversation about what it means to be part of a prestigious institution. Prestige can indeed be inspirational, fostering opportunity and pride. However, it can also distort the student experience in ways that are easily overlooked and hard to acknowledge. Is there a way to be prestigious in both school and health?
Lali Tobin MPA '27 is an Opinion Columnist and a master's student at the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy. Her monthly column, The Tobin Times, explores public policy and politics through different lenses. She hopes to engage readers in hearing how politics is the most discussed topic in the media and why it is important to stay on top of current issues. She also hopes to tackle current social trends that can be connected through public policy. She can be reached at ltobin@cornellsun.com.
