Duke vs. Cornell Quality of Life Forum

[fangonk]

I am looking at schools in small to medium sized cities. In terms of quality of student life, which is supposed to be better? Cornell or Duke? I know Durham is a lot warmer than Ithica but I have heard going to school at Cornell is a really enjoyable experience -

[rando]

I am looking at schools in small to medium sized cities. In terms of quality of student life, which is supposed to be better? Cornell or Duke? I know Durham is a lot warmer than Ithica but I have heard going to school at Cornell is a really enjoyable experience -

I loved Ithaca, but didn't want to go back for 3 more years of law school. The weather can drag on you in the winter. Beyond the weather, it is a great place to go to school.

[badwithpseudonyms]

I am looking at schools in small to medium sized cities. In terms of quality of student life, which is supposed to be better? Cornell or Duke? I know Durham is a lot warmer than Ithica but I have heard going to school at Cornell is a really enjoyable experience -

I loved Ithaca, but didn't want to go back for 3 more years of law school. The weather can drag on you in the winter. Beyond the weather, it is a great place to go to school.

Sounds like an understatement.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/1 ... 02757.html

[dkirby87]

Cornell is also known as Suicide University. For some reason the school has a long tradition of a lot of suicides. Just recently there have been 6 in the past 3 months.
Durham is a beautiful place but some parts can be pretty dangerous. Ithaca is way more beautiful but Durham has a much more temperate climate.
Good luck deciding!

[rando]

Cornell is also known as Suicide University. For some reason the school has a long tradition of a lot of suicides. Just recently there have been 6 in the past 3 months.
Durham is a beautiful place but some parts can be pretty dangerous. Ithaca is way more beautiful but Durham has a much more temperate climate.
Good luck deciding!

Not to be overly defensive about an alma mater. But for those who read only headlines and not the entire article... Cornell had no suicides in several years previous, and has only been "known" for suicides because of the highly publicized way that people jump into the gorges. MIT and Harvard actually have the highest suicide rates, followed by Johns Hopkins and NYU.

[musicfor18]

I taught at Cornell for one year (2005-2006)-- not in the law schoo, obviously--and I can tell you that it is one of the beautiful campuses I've ever seen. And the town of Ithaca is unique, charming, and cool. Most of the students I met during that year were quite happy. I think the depression/suicide component some of us have heard about comes out of the hard sciences departments, especially engineering.

I don't know anything about QOL at Duke, but Cornell is a wonderful place.

[badwithpseudonyms]

Cornell is also known as Suicide University. For some reason the school has a long tradition of a lot of suicides. Just recently there have been 6 in the past 3 months.
Durham is a beautiful place but some parts can be pretty dangerous. Ithaca is way more beautiful but Durham has a much more temperate climate.
Good luck deciding!

Not to be overly defensive about an alma mater. But for those who read only headlines and not the entire article... Cornell had no suicides in several years previous, and has only been "known" for suicides because of the highly publicized way that people jump into the gorges. MIT and Harvard actually have the highest suicide rates, followed by Johns Hopkins and NYU.

I was just kidding because I saw the opportunity to link the recent headlines to the weather. Everyone knows Cornell is "gorges". I visited once and enjoyed it. Don't know if I'd want to spend three years there, but as I only stayed two days I'm probably not the best person to ask about the QoL.

[fangonk]

Yeah, thats pretty much what I expected people to say about the towns and weather - I wonder what it is like to go to these schools though. The school I go to now has an awesome campus and in a cool part of town but the actual experience of being a student is awful. Nothing ever happens on campus and there is a definite lack of 'community'. Wherever I end up going to law school, I want to feel like I am a part of a community with lots of opportunities to get involved. I know that law school is different than undergraduate and Im going to spend a lot more time studying but I would like to be on a campus with a lot of extra-curricular stuff available. Oh and some good local watering holes wouldn't hurt.

[rando]

Yeah, thats pretty much what I expected people to say about the towns and weather - I wonder what it is like to go to these schools though. The school I go to now has an awesome campus and in a cool part of town but the actual experience of being a student is awful. Nothing ever happens on campus and there is a definite lack of 'community'. Wherever I end up going to law school, I want to feel like I am a part of a community with lots of opportunities to get involved. I know that law school is different than undergraduate and Im going to spend a lot more time studying but I would like to be on a campus with a lot of extra-curricular stuff available. Oh and some good local watering holes wouldn't hurt.

The Cornell law school is about 100 meters from the college bars...
That being said, outside of Y and S and don't know many people who say they have had an awesome "community" experience in law school. Good luck.

[KMaine]

Last year, I made this same decision (add Michigan into the mix) based on QOL and financial aid factors. I ended up choosing Cornell and have been very happy here, though I am certain that I could have been happy at Duke as well. I only applied to schools in smallish cities. Here are some observations:

Weather: Duke - but not by as much as I thought. This winter was actually much milder than I was led to believe. Pretty nice through mid-November. The last week (though not the last few days) was in the 60s. There were a couple of times this winter that I wished I was in NC, but I only really had to shovel my driveway about 2 times.

Town: Cornell - It is really nice here. Interesting and fun town. Liberal (though somewhat odd) locals. Small town atmosphere with most of the ameneties of a slightly larger city.

Law School Campus: Duke (though many people disagree). I like the modern, bright Duke building over the gothic Cornell building. It has grown on me somewhat, though.

Overall Campus: Wash: You can't go wrong here, two of the most beautiful campuses in the country IMO.

Surrounding Area: Cornell, scenic + rural v. sprawl.

People: Not enough information. People at Duke seemed genuinely nice. They are consciously anit-competitive, at least on the surface. Here at Cornell, I have found the people to be amazing. So many diverse backgrounds and experiences. Everyone is willing to talk + generally are very helpful when you ask.

Workload: I imagine it is the same. People say that Cornell has one of the most studious student bodies, but it has not been as difficult as I expected/feared it would be.

Sports: Duke (but how 'bout that Big Red basketball team)?

The suicide thing is very unfortunate, and it is unfortunate that it was mentioned in this thread. Some undergrads were having a tough time with life, it could happen anywhere. I think that the spirits are generally good around the law school.

OP - Good luck with your decision. I think they are both solid choices (they were my two top choices). Feel free to PM if I can help with anything else.

[splitterhopeful]

Durham is a horrible, ugly, crime-infested city.