Culture of Duke v. Michigan v. Cornell Forum

[bookside]

I am, for the most part, deciding between Duke, Michigan, and Cornell.

I went to two different undergrad schools, and the cultures were immensely different. One was big, liberal, and intellectual, and the other was small, conservative, and athletic-minded. I loved the first school and was very unhappy at the second--largely in part because of the types of people at each school, I think.

Essentially, I don't want to be at another school that has a culture that I'm unable to relate to. Can anyone give me any information about what the atmosphere is like at Duke, Michigan, or Cornell? Liberal or conservative? What are the people like?

I am unable to visit Duke or Michigan as I'm leaving the country relatively soon. I visited Cornell last summer, though, and thought the campus was awesome and the people seemed pretty chill.

[06102016]

..

[Lacepiece23]

The way you describe your second undergrad is the exact way that I would describe my undergrad. Very conservative and into sports at least D3 sports. Everyone seemed to play a sport. I liked my undergrad, but honestly I go to Cornell and like it just as much. Cornell is basically like Berkley of the East Coast.

The culture is very laid back IMO. My class is very chill. Everyone is pretty friendly and knows everyone. Downsides are that yes we do get a lot of snow, but Michigan will as well if you go there. My biggest complaint probably is that the bars close at 1. While this is great for the end of the semester it sucks in the beginnng when you don't have that much work to do really. O yeah and the undergrad and Ithaca College girls are pretty hot.

[Crowing]

why didn't you apply to chicago?

[megagnarley]

O yeah and the undergrad and Ithaca College girls are pretty hot.

Scooped.

Seriously?

[bizzybone1313]

O yeah and the undergrad and Ithaca College girls are pretty hot.

Scooped.

Seriously?

That is going to be one of the best parts of attending law school: Hitting on undergrad girls. I cannot wait. I need a few more adventures before settling down. .

[beachbum]

None of these schools is conservative. All of them are "intellectual."

If the big/small description applies to the school as a whole, then Michigan is a huge state school and Duke and Cornell are smaller/mid-size private schools. But your law school experience is going to be heavily grounded in the law school community, and in that respect Michigan is about twice the size of Cornell and Duke.

It's fair to say that basketball is a pretty big deal at Duke, and I suspect sports are a pretty big deal at Michigan, too. But if you have a weird aversion to sports, I'd imagine you can safely avoid them at Cornell.

Edit: Otherwise, these schools all draw on the same population of applicants; you're probably not, in other words, going to find a radically different culture or type of student from one school to another. Everyone is very bright and ambitious and interested in intellectual pursuits. People at Duke or Michigan might be a little more sports-inclined, but, in the aggregate, you're essentially looking at the same (or at least a very similar) student population from school to school.

But Cornell really does have terrible weather.

[izy223]

Cornel in the summer is beautiful with rolling hills. In the winter its bitter and bleak.

Keep that in mind. I visited Cornel in November of my cycle and literally deleted the application off my LSAC account because of how cold it was.

[bookside]

None of these schools is conservative. All of them are "intellectual."

If the big/small description applies to the school as a whole, then Michigan is a huge state school and Duke and Cornell are smaller/mid-size private schools. But your law school experience is going to be heavily grounded in the law school community, and in that respect Michigan is about twice the size of Cornell and Duke.

It's fair to say that basketball is a pretty big deal at Duke, and I suspect sports are a pretty big deal at Michigan, too. But if you have a weird aversion to sports, I'd imagine you can safely avoid them at Cornell.

Edit: Otherwise, these schools all draw on the same population of applicants; you're probably not, in other words, going to find a radically different culture or type of student from one school to another. Everyone is very bright and ambitious and interested in intellectual pursuits. People at Duke or Michigan might be a little more sports-inclined, but, in the aggregate, you're essentially looking at the same (or at least a very similar) student population from school to school.

But Cornell really does have terrible weather.

I'm certainly have no aversion to sports--I played collegiate soccer and attended the specific school for soccer. It was just that athletics seemed to be the only reason that many people were there, while I was interested in both academics and athletics. I guess anyone going to law school must have at least some interest in academics, though!

Thanks for the info!

[bookside]

why didn't you apply to chicago?

I'm not sure really. I wish I would have.

[bookside]

Cornel in the summer is beautiful with rolling hills. In the winter its bitter and bleak.

Keep that in mind. I visited Cornel in November of my cycle and literally deleted the application off my LSAC account because of how cold it was.

HAHA, that bad, huh? I'm pretty used to cold and don't really mind it...

[bookside]

The way you describe your second undergrad is the exact way that I would describe my undergrad. Very conservative and into sports at least D3 sports. Everyone seemed to play a sport. I liked my undergrad, but honestly I go to Cornell and like it just as much. Cornell is basically like Berkley of the East Coast.

The culture is very laid back IMO. My class is very chill. Everyone is pretty friendly and knows everyone. Downsides are that yes we do get a lot of snow, but Michigan will as well if you go there. My biggest complaint probably is that the bars close at 1. While this is great for the end of the semester it sucks in the beginnng when you don't have that much work to do really. O yeah and the undergrad and Ithaca College girls are pretty hot.

Are there many bars in Ithaca? The area was beautiful, but the town seemed maybe a little lacking in excitement (especially when it is too cold to do neat outdoor things). What do you think?

[Rahviveh]

The way you describe your second undergrad is the exact way that I would describe my undergrad. Very conservative and into sports at least D3 sports. Everyone seemed to play a sport. I liked my undergrad, but honestly I go to Cornell and like it just as much. Cornell is basically like Berkley of the East Coast.

The culture is very laid back IMO. My class is very chill. Everyone is pretty friendly and knows everyone. Downsides are that yes we do get a lot of snow, but Michigan will as well if you go there. My biggest complaint probably is that the bars close at 1. While this is great for the end of the semester it sucks in the beginnng when you don't have that much work to do really. O yeah and the undergrad and Ithaca College girls are pretty hot.

Are there many bars in Ithaca? The area was beautiful, but the town seemed maybe a little lacking in excitement (especially when it is too cold to do neat outdoor things). What do you think?

There's several, but the nightlife is obviously nothing compared to what you'd have in a big city.

[HBBJohnStamos]

The way you describe your second undergrad is the exact way that I would describe my undergrad. Very conservative and into sports at least D3 sports. Everyone seemed to play a sport. I liked my undergrad, but honestly I go to Cornell and like it just as much. Cornell is basically like Berkley of the East Coast.

The culture is very laid back IMO. My class is very chill. Everyone is pretty friendly and knows everyone. Downsides are that yes we do get a lot of snow, but Michigan will as well if you go there. My biggest complaint probably is that the bars close at 1. While this is great for the end of the semester it sucks in the beginnng when you don't have that much work to do really. O yeah and the undergrad and Ithaca College girls are pretty hot.

Are there many bars in Ithaca? The area was beautiful, but the town seemed maybe a little lacking in excitement (especially when it is too cold to do neat outdoor things). What do you think?

There's several, but the nightlife is obviously nothing compared to what you'd have in a big city.

Did you go to Cornell for UG?

[Lacepiece23]

O yeah and the undergrad and Ithaca College girls are pretty hot.

Scooped.

Seriously?

I think so. I mean I've only seen a few 10's but there's a lot of 8's running around. The girls here love to run and stay in shape so while your not getting state school hot I feel that there are more 8's then normal. Just my opinion, but I was pleasantly surprised by the talent in Ithaca.

[Lacepiece23]

The way you describe your second undergrad is the exact way that I would describe my undergrad. Very conservative and into sports at least D3 sports. Everyone seemed to play a sport. I liked my undergrad, but honestly I go to Cornell and like it just as much. Cornell is basically like Berkley of the East Coast.

The culture is very laid back IMO. My class is very chill. Everyone is pretty friendly and knows everyone. Downsides are that yes we do get a lot of snow, but Michigan will as well if you go there. My biggest complaint probably is that the bars close at 1. While this is great for the end of the semester it sucks in the beginnng when you don't have that much work to do really. O yeah and the undergrad and Ithaca College girls are pretty hot.

Are there many bars in Ithaca? The area was beautiful, but the town seemed maybe a little lacking in excitement (especially when it is too cold to do neat outdoor things). What do you think?

I think there's definitely enough bars. There's rulloffs and dunbars for hitting on undergrads. Level B, Pixel, and Moonies are where we generally go to dance if your into that sort of thing. I'm a K-JD so the things my friends and I like to do on the weekends differ from the older population at the law school. We enjoy partying in undergrad dance bars. The older population enjoys chapter house where the average beer is like 5 dollars. I've been really happy with how much fun I've had here so far. There's definitely enough to do in my opinion.

[nebula666]

I would say Ann Arbor is the most enjoyable city from a cultural standpoint of these three. It's also by far the most beautiful campus.

[dukealum2]

Long time lurker here. I just wanted to come in as a Duke alum (undergrad) and say that you will love Duke. The campus is amazing and is definitely a place you can have a college experience, if that's what you want. Anyways, I've only been to the law school a few times, but it's top notch and very well kept. Here's some pics of the campus:

http://www.unigo.com/duke_university/photos

Oh and as far as nightlife, you'll have no shortage there.

And nothing against Michigan or Cornell, but I couldn't end up in those schools. As said earlier in the thread, the winters would be too limiting for me. They are too drawn out into both the fall and spring semester, and they wind up being a hassle not only when it snows, but when it's icy. One thing that really turned me off was for example at Cornell. My friend lived off campus (about a 15 minute walk). And from my understanding, there isn't many places within walking distance to campus (only in Collegetown, which is the most overpriced place to live there). When I visited him in May or September, the walk was fine, but when it started getting icy and snowy, the walk became bitter and actually quite dangerous/annoying. After a while most people I spoke to said it was a big deterrence from getting around, being active, driving, etc.

All in all, go with Duke...you won't regret it.

[Merylian]

I'm not a student at any of these schools (yet ) but I wanted to weigh in a little bit on Cornell/Ithaca because I've lived in the area (within 30 minutes) my whole life.

Everyone is mentioning the winters, and they are not wrong. The problem is not only the miserable cold, it's that you will be fortunate to see the sun more than a handful of times from October to March. This area is EXTREMELY overcast during a very large portion of the year, and if you've lived your whole life somewhere like California or Colorado or the south, it really does make a huge difference. I will vouch for that from personal experience. For me it was the opposite; when I moved to North Carolina, I was genuinely astonished at what a difference having a lot of sunlight makes in general mood/quality of life.

Don't worry about it being conservative, either. Last time I was in Ithaca, there was a traffic jam because a large group of people were on a corner/in the road flailing signs in protest of drone strikes. While I admire their enthusiasm, I'm not sure who their target audience was. It is largely considered hippie-central around here.

Edit: Spelling. Derrpppp.

[RhymesLikeDimes]

Above post definitely hit the nail on the head. I live about 2 hours east of Cornell, and the winters here are miserable. It's not so much the snow as the 2 week blocks of <20 degree gray-days. Spring semesters in this area are unbelievably depressing. You'll spend the first two-thirds racing from building to building through bitter cold. Even April can be rough from year to year. By the time the weather gets consistently nice (and, admittedly, Upstate NY is gorgeous in the Fall, and tends to have very pleasant Summers), you're heading home. It's definitely not for everyone.

NY is definitely a blue state. Though many rural areas tend to lean more conservatively, mid-size cities like Ithaca lean heavily to the left. Cornell gets a heavy dose of Ivy League liberalism, without too much of that old-money vibe that you see at other Ivies.

[curious66]

So does Michigan have this lack of sun/overcast problem also? I know it is very cold there .. just wondering if it is cold with some sunlight??

[bookside]

O yeah and the undergrad and Ithaca College girls are pretty hot.

Scooped.

Seriously?

I think so. I mean I've only seen a few 10's but there's a lot of 8's running around. The girls here love to run and stay in shape so while your not getting state school hot I feel that there are more 8's then normal. Just my opinion, but I was pleasantly surprised by the talent in Ithaca.

wooooow

[bookside]

I would say Ann Arbor is the most enjoyable city from a cultural standpoint of these three. It's also by far the most beautiful campus.

What makes it the most enjoyable?

Thanks Mery and Rhymes. I didn't realize it was so overcast. I am used to cold winters, but where I'm from the sun shines most of the year, even when the temps are in the teens. Does anyone know if Ann Arbor is as overcast as Ithaca?

[izy223]

Cornel in the summer is beautiful with rolling hills. In the winter its bitter and bleak.

Keep that in mind. I visited Cornel in November of my cycle and literally deleted the application off my LSAC account because of how cold it was.

HAHA, that bad, huh? I'm pretty used to cold and don't really mind it...

maybe i just happened to get there on a bad weekend but if it could be that bla in november i was scared to know how much I am going to hate myself come december finals

[Shmoopy]

In addition to overcast winters, the sun will also set way earlier at Michigan or Cornell. I've lived in WI and NH at about the same latitudes as these schools, and the sun sets around 4:30 in the winter. I don't really give a shit about snow or ice, but that darkness gets old.