First of all, congratulations on choosing to come to Cornell, and a much larger congratulations for not choosing Harvard.

You are joining a legacy of some of the world’s most impressive students and professors, but if you would like to know more about this university’s remarkable statistics, please redirect yourself here. You know Cornell is a prestigious university. That’s probably one of the reasons you decided to come to this school. Let me tell you some of the things you may not know about what lies ahead of you for the next four years.

Prepare yourself to fall in love with this beautiful place and its intelligent people. Also prepare for yourself to hate it. Every Cornellian hates it here, at least once. Winter is miserable, and the courses are vigorous. There are reasons why we are in the Ivy League and among the best in the world and, unfortunately, it’s not for our sports. When you graduate, you will have earned your cap and gown, there is no doubt about that. But you will also appreciate everything that happens to you here, and the person that Cornell can make you.

You will be surrounded by people who will challenge you in many ways. You may be compared to people that you are pretty sure don’t sleep, or eat, or are even human. That’s okay, don’t let the pressure get to you. You are here to do your best, and to shape who you are. Your four years at Cornell are what you make them. Use the people who challenge you, to inspire you. You are at a top university, act like it. Not by being pretentious, but by continuing the diligence and perseverance you showed in high school to get here. If you let it, Cornell will make you into a person who is capable, well networked, and ambitious. Not many schools can say that it produces such students.

Never miss an opportunity here, even if the opportunity is eating a Nastie’s buffalo chicken calzone in the middle of the night with your friends. The memories will last a lifetime. Get involved. Go to clubfest; bsides your classes it’s probably the single most important event your freshman year. Your education will not be nearly as valuable if you don’t make connections along the way. You will become an impressive person, just as impressive as the person sitting to the right and left of you during orientation or in your classes. Build your network and learn to represent yourself.

Don’t take life too seriously. You will fail assignments, quizzes, prelims, etc. Learn from your mistakes and move on. Remind yourself that when you look back, you really won’t remember that grade, but you will remember the people who made your Cornell experience the real deal. I cannot stress enough that making friends and connections is the most important part of Cornell. You will need their support, and they will need yours. Cornell has one of the strongest alumni networks in the country because every Big Red graduate knows what it takes to get through those four years and be successful.

Lastly, don’t be afraid of change, and don’t be afraid of challenge, but don’t change who you are. Embrace changes, embrace the challenges, and understand that it’s all part of the experience. Not feeling it when you’re in the stacks until 4 a.m. before a prelim? Stop and ask any upperclassmen, they’ve definitely been there.

Be excited to come to Cornell! These will be the best four years of your life, and you shouldn’t spend them anywhere, but this campus. So pack up your snow gear and your list of 161 things to do, and welcome to Cornell University! Go, Big Red! 

Sincerely,

A nostalgic upperclassman