The quality of life at Cornell Law School is inextricably intertwined with the town of Ithaca, New York. Ithaca is a small town with two large colleges, Cornell and Ithaca College. The students and the town have a serious love/hate relationship. Whether you love or hate Ithaca will certainly have an effect on your Cornell experience.

Ithaca, New York

Let’s talk about the weather first, since everyone who has spent any time in Ithaca will tell you about how cold and snowy it is there. Yes, the place gets a lot of snow, it can get really cold, and the wind can blow so hard, you feel your skin peeling off your face. But it’s not like that all the time. I can’t say I really miss the winters, but it wasn’t that bad, and I spent eight years there, so I saw a lot of snow. On the other hand, my wife, who grew up in Arizona, gets nostalgic when it snows here in Kentucky, and tells me how much she misses the snow in Ithaca. Go figure.

That said, spring and fall in Ithaca are beautiful. The landscape of Ithaca is rolling hills, covered in beautiful foliage, capped off by Cayuga Lake down at the bottom of the hills. So long as it’s not covered in three feet of snow, it’s beautiful country, and if you’re a small town person, it’s a great place to go to law school.

But don’t write off Cornell if you’ve lived in New York City all your life. You can get together and complain with all the other New York City people about how miserable you are. I’m kidding. Sure, people complain - half of law school is about complaining, particularly about how much work you have to do - but it’s the rare person who truly doesn’t like their experience in Ithaca.

Part of the reason for that is that Ithaca has more of the amenities of a big city that most towns its size. I live in town that has a cornucopia of great restaurants (shameless plug - see my review on my hometown of Louisville). Ithaca isn’t in the same league, but I wasn’t suffering while I was there. There’s good pizza, great wings, great Thai, pretty good Chinese (both of the quality and quantity (i.e., all-you-can-eat buffet)), good Indian, a great steak place, and a good late night diner. You can even Eat at Joe’s. That’s right, there’s a Joe’s Restaurant in Ithaca, and to top it off, a Little Joe’s as well. I highly recommend both.

But enough about food. Okay, a little more (and I wonder why I’m on a diet?). Ithaca has the greatest grocery store in the universe - Super-Duper Wegman’s. Like the mall in the Blue Brother, this place has got EVERYTHING. Also, the dining halls on Cornell’s campus are some of the best in the country, with a particularly good one in the law school itself.

So, the place is beautiful, you’ve got plenty to eat, the sun is shining, what are you going to do when you’re not buried in the library stacks studying? Head to the wineries. Now, I’m not going to tell you upstate New York is Napa Valley, but it’s great fun to hit the wineries, many of which are within a hour or two of Ithaca. Great fun that you really shouldn’t miss. If it’s the dead of winter, then you definitely want to catch a Cornell Big Red hockey game. Cornell hockey is truly great collegiate sports, complete with raucous fans, an enthusiastic band, and top level hockey.

The School Itself

That’s some of the highlights of Ithaca. Let’s get down to business. First, law school is no picnic, no matter where you are. First year can be brutally intense at times. A small number of folks will drop out by second semester. Cornell, a top ten law school, is no exception. If you want to do well, you’re going to have to do a lot of work. It’s going to be stressful. There are a couple of professors who are very tough and demanding, and make that guy in the Paper Chase look like a creampuff.

Despite working harder than I ever have in my life and feeling like I ought to have a stomach full of ulcers from the stress sometimes, I had a great time in law school at Cornell. Cornell, both grad and undergrad, is a very social place. People like to go and have a good time, whether at a frat party or a bar. This provides a great opportunity to unwind and relax.

The student body is fairly small, and pretty close-knit. First years have the option of living in the law school dorm, which really fosters people socializing together (it also fosters rampant panic attacks at finals time, but there’s tradeoffs in everything). People get to know one another outside the classroom.

I really do think there is something special about Cornell Law in that respect. In certain respects, it’s like high school all over again. I’ve got more good friends from law school than I do from anywhere else. To illustrate my point, over a dozen of our law school friends came from all over the country to Louisville, Kentucky for my wife and I’s wedding. That’s nearly 10% of the class coming to a town most of them have never been to. That was very special, and that kind of camaraderie and friendship exists throughout the school.

As tough as first year can be, it does get better - much better. Classes are much more relaxed second and third years, and even the tough professors ease up once you make it through bootcamp with them. If you’re willing to let your GPA slide a little, you really don’t have to do that much work after first year. This is because most Cornell students get their second summer job during the first month or two of second year. Most then return to that job after graduation, which means only your first year grades mean anything. Thus, I had friends who managed to play a lot of golf and drink a lot of beer second and third year, with no worries about their future.

Therefore, I give the quality of life at Cornell five stars. It’s not perfect, but nothing is, and I’d be a jerk to ask for a better three years than my last three I spent high above Cayuga’s waters.

For more about Cornell overall, see my review at:

bigjack.epinions.com/cmd-review-76DB-AAD9501-39C1064C-prod1

This review is part of the Quality of Life Write-Off, organized by Kingamort, who has my thanks for putting this together. Check out her review as well as the other participants: Smussyolay, Shan1, Veezee, Chicknyell, Elorraine, basilisk4 and catherine_james. Thanks!




Recommended: Yes