Cornell University

The professors come from every nook and cranny of diversity, and always hold esteemed degrees in the fields which they teach. Freshmen have the opportunity to jump right into research/projects that reflect on their grades as well as on their personal achievements. If you can manage your time decently, the workload isn't terrible, and learn very quickly that it is never a bad thing to ask someone for some help.

On the one hand, students at Cornell are super-focused. It seems like everyone I met there knew what they wanted to study and what their career path was going to be by the time they started high school. This is not a school where people say they want to take a couple semesters to figure out what they want to major in. On the other hand, everyone I knew was super eager to take advantage of the incredible selection of elective courses available to enrich your experience. Some of the most popular electives were Wines (yes, wine tasting- must be over 21), Astronomy 101, Web Site Development 101. The urban legend/stereotype is that the academics are so hard at Cornell that the school has the highest suicide rate of any college. Nobody at Cornell believes this myth. Sure the academics are challenging, but that doesn't mean you won't have plenty of time to excel at school and have plenty of time for friends, sports, a job or anything else you want to do on the side.