MOUNT VERNON — Two publications have selected Cornell College as a hidden gem among the nation’s colleges and universities.
The New York Times’ Education Life special section on Sunday, July 30, recognized Cornell in an article headlined
“Off the beaten path,” which cites 20 colleges that “stress undergraduate teaching, have established or rising scholarship” and are good alternatives to popular brand-name universities. The 20 “stealth powerhouses” were chosen with the help of higher education experts and counselors. Four “Northern Plains” colleges were featured: Carleton, Cornell, Grinnell and Macalester. There are more than 2,500 four-year colleges and universities in the United States.
The Times’ article noted Cornell’s One-Course-At-A-Time, or block, calendar, where students take a single course for 3 ½ weeks, allows students to “really focus and to spend more time in the field.” Cornell students also can design their own majors, are actively involved in research with professors and continue on to graduate or professional schools at a high rate, the Times said.
Also spotlighting Cornell is
“Colleges That Change Lives,” a book by former New York Times education editor Loren Pope, which profiles 40 “catalytic” colleges that “outdo the Ivies and research universities in producing performers.” A new edition of the book, first published in 1996, was released in July by Penguin Books. The book gives readers a comprehensive assessment of each school and also includes general advice for the college-bound.
Cornell is the only Iowa college recognized in “Colleges That Change Lives.”
“It is wonderful that Cornell is being increasingly recognized for the extraordinary opportunities it offers students. In part, this type of publicity has enabled the college to attract the best and brightest students not only from Iowa but throughout the region, nation and world,” said Jonathan Stroud, Cornell vice president for enrollment and dean of admission.
Cornell is a private, undergraduate liberal arts college of approximately 1,200 men and women from over 40 states and a dozen foreign countries. The student-faculty ratio is 11:1 and the average class size is 17, with a maximum of 25. Approximately 92 percent of graduates finish in four years or less and almost 50 percent have double majors or a major and a minor.
