How large are classes, particularly in the first year?
About 70% of all courses offered at Cornell have an enrollment of 40 students or fewer and only 8% are larger than 100 students. In general, you can expect the size of your classes to get smaller as you progress in your studies. The freshman year in Engineering tends to be a mix of larger and smaller classes. Your small classes will include: Engineering Calculus (capped at 25 to 28 students), Introduction to Engineering (four to 60 students, depending on which class you choose), First-Year Writing Seminars (capped at 17 students each), and the Engineering Advising Seminar (17 to 18 freshman students, their faculty advisor, and two to three upper-class peer advisors). The larger classes will be in general science (chemistry and physics) and the Introduction to Computer Science course required of all engineering undergrads. You can expect that the lecture portions of these classes will likely include between 100 and 150 students. It is important to remember, however, that these courses a
