Dear Adding It Up,
Each college has its own rules, so you'll need to check with your own college registrar.  All the registrars and their phone numbers are listed under "Registrars" in the "Academic and Other Offices" section of the Cornell phone directory (the red-bar pages in the student edition and the blue-bar pages in the faculty/staff edition).  I hope you get credit for the courses in question!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Hard-Working Alum,
Cornell has not and does not issue honorary degrees, as you point out.  The plaque says that donor George W. Knight was made an honorary member of the Class of 1950, a designation given by a group of class leaders who wanted to acknowledge his contributions to art and music on campus.  Mr. Knight's honorary membership allows him to attend Class of 1950 events, but it is not an honorary degree nor does it involve a formal process.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Wishing He Thought of It More,
That can't be a very pleasant situation for you!  But you don't have to worry about harm to your roommate, except perhaps aesthetically.  My nurse contact at Gannett (255-1991) has never heard of anyone becoming ill from dirty hair, though of course the longer any part of your body goes unwashed, the more bacteria collect there. If you're bothered by the grime, tactfully expressing your feelings would not be out of place...even if you can't be armed with the extra ammunition of health reasons.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Crediting Cornell,
I passed your question along to Rick Lightbody at the Uris Media Center (RPL1@Cornell.edu; 255-3342), who replies:
        "Part of 'The Manhattan Project' was supposed to be set in Ithaca, but no filming was actually done here.  I think there's mention of Cornell, but no footage.  There's also a scene of a high-tech lab supposedly in Ithaca (it wasn't), and, I think, a scene of Ithaca High School (not the real one either).  I remember reading an article at the time the film came out (1986) explaining this stuff and telling where the high school they shot was actually located.  I didn't remember the name of the town, so I looked the movie up on the Web.  The Internet Movie Database gave New York City and 'Suffon, NY' as the locations.  Well, there is no 'Suffon' in New York, although there is a 'Suffern' downstate.  Maybe that's where the school scene was shot.  A more substantial Ithaca connection for the film would be its lead actor, John Lithgow, who has relatives living here.
        "For actual footage of Cornell in a Hollywood film, see 'The Sure Thing'.  At the beginning of the film, there's a brief shot of some of the Arts Quad buildings.  Cornell is not mentioned, however, since the school is either unnamed or fictitiously named (I can't remember which).  This is also a much better film than 'The Manhattan Project.'"
        Thanks, Rick!  For more information about movies in Ithaca, please also see Q09 in the 2/1/94 "Dear Uncle Ezra" posting and Q11 in
the 2/22/94 posting.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Business Oriented,
I forwarded your question to Brian Lynch, Assistant Director of Admissions for the Johnson Graduate School of Management (BML1@Cornell.edu; 607/255-4526), who responds:
        "There are several good business schools within a three-hour drive of Ithaca, and one excellent one, the Johnson School of Management at Cornell, on the Cornell campus.  From scanning guidebooks on MBA programs, you can get a good sense of how selective the various schools are and -- to a certain extent -- information about the strengths of their programs.
        "Four schools immediately come to mind:  SUNY Binghamton, Syracuse University, the University of Rochester, and Cornell's Johnson School.  The Johnson School at Cornell places in the top-20 tier of business schools as ranked by BUSINESS WEEK, and the same publication indicates that the University of Rochester is a school to consider.  Of course, you'll want to consider more than a magazine rating, however important they may have become, and think about your individual goals and the ability of each school to deliver.
        "Really, for the applicant there is not a huge difference between the undergraduate college search and the grad/professional school search.  You will want to evaluate the overall advantages and environment each school offers.  However, each school and degree program will place emphasis on factors often not so important at the undergraduate level, i.e. the candidate's preparation (work experience:  the Johnson School admits people who have on average four years of work experience...  experience that demonstrates solid achievement and progression) and the applicant's interview skills. Business school programs are very focused from day one on placement issues:  how well will the individual do over the course of his or her career, and most importantly, immediately after graduation.
        "I suggest that you get several MBA guidebooks (which, like the undergraduate guidebooks, vary in format and quality).  Then talk with faculty, placement people, and both corporate recruiters and admission officers."
        Thanks, Brian!

Uncle Ezra