<p>I know I already posted about MSU vs. Cornell, but I have a few new concerns/ways to explain my dilemma.</p>
<p>As you may have seen, I was just accepted to CALS, and I've realized how incredible that is. My ultimate goal is to go on to vet school.</p>
<p>At MSU, I could probably get a very high GPA and be at the top of my class, while at Cornell I would probably be more of an average student, and therefore get an average GPA. Since most vet schools look at GPA without considering the rigor of the university the applicant attended, it seems that MSU would be the better gateway to entrance into vet school.</p>
<p>Now, I don't want to sound like I want college merely as a stepping stone for vet school. If I wasn't planning on going to grad school at all, and a high GPA wasn't so vital, I would pick Cornell - I wouldn't be afraid of getting B's at an Ivy League, and the experience would be great. But I don't want to go through 4 years of Cornell, possibly (or even probably) ending with a GPA below 3.5, and then not even get into vet school. All the "backup" careers I am currently considering, such as marine biology, also require some type of graduate school.</p>
<p>So, again, what are your thoughts? Thank you - and sorry I'm so indecisive. :)</p>
<p>edit: if your looking for the easier route, go to MSU... you wont have to do nearly as much work, and odds are youll end up with a higher GPA and have good chances for vet school</p>
<p>though youll probably have more fun at cornell</p>
<p>I've always told people that when they are set on going on to grad school, to go to the school where they'lle get the highest GPA and the highest amount of aid. You only need to go to a prestigious undergrad school if you want to get into fields that don't require grad school for success. Go to MSU. Only go to Cornell if you can work your ass off.</p>
<p>i think you'd be making a mistake by passing up Cornell. I made a big mistake by not going to Cornell right off the bat, I had to waste a year at another school just to relize my mistake. </p>
<p>whose to say you wont do well? are you giving up before even deciding? I never really saw the "easy route" as the best way. I guess if you can't stand the heat, dont even bother entering the kitchen.</p>
<p>I say cornell. I mean, I'm sure the vet schools will look at the school. They'll notice that someone has applied from an ivy league versus someone that went to an unknown.</p>
<p>Don't pass up a chance to go to Cornell. I'm sure that the Cornell Vet school probably looks highly on graduates of their own undergraduate university and would fave your attendence over someone from MSU. It is too early to know how you will do at Cornell regarding your GPA. IMO you would have a much greater experience at Cornell than you would at MSU. Cornell is also definately known greater, worldwide, than MSU. Going to a college just because they offer you some special "honors" program over an excellent institution such as Cornell is a mistake. Grad schools definately favor those who go to the top schools in the country/world.</p>
<p>What makes you think you'll be an average student at Cornell? If you think that way from the onset, then it'll just be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Furthermore, what's wrong with a 3.5? The average GPA for medical school applicants who get into the top twenty medical schools is around 3.6.</p>
<p>Cornell is a great place. Don't take the perceived easier route and possibly miss out on many opportunities. Remember, most college students change their majors and projected careers numerous times.</p>
<p>also, sometimes people who go to an easier school where students dont care about grades will be influenced by the lack of work around them, and start partying and do poorly</p>
<p>if you love MSU i guess go, but if your going there solely because its easier then youll be miserable.</p>
<p>stonecold is very right about that. I find that the best motivator around is tough classes full of driven students. There's nothing like an academic environment like that. Last year I was at a school where the average student was apathetic to school and cared more about having fun and partying ... all I have to say is ugh. I didn't want to do any work around that school's students, they just killed the academic experience.</p>
<p>Gomestar, may I ask where you transferred from?</p>
<p>Also, while I agree the atmosphere at Cornell would be incredible, I guess my lack of confidence concerning a high GPA stems from an experience in high school. I obviously got great grades in all of my classes, but I ended up with a D in BC Calculus. The course was fast-paced, I felt the teacher's expectations were ridiculous, and I was also drum major in marching band concurrently (which = lots of time at band). I am now in AB Calculus and it seems that I understand much more of the material, although I'm not sure if it is the pace or the instructor. I now feel confident that I can get a 5 on the AB exam, while in BC I was merely (and barely) surviving.</p>
<p>Cornell wouldn't have accepted you if they felt you could not handle the work load there. Pick your courses carefully at Cornell, and if you are having trouble with a course, try to ask the professor for some extra help. I've heard that the professors are really nice and really go out of their way to help students (maybe not all, but most.) If you are really doing terribly in a course, you could always drop it as well. You shouldn't set yourself up for a fall by thinking that you will automatically get a 3.5 or lower. Btw, doesn't graduation with a 3.5 mean you graduated Cum laude?</p>
<p>Dont worry about your one class, it seems that students think that AP classes are just like college classes. They really aren't. The only way you wont do well at Cornell is if you dont put the effort in. I've never had a class where it's been like "no matter what i do, I just can't get above a C!" Also, you shouldn't come here if you dont expect anything less than an A. It's an unrealistic expectation at a place like this. A 3.5 is a fantastic GPA at Cornell, grad schools know this too. It's not exactly unknown that Cornell is very rigorous. You will have a class or two where the material will be very difficult, but go see your professor if you have a question. They're not there to ruin your life but to push you to be the best you can be. I entered Cornell with the thought of only accepting a high GPA, but it got to me after a while. Now i pick classes because I love the material and the topics, not because they might or might not be fluff classes or hard classes. I am having more fun and still doing very well (that is, if you consider a 3.7 at Cornell a good GPA). Believe it or not, my favorite class is one of the most notoriously difficult classes at Cornell. It's as hard as hell, but I love the material. I'd sign up for the class again in a heartbeat. If you truly love animal science then the workload wont seem like work. $100 says I would have flunked calc BC, back in high school I scored a 74-ish on my precalc final. </p>
<p>Also, consider how your resume will look after doing research at the Cornell vet school as an undergrad. You could pull in some killer recommendations from professors and get your foot into admission to the vet school at Cornell if you are active enough. This could be at tremendous advantage when it comes time to apply to vet schools. </p>
<p>ACornellA is also right - there were dozens of other students competing for the spot that Cornell ultimately offered to you. If they really thought you would have a hard time, do you really think they would have accepted you? Absolutely not.</p>
<p>I think you should go to Cornell. All these people are giving you great pointers. And frankly, from my impression of you on this forum, you seem like the kind of student that Cornell would be lucky to have.</p>
<p>I think you should go to Cornell.
Why?
There's a Vet School right there! I'm sure you could get yourself invovled with research or something, and go to Pathology Show-and-Tell every week (which is pretty awesome). And if you can tag along as a research assistant, that would look even better on your app for Vet Schools.</p>
<p>Visit both schools again. As I've said before, I was in a similar situation a year ago. I knew I would have an easier time at UMass, and I personally know someone who is going to Tufts this year after graduating there. I knew I would work harder at Cornell for a lower GPA, I woud be spending more money to go there, and that I would just be an average student (as opposed to an honors scholar at UMass). I chose Cornell because when I visited, it felt like a better learning environment. Now I am a freshman at Cornell and I'm a research assistant and a volunteer at the best vet school in the country. I'm an "average" student, but I'm surrounded by people who have the same motivations and goals in life as I do, and it helps me stay focused and balance work and social life. I work harder than I ever did in high school, but I really feel like I'll be well-prepared when I go to vet school.</p>
<p>come to Cornell to have an undergraduate college experience, you're focusing too much on grad school. That is years away. </p>
<p>I know I keep pushing for Cornell, but i'd hate to see you make the mistake I did. You said it before that Cornell was your dream school. You'll be giving up your dream for what? ... a couple extra bucks in a so called "honors" program? Unless you completely lose sight of your personal goals, you will do perfectly fine in terms of the GPA. Can Michigan offer you research opportunities with the best and brightest veterinarians in the USA? It may be great now to say that you got into an ivy league school, but i dont think anybody (including vet adcoms) would give a damn 5 years from now ... you still would have graduated from a state school in the end. You are obviously very very smart and motivated since you got into Cornell in the first place. I just hope you fully realize what you'd be passing up. It's alot more than you might think.</p>