I used to know something about Cornell. so I’ll tell you some of that.
Some of it may still be true.
I don’t really know anything about those other schools. so this is not much a comparison vs those schools, but just some of its features.
Cornell’s engineering program is relatively large and very well-regarded. Both of these factors together contribute to it being well recruited nationally, not just regionally. (There is a regional component to engineering recruiting at most engineering schools).
It has broad coverage of the engineering field, and one does not have to come in with a major already selected.
(Vs. at some smaller programs, including programs at some other Ivy league schools, some major fields of engineering practice are completely absent. and some well-known engineering schools require incoming students to already have specified a major, and switching is not guaranteed).
Cornell has a co-op program, where students can gain real-world work experience prior to graduation.
though not all students can utilize it, there are (were) gpa standards.
It offers ABET-accredited degrees in the traditional engineering disciplines. Which provide the depth of training that employers in the traditional fields expect. Students go on to a variety of future endeavors, including graduate and professional schools, but probably relatively more engineering students at Cornell actually become practicing engineers, vs. students at some other eg. ivy schools that offer “engineering”…
Electives are usually taken at other colleges within the university. Cornell University offers an unusually wide array of fields of study. With resulting unusually wide array of fellow students/ “types”, and wide array of courses available. You are not limited to “vanilla” liberal arts courses here, you can explore more diverse interests, from business to wine tasting/making to beekeeping, it goes on and on. Though the liberal arts fields are also all present, and excellent.
The other colleges there are excellent in their own regard, and the courses are taught at high levels.
Besides the wide array of courses, there is a comparably wide array of extracurricular opportunities.
Due to the presence of the other colleges, the university has an effective 50-50 male-female ratio. Vs. a stand-alone engineering school may be lopsidedly male. The students in the other colleges are very bright and accomplished in their own right.
The university’s reputation beyond engineering can be helpful as one’s career progresses. I myself transitioned form engineering to investment banking, and I have reason to believe my Cornell degree played a role in my getting hired in that different field. As an alumnus, the university has had an alumni club in everyplace I’ve lived. They hold interesting events and lectures.
Relatively more of the university’s students (with possible implications for potential friends, opportunities, etc) are from the Northeast, particularly Midatlantic, particularly New York. With comparatively less from Chicagoland or Texas than at some of the other named schools.
It is in located in Ithaca, which is always rated among the nation’s best college towns. It’s beautiful, albeit rainy, in the Fall, Nice on the Spring, wonderful in the summer. Winters are cold.
