<p>Why are you trying to get CB to come to Cornell? This is not a contest, CB is not a prize. I am also very puzzled as why he/she is trying to decide between Cornell and Williams at this point. </p>
<p>When our daughter was applying to schools, very early on she decided she wanted a larger school. I did ask her to apply to two LACs just in case. When the results came in, those LACs were eliminated, and one of them gave her a full scholarship.</p>
<p>If CB was my kid, I would have questioned her thought process. The debate wouldn’t have gone on this long in my house.</p>
<p>Frankly, I started this thread not because I was interested in CB choosing Cornell (even though in my interactions with him he strikes me as having a personality fitting for a Cornellian), but rather so that he can make his college choice with the most amount of information possible. And all I did was simply contrast the two schools and paint Cornell in all of its major research university glory.</p>
<p>I do agree, though, that it should be very easy for Chandler to decide whether or not he wants to attend a small liberal arts college or a major research university.</p>
<p>I don’t understand why all these parents are so puzzled over Chander’s thought process and going on about their own kids. Williams and Cornell are two good schools, it’s not suprising he’s torn between them. Maybe you or your kids were LAC-type people or research-university type people, but many people find attributes of both schools appealing. He probably likes the smaller, closer-knit atmosphere of an LAC like Williams (although you can get that feeling in HumEc too) but also all the benefits of going to a large university like Cornell. Sheesh, cut the kid a break. He’s not your kid and this is not your house. </p>
<p>Chandler, hope you have fun visiting both schools. I think you will know instinctively once you step foot on campus which one feels more like home. Good luck with your decision oh, and I love how a penn vs cornell argument popped up yet again.</p>
<p>haha this thread is becoming hilarious for the gender ambiguity of ChandlerBing… and for the fact that everyone who posts wants this thread to die… but it just wont</p>
<p>If he didn’t want people’s opinion then he shouldn’t post on CC. I was trying to be polite to use my kid and my own house as a reference. To put it very bluntly, no one on my staff at work would have this type of thought process and indecision. That’s the reason why some parents are having a hard time following this.</p>
There is nothing “wrong” with it … but it is unusual for students who have visited schools so different in such major dimensions to still be undecided … typically one feels like a better fit. I am not saying the other would not provide an excellent undergrad experience … but one typically appeals to folks more than the other.</p>
<p>I don’t know where the “she” and the “her” came from… the namesake of my username is male, and so am I…
No gender ambiguity here, lol.</p>
<p>It’s the eternal thread, I guess!</p>
<p>I don’t understand all the frustration over the difficulty of my decision. There’s really nothing for me to post on the subject left until I actually visit both campuses again and decide based on more information.</p>
<p>Cayuga: A noble intention, and a noble deed. Thank you :)</p>
<p>stargazer: How did your transfer/NYU situation end up going? And yes, the Cornell v. Penn argument is ubiquitous. Both are awesome, and even if both accepted me (Penn waitlisted me) I’d choose Cornell over Penn because it’s closer to where I live and it’s not smack dab in the middle of West Philly (though I actually liked Penn’s campus, and thought Philadelphia was AWESOME, just not for a college kid).</p>
<p>Now if my username was RachelGreen or MonicaGeller… then I’d understand the ambiguity. But ChandlerBing? Definitely not a she.</p>
<p>Thanks stargazer and kd for understanding why it’s not an easy decision. Because it isn’t, at least for me.
But you know what? I’ll be honest and say that I’m preferring Williams at this point, but holding off on further judgment until I see both again for myself.</p>
<p>As another student who had to choose between an LAC (Amherst and Swarthmore) and Cornell, I find it quite normal for ChandlerBing to be torn between the two. Even after visitng all 3, I was still completely unsure between Cornell and Amherst because both had that vibe of just belonging, while Swarthmore didn’t (sorry swarthmore). I loved the small size of Amherst and the fact that I wouldn’t need to compete with graduates for research opportunities but at the same time, Cornell offered a much larger research opportunity especially because they offered me the presidential research scholar plus many more course offering especially in biology. Even though the two schools are very different, they both bring things to the table that are almost equally appealing. For me though, Cornell seemed to bring more that I wanted. Hopefully I’ll be 100% sure after Cornell days and the Amherst Overnight program. Anyways good luck ChandlerBing!</p>
<p>Yeah, you got the presidential research scholar thing while I didn’t, giving you more incentive to go to Cornell.</p>
<p>Same here, relying on Cornell Days/Williams Previews to finalize the decision.
I feel like a one-man admissions committee, should I give each of the schools an interview? Or should I put them on the waitlist ;)</p>
<p>oldfort, this isn’t your workplace, and students are not your employees.</p>
<p>No one cares if in your house people make quick and easy decisions, and are logical and straightforward. CB is not a robot, and there are many aspects of a decision that need to be weighed.</p>
<p>Quit being a debbie downer, and quit insisting on the fact that CB shouldn’t have posted his thoughts on CC if he didn’t want input. Input is very different from condescension and insults. Go back to your computer and write a memo to your kids. </p>
<p>But make sure it’s in standard memo format, and follows style guidelines, otherwise it’s not logical and shouldn’t be tolerated.</p>
<p>chendrix - that was very mature. You seem to have quite a temper. I don’t think your employer is going to be quite as tolerant someday. </p>
<p>In the last few month’s I’ve had the opportunity to meet some Cornell students through recruiting. Questions we asked tend to try to get to applicant’s thought process. My favorite question is always, “Why Cornell? What other schools did you consider? If you had to do it over, what would you have done differently? What other factors should you have considered?” It is of interest to me how each applicant made the decision. It gives me a great insight into their decision making ability.</p>
<p>With those questions, most applicants thought I was just chit chatting.</p>
<p>And I can just imagine you writing your note back to Cornell</p>
<p>“Student said he was applying to several liberal arts colleges including Williams. Obviously the student doesn’t show fit for Cornell if they haven’t even made up their mind about what type of school to apply to.”</p>
<p>My point is that you are completely trying to make a tough decision entirely cold and rational. There are many factors that go into choosing not only what colleges to apply to, but also which college to ultimately choose.</p>
<p>You can claim that you only want to understand the decision making process, but you are being entirely prejudiced and portraying CB negatively, based only on your personal opinions and your limited scope.</p>
<p>Forgive me for not agreeing with you. Or is that not allowed either because your children always agree with you?</p>
<p>chendrix: Thank you. I share your opinion/dissension with oldfort. You cannot judge a person’s decision making ability against one’s own preconceived notions of right and wrong. What may be obvious to one rational person (research u. or LAC) may be the epitome of grey for another, equally rational person. Your kids may be and probably are fantastic, but that doesn’t make your ideology the only ideal one. </p>
<p>oldfort: Okay, let’s test your decision making ability. Why did you just suggest Williams to me based on these exchanges?</p>
<p>Yea for debates, I rarely get into them (they’re usually just arguments, too much of a Yiddishkeit to have a non-heated discussion about something).
Oh, and in case you were wondering, the yea is pronounced Shakespearean-ly.</p>
oh, and I love how a penn vs cornell argument popped up yet again.</p>