I got into both Boston University and Cornell Engineering. Which would you choose? It’s a hard decision for me.
Cost differential? Major/Careeer goals? Campus preferences?
Cornell. Not even a discussion. Unless BU gave you boatloads of merit $ or you are allergic to grass.
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stop it
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If cost is similar (or an advantage for Cornell…), I would choose Cornell.
Unless I much, much, much preferred BU’s urban “campus” and environment.
Cornell is great in a lot of areas, regardless of the Ivy bump.
Addressing a previous post – Cornell might be below the other Ivies in USNews’ undergrad ranking, but its global brand is extremely strong. It is an outstanding school.
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“below” … maybe in English …
Engineering and CS - best
BME - probably tied with Penn
Computational Bio - probably tied with Penn
Dyson - just below Wharton …
Physics? Top 3 …
I dunno how they “rank” schools
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Right – academically, Cornell is the equal of the other Ivies. Better in some areas.
Makes you wonder what they are using for the rankings. Academic strength should be (IMO) the top variable.
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It’s impressive how you managed to dunk on both Merced and Cornell in only half a dozen words, but it really isn’t helpful (especially coming from someone who really dislikes it when his own favorite university is dissed). Also, Cornell has one of the strongest engineering programs in the Ivy League.
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why is this even a question?
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Obviously because both schools have pros and cons for this particular student, such that the decision is not a slam-dunk for them.
I have been thinking lately that, since CC prohibits certain words/phrases that it finds unhelpful, I wouldn’t mind seeing the expression “no-brainer” added to that list. I realize it wasn’t invoked in this particular response, but it’s implied here and seen often… and the subtext basically disses the OP for daring to give a less-super-elite school due consideration. IMHO it’s much more helpful to hold space for students to form their own conclusions, and to provide actual information to help illuminate their decisions.
What posters often do, to bring discussions like this into focus, is to post their own preliminary list of pros and cons, so that we can see what their priorities and values are, and why particular schools appeal to them. I would encourage the OP to do this. It will elicit more helpful responses, as commenters can then validate or rebut particular assertions that the OP finds important, and provide additional perspectives in the context of what the OP has revealed that they are looking for. If all you give is is the names of two schools, then inevitably you will get knee-jerk, “rank”-driven responses, when what you really need is nuance and perhaps out-of-the-box suggestions and perspectives that you wouldn’t otherwise have thought of. Explain why it’s a hard decision and then the discussion can build from there.
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That’s fair - but just in general terms -
Cornell is always going to beat BU when you put them up head to head.
What’s important to OP - money, urban-ness, proximity to an airport or home, school nicknmae or what.
But asking about two schools - help me decide - you’re always going to get Cornell. Per US News - and I don’t love rankings - but 9 vs. 45 and bragging rights on name for life.
Costs about the same.
Lower graduation rate than Cornell.
Median earnings for BU 98k. Median earnings for Cornell: 158k. College Scorecard | College Scorecard
College Scorecard | College Scorecard
Poorly ranked relative to Cornell.
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BU is a very good school with many strong programs, but I wouldn’t pick it over Cornell unless is it cheaper. I assume it is still on the list because of its urban location and, no doubt, Boston is a great city for college students but, to me, it still doesn’t make it a better pick than Cornell.
All very fair points, although it would be useful, if possible, to compare engineering-only between schools (especially vis-a-vis earnings data), vs. rolling the entire non-engineering population of both schools into the comparison. (Also, I’d be curious about retention rates within engineering majors, in addition to overall graduation/retention rates. From what I understand, a lot of students get “weeded out” of engineering at Cornell, even though they still graduate from the university. Perhaps that’s equally true at BU - I don’t know.)
We also don’t know whether costs are the same for this student. Maybe they don’t qualify for aid, and got merit from BU. (Conversely, a low-EFC student might have a lower net cost and/or fewer loans at Cornell.) Again, the OP could clarify their individual situation so that we don’t need to speculate.
FWIW, I agree that Cornell and BU are in many respects not “apples and oranges” but rather are similar in size, breadth of offerings, and the type of applicants they attract. (With the exception of specialized programs at one school vs. the other, i.e. BArch at Cornell, BS/DPT at BU, and so on.) As such, it’s not hard to make an argument that Cornell is “like BU but better” in many respects (except for the urban vs. remote college town aspect) and thus the usual choice when both options are on the menu. But, OP isn’t finding it obvious, and if they can explain why, then we can respond to their particular concerns and desires.
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Those are CS comparisons for median pay.
I can’t imagine cost constraints that s/he didn’t specify.
If it is some other engg, they can look up on the government site.
The pay differences will be lower for some other engg.
Cornell engineering is exceptional. If the issue is that you’d rather go to school in Boston rather than Ithaca, I get it. Ithaca isn’t Paris or Tokyo, but there is enough infrastructure to care for 30,000+ college students and 12,000 professors and staff. There’s stuff to do, especially if you like the outdoors.
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When we toured Boston schools, we really liked NEU and Tufts, and kind of disliked BU - locked between 2 highways … always traffic … stretched into 2 miles … although Beacon street was nice.
Cornell … is just beautiful, even my son who never seemed to care about much beyond his phone screen, came to appreciate the beauty that now surrounds him and send pictures to us every now and then …
Ithaca REALLY grows on you. But Boston is a pretty spectacular college town as well.
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Perhaps worth mentioning, Cornell places as the penultimate Ivy in its U.S. News category at this time.
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I think costs definitely need to be considered here as well.