<p>Caltech vs. Cornell</p>
<p>My planned major is prob. going to be biochem. or chem., but I'm looking to have a job more on the business-y side of science.</p>
<p>Location matters little to me. I do like the East Coast tho., but that would just be a bonus.</p>
<p>I really want to experience new things and learn about stuff I've never thought about in many areas, but should that outweigh a persual of my current interest in one of the top schools for it?</p>
<p>Please, a push in any direction or advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Firstly, Hearty congratulations on those acceptances. :D</p>
<p>I was in a similar situation 2 days back...except that instead of CalTech it was Imperial College, London.
Maybe, if I share my experience, it would help you.
IC is ranked slightly higher academically and would have worked out a bit cheaper. It's plus points were that its very academic and Science centred...rated in the top-5 in world for Science, Engineering and Biomedicine, with nothing outside of Science....very much like CalTech</p>
<p>Cornell, on the other hand offers me something IC wouldn't...a comfortable work environment. It's just that I like the general environment at Cornell and the flexibilty that comes with it (which, I might dare to say, is one of its trademarks). Cornell offers so many oppertunities to do what you want and its emphasis on UG helps too.
Which is why I've choosen Cornell. :D</p>
<p>CalTech and Cornell are both highly respected institutions and are viewed highly by recruiters. They offer stellar academics...But, Cornell will offer you more flexibility and oppertunities, in terms of fields outside of your major. Lastly, there's a matter of where you will be comfortable studying.</p>
<p>Best of Luck with that decision.</p>
<p>If you'd like to come to the east coast, I recommend that you give Cornell a try...If you plan on living on the west coast, and want to live on the east coast for a little while, it seems like its a good opportunity to have a change of environment without totally moving off the west coast.</p>
<p>I can't speak from experience (I'm in state)...but I know quite a few people from Cali that like it here, with the exception of one who doesn't care for winter.</p>
<p>Both are awesome schools academically, and I'm sure both have great chem departments but you'll find that Cornell has a broad range of strong departments. Not only are there strong technical classes, but there are really great options for electives. This is especially important, because in order to major in Chemistry, you'd be in the college of arts and sciences, where a good proportion of your classes will be electives of your choice to fulfill the distribution. I mean, the course catalog is more than twice the size of my phone book (I live in a fairly rural area, but still!). I think the biggest difference between CalTech and Cornell is that at Cornell you are going to have a lot of opportunity to take different types of courses, and you meet lots of people with a wide array of interests. I'm an biological engineer, and my friends' majors range from neurobiology and chemistry, to philosophy, classics, hotel administration, atmospheric sciences, architecture, english, art history, or horticulture.....I find it makes things a lot more interesting when everyone's interested in so many different things.</p>
<p>You can't go wrong with either school! I'm quite partial to Cornell, as you can tell, but it all depends how comfortable you are going across country to go to school, and what sort of environment you're looking for.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>Let me tell you, you made the right choice there. I'm studying at Imperial College now, and am transfering to the US next year (either Duke or UNC, I'm still undecided). Excellent reputation, as you say, but the focus on science can be stifling. On the other hand, London.... :) I'm going to miss the city, that's for sure.</p>