Hi! I’ve been incredibly lucky this admissions season, and I have narrowed down my choices to Caltech and Cornell. I’m having a really hard time deciding between the two schools. As you can tell from the title, I would be a Tanner Dean’s Scholar and a Meinig National Scholar at Cornell, but the cost of both schools is pretty similar, except that loans are part of the financial aid package at Caltech.
I will be a Computer Science major. My parents believe that visiting the two schools won’t help me, so I won’t be able to visit unless I can somehow convince them.
The two campuses could not be more different and a visit would definitely make a difference, even if you can only afford to visit one.
@TwoTravelin I’ll try to convince my parents to visit! Cornell is offering to reimburse me $300 for travel, but plane tickets are more than that most days and I live way too far away to drive. I should be able to visit Cornell at least!
After looking at financial details again, Cornell is a couple thousand dollars cheaper than Caltech. My parents say they’ll support me wherever I go, but I know that they prefer Caltech. I’d like to go to graduate school right after undergrad, and both schools will get me there, making it even harder for me to decide.
Congratulations! I would pick Caltech - smaller school, arguably more prestigious (though not enough to be a deal breaker), much better weather/location.
I gotta agree with insanedreamer. They’re both great schools, but both going to be a grind, so you might as well go with the (arguably) more prestigious option. And agreed, weather/location/internship opportunities/professor access etc nod goes to Caltech.
That said - you should visit.
Caltech has great ties to the industry and some of the best professors in the world. Its also a fairly collaborative environment for a prestigious school.
Thanks everyone for all the replies! After thinking it over, I’m almost completely sure that I’m going to Caltech. A plus of Caltech is warm weather, which is great since I can’t stand the cold. 
Caltech is much more rigorous academically than Cornell. Caltech also has much better weather. The main benefit in Cornell’s favor is that you’ll probably have a much better social life. Cornell is known as the party ivy, and the gender ratio is much more balanced than at Caltech.
Overall I’d recommend Caltech. It’s truly a world class institution.