<p>Hello everybody,</p>
<p>I am majoring in Computer Science, and I really do want to apply ED to either of these colleges. The only problem is that I am still not quite sure which university I should choose.
Carnegie Mellon is ranked #1 in the U.S. in CS; however, the acceptance rate is too low. In contrast, the acceptance rate at Cornell under ED is almost 37%.</p>
<p>I will really appreciate it if somebody can recommend me.</p>
<p>Solution:</p>
<p>Do what I did. Apply ED1 to Cornell. If they reject you, apply EDII to CMU. You have then successfully applied ED to both colleges.</p>
<p>Start by looking more closely at both schools. They are very different places. Which would you be happiest at? WHich can you afford?
You cannot, in my reading of the rules, ED both. Cornell does not notify ED candidates until ‘mid December’, while CMU ED2 deadline is Dec. 1. (completelykate - I imagine the timelines have changed - or perhaps you got turned down by Cornell before Dec 1?).</p>
<p>Nope! What I did was send in my RD app to CMU right after I submitted my Cornell ED app. Then when I found out I was rejected on the December 10th notification date, I called up CMU and asked them to transfer my app to the EDII pool, with which they happily complied. Other students have done the same in following years, so it is definitely possible :)</p>
<p>Thank you, guys.</p>
<p>That sounds like really a good idea. So, as I understand I should apply to ED to Cornell and RD to CMU. Then, after mid-December, when the decision is made, I can call CMU and ask them to consider my RD app as ED2?</p>
<p>Did I get it right? Could you please explain that to me?</p>
<p>As NEMOM said you should look at both schools. My S visited both and when he saw the Cornell campus he really wasn’t very impressed, big, in the middle of nowhere… CMU is a totally different experience. A smaller campus in a city with much more to do. You have to figure out what is more important.</p>
<p>AH - thanks for the clarification, completelykate.
BolScholar - you really need to look at the schools, not just go by rankings. Have you visited either of them? They are very different in terms of setting , as bosssr notes. There are other differences too that are important. Have you thought about costs? Are you absolutely certain about CS? Are you a reasonably competitive candidate at both schools? If both are ‘far reaches’, applying ED may not actually make a real difference in your chances.</p>
<p>I could see how bosssr’s son could get the impression that Cornell is “big, in the middle of nowhere” from just visiting for a day or two. Before making your decision, you should know that such an assessment is not accurate. </p>
<p>It’s quite an easily walked campus and people find their niche in their respective schools / quads to the point that Cornell becomes very manageable very quickly. The beauty of a school as academically diverse as Cornell is that if one desires a smaller, liberal arts / technical college experience, one can easily have it. If one desires a broad university experience, one can have it. It just takes initiative to gleen what you want. If you need someone to tell you what you want, Cornell may not be the best option. It is easy to slip through if you don’t take initiative. </p>
<p>Also, to say it’s in the middle of nowhere is to not grasp all Ithaca has to offer and perhaps suggests a big city bias - theatre, indie films, world-renowned restaurants and markets, interesting shopping and cultural events, waterfalls / gorges right in town, wineries, a very progressive and innovative culture … I’ve never known anyone who walked away from Cornell and said they were bored or felt isolated. Most people who graduate end up in major cities and never regret the unique, college town experience they had for those years. Plus, there are so many clubs and activities. </p>
<p>That said - I’m not saying it’s the better choice for you. They’re both great and very different schools. Just didn’t want someone’s cursory judgment to negatively affect such a big decision.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>As someone who really wanted to go to Cornell and has been to campus many times, compared to CMU, which is at a major crossroads in a busy city, Cornell really IS in the middle of nowhere. 
Ithaca is a nice little college town, but to say that you can walk one block and have the same opportunities at Cornell as you do at CMU is a pretty impossible claim to make.</p>
<p>Nevertheless - yes, go look at both schools, decide what you want, etc. Obviously people are going to be biased towards CMU on this board, especially for CS, but Cornell has a great program as well, and you get the big Ivy League label stamped on your forehead forever if you go.</p>
<p>Well, I get your point. But again, being on campus several times and immersing oneself in the life and culture of a place are two separate experiences. If I came in and left, I too would draw your conclusion.</p>
<p>I never said Ithaca provides as much as a major city does (not sure Pittsburgh qualifies as a major city in the way going to school in destination cities like New York, DC, or LA would, but it’s certainly bigger and has come a long way).</p>
<p>My only point is that being in the middle of a smaller, vibrant city in a gorgeous natural setting is not “the middle of nowhere” devoid of high-level culture, dining, and experiences. There is a lot going on there and people have their whole lives to live in major cities (and drink / enter bars legally in them), so it’s just something to consider for a more unique experience. </p>
<p>Sorry I can’t comment on CS specifically. CMU is obviously considered the best, but given their close rankings it would probably come down to fit if I were deciding. That’s why I’m focusing on this extraneous stuff.</p>
<p>In general, where do you think it is easier to be accepted to CS major? Cornell or CMU?</p>
<p>SCS’s acceptance rate is about 16%. According to Cornell’s website, their CS degree is a joint degree offered through CAS (28.5% acceptance) and Engineering (37% acceptance).</p>
<p>"CAS (28.5% acceptance) and Engineering (37% acceptance). "</p>
<p>??? I assume you are referring to ED acceptance rates??</p>
<p>I’d say Pittsburgh is actually a much better college town than LA is since there’s a decent public transit system, stuff is relatively inexpensive, and most business owners are pretty accepting of students.</p>
<p>Also, I’d go to a Pirates game over a Dodgers game any day of the week (and for about a third of the price, too).</p>
<p>We visited CMU this summer and liked Pittsburgh a lot. CMU students (and , I think many other college students) get a free pass for public transport.
CMU is also certainly easier to get to than Cornell, at least by plane.
Cornell acceptance A&S 2722/162888 = 16.7% engineering 1730/7711 = 22%
Note that a degree in CS engineering is not the same as a degree in CS. Don’t make the mistake of applying into an engineering program if that is not what you want.</p>
<p>Son applied to and was accepted by both regular admissions at Cornell and CMU for Computer Science. Both have excellent program. We visited both campuses. Son loves city environment and CMU is 4 hours closer than Cornell from home. Plus, CMU offered presidential scholarship for him, which he couldn’t resist. He visited CMU again and fell in love with CMU. The class 2014 SCS has 143 enrolled students out of 2600 applicants.</p>
<p>Yes, that is the ED rate that I found, though it wasn’t from Cornell’s website. The RD rate for CAS hovers around 17%; engineering is probably lower.</p>
<p>In the field computer science, Carnegie-Mellon caries a lot of heft. That is why companies like Intel, Google, Microsoft, and Apple have set up research facilities in Pittsburgh, some adjacent to CMU’s campus. If you stay in the field, CMU will have some cache. Cornell on the other hand, will carry a more general Ivy cache around the country. There isn’t a wrong choice necessarily, and you should probably go where you’ll be most comfortable for four years.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Cornell’s undergrad school of engineering actually has one of the (though I believe the highest) highest acceptance rates of all Cornell’s schools. Though it’s self-selective, and adcoms are good at deciphering whose really for engineering, not just people who want an easy backdoor into Cornell.</p>
<p>Its 2009 acceptance rate was posted in #15 above.</p>
<p>Admission to every college is self-selective, people generally do not apply to undertake a program of studies they don’t wish to pursue. This is no more or less true at Cornell’s engineering college than it is at CMU’s, or others. Transfer between colleges at Cornell is not automatic and cannot be guaranteed, and COE is quite challenging academically, with particular course requirements, and is a difficult admit in its own right; all of which makes it somewhat inefficient to use primarlily as a “backdoor strategy”.</p>