<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>both are fantastic, im looking at CS too. Carnegie mellon is 1 and Cornell is 5 i believe. Both are great. you should apply to both. </p>
<p>what is ED, maybe that is why i dont understand why not both?</p>
<p>ED=Early decision. That means that we can apply only to one college. That is the problem.</p>
<p>but if you are denyed you can still apply to other schools after. I would go with the school you like more for ED, so if the rank is what matters to you then apply ED to Carnegie mellon.</p>
<p>if denied, you can apply to both for regular decesion.</p>
<p>CMU would provide the best CS degree, so i’d recommend going for the best. after all, it is early decision. ED automatically boosts chances.</p>
<p>When you get to debating between Cornell and CMU for CS, you should choose based on larger fit with the culture of the school.</p>
<p>CMU and Cornell attract different kinds of people. It’s up to you to figure out which kind you are.</p>
<p>Thank you, guys. </p>
<p>Chendrix, you said that the choice depends on the kind of a person. What do you mean?</p>
<p>CMU engineers+CS tend to be the more socially awkward typical engineers. The school, because of its large connections with tech companies, attracts a lot of people who are solely interested in computers/electronics/etc.</p>
<p>Cornell, I would say, tends to attract more socially and extracurricularly well-rounded engineers.</p>
<p>I recall a number of Cornell engineers who had also applied to Carnegie Mellon. I’m guessing that, while there are undoubtedly a good many “distinct” types who strongly prefer one environment over the other, for various reasons one of which might be the perceived “social” differences, there likely is also a significantly sized overlap group of engineering students at each of these campuses who are indistinguishable from each other.</p>
<p>Yes, a lot of engineers did apply and were accepted as well to CMU (myself included). That’s because both are fantastic schools. Where people decide to go, however, regardless of where they were accepted, is the larger point.</p>
<p>Overall, both schools have excellent CS programs. CMU probably has the edge though as it is Carnegie Mellon. You may find better teachers, a more specific program, and more connections to top companies since CS is a major part of the school. On the other hand, Cornell also has a fantastic career program.</p>
<p>Another thing of concern to you may be the male to female student ratio. </p>
<p>At Cornell, it is quite evenly 50/50 overall (though the College of Engineering is 70/30).</p>
<p>At Carnegie Mellon the entire school is about 65/35.</p>
<p>Another thing to consider, as the others have said, are the types of students. Cornell attracts all types of students, from technical minded people, to free spirit english majors, to people who have an easy ride and party more days a week than they don’t <em>cough</em> hotel school <em>cough</em>. Additionally, you will have the chance to take some interest in almost any topic you want, from music, to humanities, to quantum mechanics.</p>
<p>“CMU probably has the edge though as it is Carnegie Mellon. You may find better teachers, a more specific program, and more connections to top companies …”"</p>
<p>??? Did something bad happen to Cornell’s CS program over the years???
In days past I thought these two were in the same general league (ie near top) in CS specifically, though Cornell was considered perhaps a tad “better” in most other areas, and its undergrad admission was a tad more selective. Also, back then, it was perceived that you would have a very decent shot at “top companies” from there, if you were good enough. Is all this no longer the case?</p>
<p>“Where people decide to go, however, regardless of where they were accepted, is the larger point.”</p>
<p>Well in my day I think some Cornell guys chose it over CMU mostly because more girls, simple as that. Though no doubt others had more sophisticated criteria. But where one decides to go depends too on where they get in. If Cornell rejects you, you might wind up at CMU, and you would have the same personality and inclinations as you would have if you’d attended Cornell. And vica versa.</p>
<p>In general, where do you think it is easier to be accepted to CS major? CMU or Cornell?</p>
<p>CMU, by a long shot.</p>
<p>CMU’s overall admission rate is 42%, Cornell’s is 21%.</p>
<p>CMU’s ED acceptance rate is 53%, Cornell’s is 31%.</p>
<p>[Carnegie</a> Mellon University Guide](<a href=“http://www.enotes.com/carnegie-mellon-university-guide]Carnegie”>http://www.enotes.com/carnegie-mellon-university-guide)
[Cornell</a> University | Admissions Facts and Statistics](<a href=“http://www.admissionsconsultants.com/college/cornell.asp]Cornell”>http://www.admissionsconsultants.com/college/cornell.asp)</p>
<p>@mike4192, CMU’s cs program has a much lower acceptance rate than the rest of the school since CMU is literally known for C.S., it is their school’s best program, where as Cornell is strong in every one of its engineering programs, C.S. doesn’t stand out over say mechanical. I’m too lazy to look up the numbers but I’d guess getting into Cornell CoE and getting into C.S. at CMU have similar acceptance rates, if anything CMUs C.S. program might have a lower one.(every other type of engineering it would be easier to get into at CMU, except maybe electrical since they are also very strong in that)</p>
<p>Also as such I would guess at CMU the C.S. program gets a lot more focus/attention than their other engineering programs since C.S. is their specialty, where as at Cornell it is just another one of its excellent programs so it wouldn’t get special attention. This is speculation though, I have never attended CMU. Both have excellent programs btw, but on most rankings CMU is slightly above(number 1 tied with MIT and Stanford vs number 5 or so in the tier right after the other 3)</p>
<p>I would personally rather attend Cornell given the choice(I’m electrical not C.S. btw and do attend Cornell) since its a more diverse school(while as I haven’t attended I can’t claim this is truth, I would guess CMU is mostly full of nerdy and artsy types since they are known for engineering and fine/performing arts and not really much else, though IIRC they have a decent business program too) and I preferred Cornell’s feel after visiting both schools, but that’s personal preference.</p>
<p>My son, accepted at CMU did not go, to some extent, because of the male/female ratio. I also think he was perceived in a particular way in HS and he wanted to escape this perception. CMU seemed to exemplify the type of person he was perceived as in HS.</p>
<p>He ended up going to a preppy top ranked LAC. His school is a great school. But I think he would have fit in better at CMU. You usually cannot change who you are.</p>
<p>Prism123, you are right about the admissions, I completely disregarded specific school admission rates. Unfortunately I can’t edit my previous post by now.</p>
<p>According to these statistics, the admission rate for the school of computer science at CMU is about 15%.</p>
<p>Acceptance into Cornell’s college of engineering is about 29%.</p>
<p>It’s hard to judge how much early decision factors into these.</p>
<p>[List</a> of Cornell University admissions rates - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Cornell_University_admissions_rates]List”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Cornell_University_admissions_rates)
[Admission</a> > Admission Statistics](<a href=“Home - Computing Services - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University”>Home - Computing Services - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University)</p>
<p>I would like to point out that the Engineering m/f ratio is also largely dependent on major.</p>
<p>Some of the majors are around 50/50, such as BioE, ChemE, CivE, MSE. Others, such as CS, ECE, and AEP, hover around 10% female.</p>
<p>You will, however, see a larger variety of students in non-engineering classes.</p>
<p>No doubt those variations are true, however it was always my impression, and personal experience, that most social connections are made in the dorms and around campus, not in the classooms particularly. In this regard the overall university M/F is far more significant.</p>
<p>On the other hand I suppose some women might not want to feel like they are the only women in their classes, in which case they may find the variations by major to be relevant.</p>
<p>If you are remotely interested in things beyond computer science, apply to Cornell. Nobody is going to discount a Cornell degree relative to a CMU degree.</p>