What does Cornell look for in an engineering application? I am torn between applying early decision to northwestern or Cornell. In all honesty, I like them both equally and will apply to whichever I have the best shot at getting into. Northwestern has a higher ED acceptance rate but Cornell it seems looks more at what you do than standardized test scores. I do independent research on a subject I am quite interested in that I feel could be helpful to a Cornell application but I wish to know the specifics of what they look for.