Hello CCers,
Not sure if the right place to post this but posting it in the respective forums would bring one-sided responses.
So I have been admitted to both amazing schools and feel so happy yet anxious about it. I would say both were my top choices and now that I am fortunate enough to choose between the two, I don’t know what to do! My options are:
Columbia Seas, Davis Scholar and a very generous FA package (+60000)
Cornell Engineering (was accepted yesterday so that’s all I have so far)
As far as I know, both have very good CS programs, but Cornell might be slightly better.
Colombia’s location in NYC gives me vast opportunities for research and internships all year round. I’d imagine Cornell is the same but would be limited to the summer. I have also heard that it is more competitive/harder to get.
My Cornell interviewer mentioned that most students end up working in the west coast, but I’d rather stay in the east.
The small faculty to student ratio at Columbia allows for better relationships with professors and facilitates finding research opportunities.
I like Columbia’s Core for engineering but I don’t know how much limiting it is. I want to get a “liberal arts” education but I don’t want it to become a hassle for me.
As far as student life goes, I’m not really a party kind of guy, and Cornell seems to have a greater reputation as a “party school”. The other thing is, I don’t like sports, which again, is a big thing in Cornell. Now, Carnell’s a large school so I hope finding my own social circle won’t be an issue.
A big factor that makes me undecided over Columbia is the city. While it very beneficial, I don’t think I’ll like living there as I think would feel too overwhelmed. On the other hand, I love Ithaca, its beautiful landscape and the peacefulness that I’ve found when visiting.
Although this may sound trivial or pretentious, I feel like what I got with Columbia is a very rare opportunity that to this day surprises me, and not choosing it would be like dropping a winning lottery ticket (probability wise, also in exchange of something just as great). I know the numbers shouldn’t influence me but they have.
If any of my reasons are not as accurate or there’s more to them let me knows! That’s why I’m making this thread, to get better opinions from (hopefully) unbiased sources (the bias will come when I visit each school :p).
Thanks for the help!
fyi, there is also a College Majors forum with both a Math/CS one and an Engineering one. But I don’t think there is a qualify of program issue here.
You have a lot to consider, and I would give the most weight to the place where you think you will enjoy the most and be happy. Congrats!
Since these uni’s give need aid only I expect you will get a comparable package, wait and see.
I think the Scholar’s program at Columbia will have events and opportunities that give a little edge to the academics, advising etc. and also create a cohort of people you will interact with. I think that will create a group and social activities that will help with the urban campus and people doing their own thing in the city. I would read about all the benefits in this program, at a quick peek it looks very attractive and beneficial.
I’m surprised you applied to engineering if you want a liberal arts education, because you would usually do that in Cornell CAS computer science, and maybe Colombia has the equivalent. Go over each program graduation requirements for your major and compare how much room you have for other than engineering stuff.
There are always trade offs to each place, you will have to visit and put yourself there.
I think they will both present opportunities for research. I don’t really think you are going to do internships during the school year, I can’t see you would have time for that. Maybe if something is just a few hours.
As far as future work, you will be able to pick the area you want to work in. There is plenty of areas on the East Coast to work, including NYC of course. But you might want to try a summer internship on the West Coast just to have the experience. Plus there are some companies that pay very well there.
wow, I know my son would find it very hard to turn down that scholars appointment from Columbia. What a great accomplishment to be selected for that.
I think it comes down to the Columbia core vs Cornell’s expanded choices for computer science specialization and better rep in that area. Also Cornell might be a more of a traditional experience campus wise.
On the other hand NYC is an hotbed of tech development and opportunity right now in addition to everything else that’s going on in the city.
Personally I would go to Columbia and then get a masters from the Cornell campus, CornellNYC Tech, they’re building on Roosevelt Island in NYC. :)>-
Either way you have an enviable problem !!
I don’t think there is much difference in the reputation of the CS depts for an undergraduate especially, so I wouldn’t even give that a second thought.
Thanks for the responses!
@raregroove I like that idea. I actually wanted to do my masters in a different institution from where I go as an undergrad. If I went to Columbia, I’d try to go to Cornell for grad (not sure if vice versa, as I don’t know how both compare to in terms of graduate schools for CS or something similar).
@BrownParent The Scholars program is very tempting and I sure will look more into it!
@FriskySquirrel I would visit both colleges (if you haven’t already) and make my decision based on that.
A quick anecdote, I was seriously considering applying ED to Columbia but decided not to after I read and was told about it’s more cold and competitive nature. People gave me the impression that the professors and students are somewhat more cutthroat and less approachable than at other schools. Now I’d probably rather go to any of the other 7 ivies (but it would still be a huge honor to go to Columbia, congratulations).
So perhaps look into their respective academic environments and imagine how you’d fit in? i.e. would you embrace the nothing-but-business attitude of Columbia or prefer the more traditional and quaint college experience of Cornell?
I don’t think that representation is really fair for Columbia and you could apply that easily to some other Ivy colleges as well. Some of it is major dependent and some of it doesn’t happen at all.