Cornell 60k vs UT Austin 20k for CS

College Search & Selection
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Recently admitted from Cornell College of Engineering waitlist and I am now deciding between it and my current school (UT Austin) for CS. For Cornell my family will be paying $60,000 a year (they can comfortably pay $50k max, but are willing to foot the rest). After scholarships, UT is $20k. I plan on going to graduate school. Below are some pros and cons.

UT Austin

Pros

  • Cheaper tuition (20k and instate)
  • Better city (I prefer the urban aspect of Austin, although it isn’t a huge factor in my decision)
  • Better weather (I’ve rarely experienced snow)
  • Potential access to more internships (due to the tech hub in Austin)
  • May be able to transfer into Turing honors program (this is very difficult, but if I do so, I would basically be spoon-fed internships, research opportunities, and job offers as an underclassman, plus small class sizes. I’ve seen Turing compared to #1 CS programs like Berkeley and CMU, but admission is in no way guaranteed. I wouldn’t say this should be a primary factor for choosing UT, but if I were to get in, I would be in a program that’s probably stronger than Cornell)

Cons

  • Less prestigious (I may possibly go into quant/finance and I’m worried that if I do, UT may not be seen as prestigious enough. I also feel that the Cornell name in general would help with employment)
  • Larger class sizes (possibly tougher to get research opportunities/build closer relationships with professors)
  • Many people from my HS are attending
  • Possibly weaker alumni connections (I’ve read from a few places that, in general, public school grads don’t aid students as much as private school ones)

Cornell
Pros

  • Ivy League
  • Ranked higher in CS (#5 vs UT’s #11)
  • Smaller campus/class sizes
  • Large research output, less competition to land research positions
  • Potentially better employment options (due to higher ranking)
  • A slightly more nerdy, “quirky” culture (at least that was my impression from visiting)
  • Alumni connections (from what I’ve read, private school students tend to help each other more)
  • Better humanities programs (I also want to take classes in the social sciences, and Cornell is ranked much higher in these. I am not considering a dual major though)

Cons

  • Potential grade deflation (could hurt grad school admission chances)
  • In the middle of nowhere (not a complete deal breaker, but I do prefer an urban environment)
  • Mental health issues (Most Cornell students I have talked to say the school is great, but a handful have called it depressing. The installation of suicide nets in recent years is also off-putting. On the contrary, I have not see anyone complain about UT)
  • Costs 3x as much (although my family will be able to handle it)
  • Location may be limiting in terms of internship opportunities
  • Not a huge fan of the cold weather (although this isn’t a deal breaker but more of a minor flaw)

Thanks in advance for your help

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Sounds like there are way less cons on your UT list!
Don’t second guess yourself. Congrats!

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The opportunity for Coop alone is worth going to UT Austin over Cornell. That’s why Northeastern is ranked so high. UT ranking in CS is not that much lower and it is only undergrad. Aim for Ivy in grad school.

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Of course Turing is good, but I am not sure you can move into it after the fact. You should reach out to the guy that runs the program and ask him what the odds are. A lot of the UT kids that go into quant start their journey at Virtu, which is local. Cornell may make it slightly easier to get an interview than non-Turing UT, but it is a very difficult decision to pay 40k a year more for that slight benefit. If you get into Virtu sophomore summer, then getting into other firms junior summer becomes easier, even from UT. And getting attention for your resume is partly a function of how much serious math you have on your resume by sophomore fall (including for that semester) wherever you are, to get started with sophomore summer. Alternate paths to big quant in junior summer include a sophomore FAANG or unicorn swe internship. But the math on the resume should be more pronounced by junior fall when you are applying for the summer. Trading jobs are hard to get if you don’t get into the summer.

Coops are an irrelevant consideration.

By the way, this is the guy that is responsible for making Turing decisions: https://hornraiser.utexas.edu/project/10880
I am sure you can find his email on his university page. Just tell him you are interested in research, and you are considering Cornell because it is easier to do research from non Turing at a small school. You already have admission into regular UT, can he please let you into Turing upfront etc. very politely.

Don’t tell the guy you want to go into quant. Tell him you want to do a PhD

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I agree with @neela1’s points and excellent advice above.

Other than your large class size concern, your other cons for UT aren’t really cons IMO. The extra $160k (plus cost of travel), the cold weather and rural location of Cornell don’t seem worth it.

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This is not a question. You cannot afford Cornell. And UT is excellent. And quant finance is not an easy get from anywhere but accessible from both.

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Sounds like a no-brainer. UT is affordable, Cornell is not. Debt is not your friend. And there’s no rational reason to take that much debt for a few ranking points. Employers don’t look at rankings. They hire locally and regionally, because it’s cost effective. Austin is a big tech hub, and there are lots of great paying jobs there.

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