<p>This is an interesting thread, and the Penn analogy is a propos. Penn was the doormat of the Ivies ever since people began to discuss such things. It has made great strides in the last 15 years, to the point where the greater group of its alumni/ae could not now gain admittance. Cornell has finally gotten serious about its ranking and perception. I expect it will soon be perenially a "top 10" school rather than hanging in the 12-15 range where it has recently landed. The Dukes, Penns and certainly the Wash U's of the world should not in any way be ahead of Cornell, which is the best science and engineering school in the Ivies and has an Arts and Sciences student body that is statistically superior to Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia and Penn. (full disclosure--I went to Harvard and Columbia as well, but think Cornell is the best undergraduate experience in the country when everything is factored in.)</p>
<p>also, Cornell is not very huge...
I believe Penn is bigger when the number of undergraduate and graduate students is combined...
so, it is okay to say that Cornell's doing very well with getting donation..</p>