I was lucky enough to be admitted to Cornell, Brown, and Northwestern.
Now I have to make a tough choice. I have never visited any (will visit all sometime this month). But here are my main criteria:
Good financial aid
Good Engineering program
Research/Internship/Job opportunity
No cutthroat environment
Vibrant student life
My fin aid:
Northwestern: $5,400/year
Brown: $ 7,370/year
Cornell: $10,300/ year
Cornell is one of the best Engineering schools in the world and is significantly better than Northwestern and Brown by every metric. They also have probably the best co-op/internship/job placement for engineering and some of the best engineering facilities, however the program is pretty cutthroat since it’s one of the toughest, but most rewarding schools for engineering.
Brown is also a really good school, but not noteworthy for its engineering program but it is more entrepreneurship-focused in its approach. Also the class sizes are smaller. It’s also significantly closer to NYC and Boston. All the schools have the vibrant social life so you can find that wherever you go.
I don’t know much about Northwestern
Honestly the visit will help you decide the most because they have pretty different atmospheres.
Northwestern has a good engineering school and wasn’t cut-throat when I went there.
Is that fin aid how much you have to pay each year? I’d lean heavily towards NU because Cornell would be twice as expensive for you and Brown isn’t really known for engineering.
NU also has a pretty unique and holistic Engineering First program and offers an Entrepreneurship certificate program as well as the Segal Design Institute.
Plus, being close to Chicago (really in the heart of Chicagoland considering that most companies that aren’t in Chicago are in the North and Northwest suburbs) would allow you to search for internships even at companies who don’t come to campus (and plenty come and recruit on campus).
Cornell engineering is academically challenging, because there are a lot of bright students and a number of the lower level courses (at least) are curved. That is different than “cutthroat”. I don’t think it is “cutthroat”. Groups of people will study together, etc.
Luisfx,
Northwestern is ranked higher in at least two departments: material science and industrial engineering. While Cornell is better overall, it’s not “significantly” better. I encourage you to do more research on Northwestern first.
Both Northwestern and Cornell will offer you comparable educations from an Engineering point of view, Brown is in a bit of a different category. But what I’m wondering is what you mean by “vibrant student life.” What does that mean to you? That is what will make the difference, especially once you visit. Cornell is known for being more cutthroat than many other schools, but it is also absolutely beautiful in Ithaca although remote. Northwestern is much closer to a large city (Chicago is a short train ride away.) if that’s important to you. It’s also a smaller campus and a Big 10 school so sports plays a large role if you want it to.
The real question is not the academics but the environment and you haven’t given us any information about what you are looking for in that area. Visiting will answer that question and help you most with your decision. Good luck!
Also, are you comfortable with Northwestern’s quarter system? The classes will be much more of a rapid fire style than Cornell or Brown.
If you are, and if those numbers are what you’d be paying, I’d say Northwestern, especially if you’re interested in nanotechnology. That price difference is no joke. I’d rank Cornell second, but that’s arbitrary on my part.
FWiW, my daughter’s friends at Northwestern told her that it is academically challenging there too.
Update:
I ended up choosing Northwestern! FA ended up being the same for all 3 after appealing twice at each school. (COA being around 5k / year)
Northwestern had the best programs for my interests— ChemE, Material Sciences, Nanotech. I’m also interested in IndustrialE, Economics. I love the sound of Kellogg Certificate with an engineering degree. Double majoring seems to be much more doable b/c of Quarter system.
Also outside of academics, I liked the suburban but close to Chicago location, diversity of students’ interests, and campus/UG student body size.
Not many people around me know what Northwestern is, so it was kind of tough choosing it over 2 ivies (pressed the commit button on April 30). But name recognition (hopefully) won’t really matter in the long run.
Thank you all for your advice!
Congrats!
BTW, IMO, name recognition/prestige (in the US) of these 3 school among people who matter are about the same. One good thing about going away to college is that you’ll encounter viewpoints that are different from those of just people around you.
Great choice, makes a lot of sense for you and all around excellent school. Wow they must not be ‘in the know’ at all if they don’t know of Northwestern. They are certainly not hiring managers or on grad school committees. It won’t even matter in the short run. Also they have a top MBA program so people usually hear the name from that.
@PurpleTitan and @BrownParent Thank you so much! I’m really excited to start school next fall.
The people I was referring to are my HS classmates. My teachers and counselor know that NU is an excellent school. I’m a first generation, Questbridge student and I don’t know many adults with college degrees other than my teachers, so coming on College Confidential helped me put “prestige” into perspective.
Right. Unless you go to a prep (or possibly magnet) school where a high percentage of the student body will go down the paths that you will go and/or come from connected families, I don’t think it should matter at all what other teenagers think. They won’t be hiring you or evaluating your grad school apps. People “in the know” evaluate candidates and schools off of their own merits (which, BTW, Brown and Cornell, as well as NU, have much of) and don’t really care what sports conference a school belongs to.
Cornell gives you the most money and is the best engineering school on the list so I think they’re the most solid option, congrats on the amazing acceptances though!
Congrats! Sounds like Northwestern was the best fit, which is ultimately the most important factor when choosing between three schools of similar quality.
There are many kids at NU who chose over those two schools (especially Cornell), so you won’t be alone
I would take Evanston over Ithaca any day. Cornell campus is beautiful but it is too remote for my tastes.
@Jcannon1023— after appealing, all three schools would have been the same cost. My COA would have been 5.3 k for Cornell, 5.4 k for Northwestern, and 5.8 k for Brown.
----------For people who stumble across this thread in the future-------
My feelings toward each school were very positive, each had many pros which made the decision very difficult.
Academics and opportunities for post-grad (grad school or employment) seemed pretty similar. But Brown Engineering seemed slightly more focused on research and grad school than on employment right out of undergrad.
After visiting each school, these are the vibes I got (my personal opinion, so don’t take it too seriously):
Cornell
Students: Very motivated- they seemed very busy, occupied with extracurrics and school work. Majority were friendly and down to earth. Some students seemed too busy with schoolwork, and therefore less social. There are so many people though, so those are just general things I observed.
Campus: Large and hilly- had to walk a lot as building were spaced far apart, was a workout to get to places haha.
Location: I think the rural / boring sleepy town thing for Cornell is sometimes overexaggerted on CC. Cornell campus is basically its own town, has College Town which has a nice array of different restaurants. The campus itself is really beautiful and unique. Buildings + Integration of nature (w/ gorges and large grass fields). But it is true that Cornell’s campus is kinda isolated from the outside world. And the surrounding area of Ithaca is pretty rural- cows, farms. If you thrive on city life or just being around big stores/malls/neighborhoods, then it might not be the best fit.
Comments: Cornell isn’t as dead or boring as some people say. There are definitely things to do on campus or people wouldn’t be as busy. Cornell is isolated, but it can be a pro, as the campus is really united. I did notice that students tend to be more “type-A” “perfectionist” type. As a result, students seemed stressed to do well in school. It’s not cutthroat, just each person is very determined to do well. But, I think Cornell administration is trying to combat this- as there are suicide/depression hotline numbers in bathroom stalls around campus.