<p>My son has been accepted by both schools (big scholarship money offered by Gustavus, none by Cornell) These schools are virtually tied in the Princeton Review rankings. My biggest concern about Cornell is the low graduation rate (just over 60%). Is this a dissatisfied student body voting "no" with their feet before senior year (transfer to other institutions) or discouraged students dropping out? .
Cornell seems to have a better, more worldly mix of students (Gustavus dominated by Lutheran Minnesotans of Scandinavian heritage). Son is active in theater (also a dancer trained since age 4) and, at this time, is interested in a career in medicine.
Cornell College or Gustavus? Any ideas?</p>
<p>I don’t know about Gustavus but I do know that Cornell has a great deal of success recruiting from Chicago, the east coast and California. Some students leave because a small midwestern town isn’t for everyone and they don’t know that until they experience it. Also the One Course At A Time isn’t for everyone. The mix of students is great in contrast to a more homogenous population like you see at schools like Gustavus and St Olaf.</p>
<p>I have family members who went to Gustavus in the 1980s. I do think retention and graduation statistics are very important indicators of student satisfaction, and I think Gustavus does pretty well by that measure. I suspect that Cornell College’s lower graduation/retention rates are probably driven by dissatisfaction with one course at a time, but I agree that a significant number may be dissatisfied with small-town midwestern life.</p>
<p>Which school would be better for pre-med?</p>
<p>Not sure if you’ve had the chance to sit with someone at Cornell to talk about their Dimensions Program. I was floored with how detailed and involved this program is. I don’t know anything about Gustavas but I’d recommend learning as much as you can about the Dimensions Program at Cornell and then finding out what you can about Gustavas. If you already know about Dimensions and have had the presentation, I’m sorry for the duplicated effort.</p>
<p>Son was accepted by Colorado College, so he’s probably going there. He was leaning toward Cornell, if Colorado College rejected. He’s visiting out west this week and will keep his options open based on financial aid.</p>
<p>Colorado College looks like a great place. I hope all goes well there. We are Midwest so Cornell suits us nicely. Financial package was good for two kids so far.</p>