Cornell Engineering vs. Univ. of Minnesota Engineering vs. UC Berkeley

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
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<p>Hi guys. I am a high school senior who intends to major in Chemical Engineering and I just got accepted to Cornell Engineering, University of Minnesota (Honors Program) Engineering, and UC Berkeley's College of Chemistry. In terms of smaller schools, I also got accepted to Carnegie Mellon and Rice University.</p>

<p>I want to have a strong enough foundation so that I would be able to pursue graduate studies and a research career. For now, financial aid is not a concern. So, are there any Cornell alumni or just regular students familiar with Cornell out there who would care to comment about the strengths and weaknesses of these schools? Or just post their opinion(s) nevertheless?</p>

<p>From what I gathered so far, it seems that the programs between all of these schools are relatively equal and top notch. Thus, if someone could offer what the student body is like and how they felt about it, I would greatly appreciate it.</p>

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<p>Cornell is a great place, and I really enjoyed my time there. it’s big enough that there’s something for everyone, and many opportunities outside of the classroom. I know that engineering is pretty challenging, but it also seems like the engineering students are well-prepared for jobs or further studies.
disclaimer: I have never attended/visited either University of Minnesota or UC Berkeley, so I don’t know what they’re like. </p>

<p>as an aside, think very carefully about graduate studies and a research career. it’s very competitive, and PhD scientists are having more trouble finding jobs than they did in the past, and sometimes getting stuck in postdocs for many years. just read up on the whole situation very carefully before you go down that path, because you’re at a place in life where you can still think about other options without too much hardship.
(I am an employed grad in a field completely apart from chemE, so this is nothing personal.)</p>

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<p>Thanks for replying. And I totally agree about your statement of pursuing graduate studies. I automatically assumed that by pursuing graduate studies, I would be prepared to either enter the workforce or continue on to graduate studies after finishing up undergrad, hitting two birds with one stone.</p>

<p>Any other opinions?</p>

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<p>If finance is not an issue then I would stay away from UC or any public schools with funding issues. I would look at each school’s life after graduation stats, may it be employment or graduate school. You could easily get that by looking at each school’s survey, or you could go visit their career center. Big plus for Cornell is it has 7 different schools where you could take different classes. If at any point you should decide engineering is not for you, you could transfer to other schools within Cornell. Look into location and size of those schools also. One maybe a better personal fit than another. Congratulation on your great options.</p>

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<p>Thanks. Finance is not an issue (I’m from PA)…I also plan on going to the admitted student/visit days to interact with the students and feel the “intangibles” associated with each college.</p>

<p>How was life like as an engineering student in Cornell? Collaborative, Competitive? Is it true that the professors are not really helpful and that most classes are large? How did Cornell Engineering help you after graduation, especially when you interacted with graduates from other colleges?</p>

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<p>Cornell has project teams which is a +. ChemE is pretty respectable here. Classes are very large and yes professors are pretty useless for the first two years. Most of your learning will happen on your own with your peers and TAs. As an engineer you will be working a lot! Lots of problems sets. I say you choose between cornell and UC berkeley. I think UC berk has a better environment though. I’m a cornell engineer and if i had to make the choice of UC berkeley vs cornell, I’d choose UC berkeley. My bias is that I love sunny/warm weather and california. Everything else is pretty much the same.</p>

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<p>@ap1234 Could you say why you did not like Cornell?</p>

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<p>If money is not an issue and not a factor here - then Cornell.</p>

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<p>Thanks ccinfo… If I may, Why do you say so?</p>

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<p>Previous posts including faustarp gives good reasons that I agree with. To be fair, if you haven’t done it already you may post the same question in other two college forums and get larger views from readers who presumably would have more detailed reasoning for their preferences for those colleges. And then compare.</p>

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<p>Yes, I had already done so at the other two colleges’ forums. Thanks once again though. A Princeton professor said the same thing when I asked him, albeit saying that they are all good choices.</p>

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<p>I would narrow it down to Rice, Cornell, and UC Berkeley. If money is not an issue, Cornell.</p>

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<p>Thanks for your opinion… Why do you say Rice, though?</p>

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<p>Have you decided where you’re going to go?</p>

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<p>Leaning heavily towards Cornell (I visited there and loved it… Now visiting Berkeley this weekend)</p>

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<p>Hey there! I was in a really similar situation last year when I was choosing between colleges. I was between Berkeley and Cornell for an intended major of ChemE, and it was ridiculously difficult to decide. (Not to mention, I’m in-state for Berkeley, so that made things even harder.) </p>

<p>Feel free to message me if you want things in more detail. I’ll try to keep this post somewhat short, so I’ll just mention a few things about Cornell vs Berkeley. (Can’t really comment on the other schools though. ): )</p>

<p>First of which, major flexibility. You seem pretty sure about ChemE, but I’m throwing this in because it was a big factor for me. I knew that I for sure wanted engineering, but I wasn’t 100% positive about ChemE. At Berkeley, if I changed my mind and wanted a different engineering major, I’d have to transfer to the College of Engineering, which is fairly difficult to get into. At Cornell, ChemE is under the College of Engineering. Cornell Engineering students affiliate with a major sophomore year, so you wouldn’t be locked into anything. And if it says anything, I think I’m going to affiliate with CS next year. Kind of funny how things work. (In terms of this though, if you’re 100% dedicated to ChemE, I’d recommend Berkeley, if only because Berkeley Chemistry is amazing.)</p>

<p>Other reasons for me include being able to experience a new setting, networking opportunities, private school resources, the undergraduate focus, diverse course selection, beautiful campus, and schedule selection. (I’ve heard nightmares about TeleBEARS. You’ll be able to get all the classes you need, but no promises on nicely arranged timeslots.)</p>

<p>I’m assuming you’ll be going to Cal Day this weekend then? I think that might help your decision some too. Many of my friends hated Berkeley when they visited. I personally really liked it (it’s just a different culture), and Cal Day was honestly pretty awesome. (It almost made me want to immediately commit there right after.)</p>

<p>Good luck on your decision though! You’re probably sick of hearing this, but you really can’t go wrong.</p>

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<p>Thanks for your message… I am in fact writing this post at the hotel after going to cal day… The professor who was the undergraduate dean for College of Chemistry was pretty awesome, although I do feel more comfortable going to Berkeley as a grad student more so than an undergrad… But I still like Berkeley… and I like Cornell more</p>