I just got accepted off of the waitlist to Cornell as a part of the Spring 2016 class. This means that I would have to take a semester off before starting this coming January. I just visited Cornell today and could use others input in making my final decision. I have till June 2 to decide on the Cornell offer.
Cornell: Gorgeous campus, just blows Maryland away with the architecture and views. Academics are obviously outstanding, has everything else that comes along with an Ivy blah blah blah I don’t think I need to talk too much about prestige and that stuff, but it is a factor in deciding. It’s clearly a fantastic school. A concern that I have is starting Cornell a semester later than everyone else and integrating socially. I am not a shy person but I am also not super outgoing either. I would be hesitant to start a semester late with only 125 other FYSA students. Cornell also does not seem to have everything planed out in terms of housing and roommates for the Spring students, which would’ve been helpful to know at this point to be able to hang out with other FYSA students in a similar boat as me. I am looking to study Actuarial Science which Cornell has a good program in (not to the level of Penn, but quite good nonetheless), especially in Stats and as a Math major, including a class in intro to Actuarial Science. I would likely join a frat at Cornell as well. Ithaca is a superb college town and destroys Maryland in that aspect. Food is awesome here. Weather is a bit of a factor and Maryland clearly has the advantage there.
Maryland Honors College: Honors College is a great program that gives the experience of an LAC or even an Ivy and also a large D1 school at the same time. Lots of freedom in the academic curriculum structure and super interesting seminars to take. I like how the HC automatically creates a small community to connect with others in the living and learning communities (I’m in U Honors, the largest LLC). I am also a big sports fan and would get super into the D1 sports culture as a fan (esp. the bball team! How about that top 3 preseason ranking?) and plan to volunteer as a manager on the football team in my first year as well. Not as good for Actuarial Science as Cornell but they have a minor in Actuarial Math which is nice. Pretty crappy meal plans and dining in general and there aren’t a ton of options in College Park either, both of which are clear Pros that Cornell has.
Financial Aid: My family has a unique financial aid situation in that we own a business so it looks like we make about 60K more than we actually do or have available to use to pay for college. So, obviously we did not qualify for need-based financial aid at either school. Cornell gave me nothing and I would likely have to pay full-price unless a grandparent comes through or we can bargain down with financial aid office. Maryland gave me $12,000/year (48K total) of merit-based which brings the cost down to 32K a year. I will graduate debt-free from Maryland.
Thanks for the input and please let me know if you have anymore Q’s!
No debt is a huge point in favor of Maryland, but you have not indicated how much debt you would need for Cornell. Just the standard federal loans? Would your parents be able to stretch to make the difference out of current income, or would they need to borrow in addition to your loans?
Personally, I wouldn’t choose my college based on the difference between a fall and a spring offer. These things happen, but they shouldn’t distort the bigger picture. Universities are fluid places; you would simply be a part of that.
Qs: Did you say which school at Cornell you have been accepted to? Will you be invited to any of the orientation programs that the fall admits at Cornell will experience?
@merc81 Unfortunately, it’s either Spring or nothing at all for Cornell. It’s a tough comparison but it one I have to do. No possibilities for deferring anything a year to join 2020 in fall of anything like that. Appreciate the feedback though
@happymomof1 I would have to take out the standard 5500 a year in loans, call Cornell and explain our financial situation in a way that they cannot see from just looking at the file and would have to call my grandma and ask for money because she has enough of it to help. I’m not sure what this would come out to but BEST case I would have 20k in loan to pay back when I graduate. Honestly, even if the aid was equal idk which I would choose
I think you should see if there’s any potential for additional aid from Cornell, then post back here to see what your total costs would be along with family contribution. At this point, it’s a little hard to judge, but I would lean in favor of Maryland honors. I agree with above: starting Cornell in spring is not a big deal. The costs are a big deal.
Also, I think math is strong at Maryland, so I gather actuarial would also be reputable.
@anhydrite thanks for the input. You are right, math, stats and Econ are all reputable at UMD as well. Cornell just has a more established path and track to take within the Math major to become an Actuary but you are right, it’s possible to become an actuary at either school
I am interested if either of you could expand on why you look at starting in the Spring as not a big deal. From a students perspective it is a significant consideration to transitioning socially and ultimately being happy at a school when you start it a semester after others. It is very different from taking a gap year and then coming in with a whole new class. I could see this could be overlooked and want to address it as it is a (if not the) major concern of mine
@merc81 I realized I didn’t answer one part of your Q. Cornell has a separate orientation for spring students and I was accepted to CAS at Cornell which has about 60 out of the 125 total spring admits
I was actually making a different distinction. Some colleges that offer delayed admission as the only possibility do still invite the spring admits to the fall orientation programs. I’ll figure that’s not the case with Cornell.
I think with strong grades and some potential research in honors at Maryland – most good flagship honors programs will require some research or thesis participation with faculty, and Maryland definitely qualifies – you can get some pretty strong actuarial experience and placement, whether grad school or job. Cornell would provide an appealing path, and it is certainly worth investigating more. But I’d be a little wary to simply take Cornell because it just became available, without very carefully factoring in financial risk. After all, you are becoming an actuary.
One way of factoring risk for Cornell would be the following: if you can accomplish Cornell only taking the maximum debt load (or less) permitted for a student, without needing parents to co-sign for loans, that may be workable. The maximum used to be about $5,500 per year, and may be slightly more now.
That’s a good take on how to evaluate Cornell, thanks. Also both schools have excellent research and internship opportunities. Maryland honors has opportunities to go to DC every Friday and do an internship or conduct research (I forget how exactly this is set up but it is instead of Friday classes in the LLC I am in)
The standard federal loans are $5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore year, $7,500 junior year, and $7,500 senior year.
You can contact the Cornell financial aid office, and ask if they would be able to re-evaluate your financial aid application. They can explain to you the factors that are taken into consideration, and there may be items that would cause a change in your aid package. But you also need to know from the get-go what figure you would need them to meet in order for you to commit so that you can walk away if the numbers don’t work out.
Please remember that wherever you study, the costs will probably increase by 5% to 7% every year you are enrolled. That increase needs to be taken into account in your planning.
As a Cornell FYSA, depending on AP credits and spending your first semester at a local CC, you should be able to graduate Cornell on time in Spring 2019 with a potential savings of 33K. This one semester savings should more then cover the 20K in loans that you have figured that you will need to take out. S1 is graduating Cornell this weekend. He was a sophomore transfer from UMD. The jobs and opportunities that he and his fellow Cornell grads have are amazing. Not saying that there are not opportunities to UMD grads, but different doors open up. Good luck with your decision.
Where do you calculate the OP will only need an extra $20,000 to attend Cornell? He has stated that he now must pay full freight at Cornell, vs. $32K / year at Maryland. Last I looked, the differential for full pay at Cornell, even for seven semesters, would be way more than $20K. It could be over $100,000 more, but we don’t know precisely. Unless it is required of this particular program, I also do not think OP is admitted to one of the statutory colleges at Cornell as a New York resident for lower tuition.
It was suggested that he might figure approximately $26,000 as a risk / cap to take on as debt to decide to attend Cornell, but that is a personal choice that must be weighed with all other factors. It is a good idea to petition Cornell and see what they may come up with, which I think he is doing. Though Cornell figures weren’t specified, I think they will be much higher.
I want to clarify: right now before petitioning or asking relatives, Cornell will cost my 60K/year, the full boat. I want to make sure that I would choose Cornell over maryland regardless of money before petitioning etc, because even IF money was not a factor I am not certain which school I would choose. It seem everyone is saying that if I am able to petition and get money and get money from relatives and take out the standard loans that @happymomof1 listed then the cost of Cornell would be manageable and I want to confirm that that is true. However I would still graduate with debt from Cornell because of the loans.
However, setting aside money for a minute and just looking at other factors (including the spring admission) I do not know what I would choose. I want to make it clear that Its not as if I have my heart set on Cornell and money is the only barrier.
If say, I had been admitted to the fall instead of spring off the wait list and the money worked out then I would likely go to Cornell
Well, if that is the case, you may truthfully be better just staying with Maryland honors. There is a lot going for it as a choice, and even if you did get something reduced from Cornell, you will likely have some amount of debt. Even if Cornell debt was in the $20,000-$30,000 range, as a future actuary you should have a rough sense of what that means on a monthly basis to pay back. And getting it down to that figure may not be possible, either – Cornell would have to offer quite a bit.
I don’t think it would hurt to petition Cornell now, unless you truly don’t feel it is worth your effort anymore. If they come back with a ballpark figure that you feel could keep it in the running, then you can do a rigorous compare and contrast for the final decision.
I am somewhat familiar with both of these universities and their locations. If the only barriers to attending Cornell were the January start, and $27,000 in student loans, given your interests I’d encourage you to consider Cornell.
However, the financial barriers are significant, and possibly insurmountable. The difference is not merely you taking on the federal loans and your parents tightening their belts a bit more. You also don’t appear interested in taking the fall semester off. In this situation, given that you do like UMD, my advice would be to say thanks-but-no-thanks to Cornell, and start at UMD in the fall.
Take the FYSA, if you put the $ aside (and ask grandma to pay), the lifetime opportunities, education, connections and alumni network that all come from an institution as prestigious as Cornell is priceless. Many of those offering opinions do not have a cornell FYSA acceptance letter in their hand,
Why does it seem such a problem to you to start in the Spring? There’ll be a cohort starting with you and college isn’t like high school - it’s not like any of your classmates will actually realize you weren’t there in the Fall.
Maryland Honors is a great opportunity, but Cornell does have resources Maryland doesn’t have, so really it’s up to you. It sounds like you’d rather do Maryland and are trying to convince yourself about Cornell…?
