I’m from Massachusetts and am now deciding between Cornell or UVA next year. If I attend Cornell it would be as a Human Development major in the college or human ecology. If UVA, I would most likely double major in Youth and Social Innovation and Psychology. I’m not positive if I want to take part in greek life, however I definitely want to be able to be social, have friends, and go out regardless on whether or not I am in a sorority. Academics are important to me, but I don’t want to be completely overwhelmed and stressed 24/7. I want a friendly atmosphere, with a tight community feel to it. Does anyone know which school is better for these majors? Or have any idea/recommendations which would be the best fit, or provide any additional insight to the school?
I’ve visited UVA multiple times, and haven’t been down to Cornell yet but am going to an admitted students day later this month. Thanks!!
Hi tas2016! I’m currently a sophomore at UVA in the Youth & Social Innovation Major so I can surely answer your great questions.
I was in a very similar situation as you are in today. I was deciding between UVA (YSI), Cornell (Human Dev.), and also Dartmouth (Psychology). In April I visited all three and ended up choosing UVA for a lot of reasons, and can honestly say that I’m extremely happy that I did looking back.
In terms of socializing, I think UVA is ahead of Cornell since students at UVA are low-stress and very inclusive of everyone, so hanging out and talking to each other is super easy. My dorm frequently goes out in the city together and the school/student council organizes plenty of bonding events. The small city of Charlottesville is more exciting than Ithaca since there are just a lot more things to do in a smaller area (restaurants, hiking, museums, pretty much something for everyone). The weather turned out to be a surprising plus too.
In terms of academics, Cornell is barely ahead in Psychology according to rankings. I’m not sure about Human Development research, but Cornell is a bit better than UVA on the research side. A trump card for my choosing of UVA was UVA’s internship and research connection programs which directly connect undergrads with faculty members according to research interests. UVA actually offers a course to be a Research Assistant for the Department of Psychology, the Curry School of Education, the Darden School, Medical School and others. Counselors also help you find internships in UVA and the city. See here: http://uip.coopercenter.org/?q=uip.
UVA’s academics are top-notch in general. I’ve enjoyed all of my classes in YSI since the curriculum is well-structured, classes are small, and the content is deeply interesting to me. Regarding double-majoring, my roommate is double-majoring in Psychology and something else (I honestly can’t remember lol) and is having a great time.
In the end I’d say UVA is a better fit for you since UVA is a very tight-knit community with high quality academics. Cornell is a great school but if you’re looking for a balanced social/academic life I’d definitely recommend UVA.
Hope this helps, and let me know if you have questions!
Barely ahead in rankings? Cornell is 12 ranks ahead, and much more ahead internationally. Cornell is an amazing school and you will have plenty of time to balance social and academic life, especially as a psychology major. Truthfully, because it is a weak major, it is often a better idea to go to the best possible school you can, and have prestige and the reputation of an ivy carry you. UVA is considered the “preppiest school” in the South, so be advised that you will be surrounded predominately by very wealthy individuals, whereas Cornell has much more economic diversity.
Also, I’ve never felt like Cornell is high stress or not inclusive. There are people who stress, yes, but the vast majority of people here are brilliant, hard working people who love what they’re studying and doing. The social/academic balance here is better than at any other school I looked at, quite honestly. If you want it, there is a lot of the “work hard, play hard” mentality. If you don’t, there are always smaller parties–or no parties at all, if that’s your thing. The sheer amount of stuff to do here is incredible, too.
Ithaca is a smaller town, but it’s also one of the most beautiful places in the world, and getting to NYC is pretty easy. I’ve gone to the city for a long weekend with friends before, and just the other day I went on a spur of the moment hike down through one of the gorges because it was nice outside. It’s also so, so college-centric: there’s Cornell and IC, the mayor is a recent Cornell grad, and a ton of the town community is built around the presence of these institutions. For a pretty isolated town in Upstate New York, Ithaca is insanely diverse (and Cornell is too!). I meet people who are from all over the world every day. My friends are from something like five different countries; I have friends studying everything from hotel administration to landscape architecture to computer science.
On the academic side, Cornell’s psychology & human development departments are amazing. I’ve met people in the major, and they had nothing but positive things to say. Doing research is almost weirdly easy here, and we have a dedicated job-finding website that my high school friends are shocked by when I show them. As much as I find the whole Ivy League thing to be greatly overrated in general, there’s a lot to be said about being able to put the name Cornell University on your resume.
Essentially, I wouldn’t change my experience here for anything else in the world because I truly don’t think there is anywhere in the world that compares to Cornell.