<p>I'm currently trying to choose a college. I've been accepted to Brown, Penn CAS, Duke, and Cornell CAS. I feel that Cornell is the best fit for me and I really like the campus. However, all the others are great in my mind as well.</p>
<p>I come from a small town, so I really don't know what Cornell's reputation is. Obviously it's a great university, top 15 for sure, in the ivy league, and well regarded and known. But as I read many CC threads, Cornell seems to be looked down upon as the [insert negative adjective here] ivy league school.</p>
<p>While reputation isn't everything and will not dictate my college decision, I would at least like to know the truth as to whether these opinions of Cornell are real, or just on CC. In the "real world," is Cornell just as prestigious and well-regarded as the other colleges I've been accepted to? Or is it seen as the worst ivy, a "joke" ivy, the easiest to get into, and far inferior to Brown, Penn, Duke, and the likes. Of course doesn't have Harvard or Yale or Princeton's name, but is Cornell regarded just as highly as the rest of the 5 Ivies and as a very top school? (as I believe it should be and I don't see why it wouldn't be)</p>
<p>I'm just trying to see if the hatred and negative connotation to Cornell only exists on CC. I'd love opinions of those who know, i.e. not just high schoolers. Thanks guys!</p>
<p>I’ve never encountered anything but positive response professionally and socially. No one will ever say, “Well, this one went to Cornell, but this one to Penn. I hear they jumped up a few spots this year.” If it comes down to that, your schools will be tossed for more discerning factors. Also, women tend to love hearing you went there because it puts the “smart stamp” on (I don’t know if you’re a male or female, but it applies both ways, and I live in a very educated, school-obsessed city). </p>
<p>What a lot of people on CC don’t realize is that the real world isn’t micromanaged by finite numbers and rankings like high school. School obviously becomes less important with time, but there is a broad range of schools that tend to find camaraderie as “one of the gang” and a whole pile of reasons people end up at one over another.</p>
<p>I’ve had Duke interns who were inept and no-name school grads who excelled, so go where you want. Cornell won’t hurt your odds. People will judge you by your own capacity after your first job.</p>
<p>agree w applejack. Fit is key. If Cornell is the best fit, it may also be where you do the best.</p>
<p>Also go with the strength of the program to which you applied. Duke engineering is great for BME but not really in the same league as Cornell for the other types of engineering. (don’t think you are an engineer but this is just an example). In fact I think the engineers at Duke call their version of CAS “college of arts and crafts” because it was not nearly as hard as the engineering program. No idea if that is true, just saying what we were told when there.</p>
<p>You will be successful at any of them. Cornell does have a very large alumni network because of its size. Penn is big too.</p>
<p>In the world as a whole, Cornell is VERY well regarded. World rankings put it higher than many other Ivy’s.</p>
<p>In the US - it’s also considered very prestigious. People always comment and seem impressed when I say I go to Cornell. The stuff you see on CC, honestly, is usually from insecure highschoolers/college freshman who were rejected from Cornell, went to a school close to CU in rankings, and then try to bring CU down so that they don’t overtake their school in the rankings game, thus justifying going to the other school.</p>
<p>If Cornell is calling out to you, come to Cornell! In four years you can enter the working world, or graduate school, or whatever you choose to do, and hold your head high knowing that your Cornell degree will be highly regarded and respected.</p>
<p>My first company I worked for after Cornell attracted graduates from every single top school. Cornell, Brown, Penn CAS, and Duke were all well represented. There were absolutely no minus points assigned to the graduates from schools on the lower end of this board’s hiearchy. Likewise, the Harvard and Yale graduates were not automatically placed onto a faster track into managing-directorship over the rest of the analyst class. </p>
<p>If you believe that Cornell is the best fit for you, then come, and have yourself an incredible four years in Ithaca. And rest assured that you will not start your post-grad life penalized for coming to Cornell.</p>
<p>It’s funny that very few collegians or alumni ever ask questions like this. Only HS students and parents. D’you know why? Because as alums or students, we realize how tiny the outside world’s perception of our relative “prestige” really matters. Been there done that.</p>
<p>ONe other thing, once you get accepted to college? NO ONE will ask you your SAT or HS GPA ever again. Can you imagine that? Those vaunted numbers of obsessoin: just become dross.</p>
<p>In terms of business, Cornell is regarded as higher than Duke and Brown. In terms of the Ivies as a whole, it’s on the same level as non-Wharton Penn and slightly less than Columbia, Dartmouth, and Yale.</p>
<p>Cornell is one of the BEST UNIVERSITIES in the WORLD. Please do not listen to dumb HS students who do not understand the University. All your choices are great, go where you think you’ll be happy, that is where you will succeed.</p>
<p>depending on what you study, these rankings (even with things like business) won’t even matter. I’m studying biology, and when I think about the schools that are doing the best research in the areas I’m most interested in, many of the Ivy league schools come up, but a few don’t, while some of the top places are state schools, because they just happen to have some great institute for it or something like that.</p>