<p>Post #59 made me realize that I read the initial post wrong, I thought cornell was only giving $10k per year, not that OP net contribution was $10k per year. That’s a whole different story. In that case it’s not as much a no-brainer as I thought it was, not nearly to the same extent anyway. I’d say it depends on whether you can swing it and how clearly you feel one way or the other. If it were me I would vote the same way as I said before though, probably.</p>
<p>In my earlier post I have said that I think OP may have applied to Cornell’s CALS, which has rolling admission. They start notifying students late Feb early March. OP could confirm that. He wouldn’t be getting a degree from A&S if that’s the case. That’s part of the reason why I thought he would be better off in going with Vandy.</p>
<p>Non-major requirements aside, from my limited perspective I personally do not think there woud be much of any difference, in terms of future path in a biology-related field, between attending CAS or CALS. Or even that Human biology major in Hum Ec, these days. Guy I know’s kid graduated from the latter, now happily in med school. The classmates that I know became doctors were in Arts & engineering, but three of the smartest guys I knew well there became biology professors after CALS. I’m sure lots of people I didn’t know went into the medical professions after CALS. The bio major courses are one and the same.</p>
<p>I have a senior at an Ivy and a Vandy grad student. Vandy is awesome. Go with Vandy in this case.</p>
<p>We are half Yankee half southerners who used to live and work in Nashville…spouse has a Vandy grad degree and I spent eons in their libraries as a 20 something…but more importantly…spent eons in Nashville in real jobs and internships close to campus. Vandy is the 3rd biggest employer in the state of TN…so you may be underestimating the impact of Vanderbilt as a resource in a region of the USA…like Duke serves a region with its many missions and graduate programs.</p>
<p>First son graduated from Duke in 09 and bleeds blue. OK…we take second son to Vandy this August (he also has a signature VU scholarship.)…Duke son is clearly jealous…not that Duke wasn’t a superior all round experience but Durham is no Nashville. The Commons is to die for…gorgeous. Stanford White designed Peabody’s campus and the rest of the campus is a greenway in the inner rim of a major seat of government and commerce, medicine. law and business and div schools. You can step off campus at Vandy into three distinct…or is it four little commercial districts. You can be downtown in a jiffy…world class music at Blair weekly…for free and megastars in performance of all the arts pass through Nashville…yeah I am pushing Vandy’s very fine relationship with its city…which may be one of the best town gown vibes in the USA.</p>
<p>My sons love the constant stimulation of having famous people showing up at Duke and Vandy for great events, and love the access to graduate schools on campus and love the sunshine and weather and friendly vibe of the south.</p>
<p>If you wanted to be an engineer…I think you might have looked harder at Cornell…and if you feel that you would miss the cultural vibe of being in the North year round…you should give Cornell your heart instead. But if you want to study biology…go to Vanderbilt …the hospital and med schools are a stroll away and plenty of opps for research. </p>
<p>If your 10 grand to Cornell is going to fluctuate based on annual FAFSA…go to Vanderbilt …so your parents don’t get “punished” for being able to make more in a given year that would then up their EFC. </p>
<p>Do not, and I mean Do NOt accumulate debt if you are going to med school. We are in a recession and med school means taking out loans but for the very few in this world. </p>
<p>Congrats on your fine offers. In the end, if Nashville feels strange or like not a fit…you know what to do! Buy a Red Hoodie.</p>
<p>Cornell sent out some of the decisions last week if you applied to CALS and two other colleges. I applied to CALS - Biology program.</p>
<p>I wanted to thank everyone for all their advice. It has been very helpful. Thanks again…</p>
<p>They are both fine schools and you will do well at either one if it is your desire to do so.</p>
<p>Have you spoken with your parents? How do they feel? While it is nice to get the perspectives of other parents, we are not the ones who will be making up the 40k difference for undergrad in addition to being expected to contribute for med school (yes, while you will be an independent student for FAFSA purposes, law and med schools still consider your parent’s income and assets).</p>
<p>I agree with others that you must take into the incidential charges with going back and forth to school (getting to school, thanksgiving, winter break, spring break and getting home at the end of the year). Since you are coming from wisconsin, flying into ithaca or syracuse can be pricy because they are probably don’t get the traffic that nashville gets. So if you are coming home on each break you need to factor in the cost of plane tickets, getting to and from the airport.</p>
<p>If money is a non issue, visit both schools and go where you feel best. If $$ is an issue, especially in this econony, there is no shame in following the $$. </p>
<p>I woudl recommend that you read curmudgeon’s post about his d who turned down yale for a full ride because she wanted to attend med school (4 years later it is all working out fine).</p>
<p>A couple of years ago there was a student on CC that was choosing between full tuition scholarship at Vandy and Yale. He went went the $$ and it all worked out.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064006454-post26.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064006454-post26.html</a></p>
<p>I am a firm believer in no matter where go, your gift will make room for you whether it is at Vandy or Cornell.</p>
<p>all the best.</p>
<p>Sounds like you have more than enough advice, but from a parent of two at Cornell and from someone who pratically worships the school for the opportunity it has provided to my children, I still say go to Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>there is absolutely no reason to pay $40,000 more to go to Cornell. Vanderbilt is a premier school, there is just no reason to pay that kind of money to go to one over the other.</p>
<p>hmm, this thread still going on, something else I thought of:</p>
<p>1)Most people who enter college with intent on attending medical schools do not ultimately do so, therefore some consideration might be given to “fall back plans” in each case.</p>
<p>2) Even with respect to these “national universities”, I imagine there is a regional bias to the geographical location of fellow students, attendance at future grad programs, ultimate destinations of graduates. People come from, and wind up, all over the world, so this is not a predestination, just a statistical tendency maybe. So for example in the metro NYC area there are humongous numbers of Cornell alums, and there is a ongoing litany of alumni club activities. If you choose Cornell and your goal is to eventually work in Nashville, recognize that you will probably not be seeing as great a number of your college friends as you would have had you attended Vanderbilt. And not many regional Tennessee companies will be coming on campus to recruit at Cornell, so your chances of winding up in the region may be somewhat smaller. And vica versa, I would imagine. Not zero, by a long shot, just maybe somewhat smaller.</p>
<p>I’m not saying these should drive your decision in any particular direction, just some other points/ differences I thought of, that may or may not be worth considering.</p>
<p>I just recalled, the regional influence spectre came up on another thread discussing law schools:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/662310-ranking-undergrad-highest-acceptance-rates-law-school-6.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/662310-ranking-undergrad-highest-acceptance-rates-law-school-6.html</a></p>
<p>(#85, reviewing preceeding data, #134)</p>
<p>The story of a Cornell graduate, class of '79: [John</a> Thorbjarnarson, 52, a Leading Expert on Crocodiles - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com](<a href=“John Thorbjarnarson, 52, a Leading Expert on Crocodiles - The New York Times”>John Thorbjarnarson, 52, a Leading Expert on Crocodiles - The New York Times)</p>
<p>Stories like this seem to crop up all the time when I talk to Cornell alums.</p>
<p>^^^^^^^^Love it! Thanks for the laugh!</p>