Cornell University v. University of Rochester Engineering

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I am a senior girl with two weeks left to decide where to go! After applying to 15 schools, and being accepted to 9, waitlisted to 1, these are the two schools i am choosing between for mostly financial reasons. (i can also afford to attend Northeastern, but probably will not at this point).
I plan on majoring in Biomedical Engineering (Biological at Cornell)
However, I'm only 17 years old, so honestly im not 100% sure!</p>

<p>I am hardworking, friendly, eager and have many interests. I would love to travel, study abroad and maybe do a Co-op. I also want to be involved in undergraduate research. I am not looking to go to med school, but have an interest in BME itself.</p>

<p>Basically i am torn right now. </p>

<p>Pro Cornell: Cornell has superior name recognition and on campus recruiting. Campus is beautiful, collegetown/ithaca seem fun, so much to do, distinguished professors/speakers, world class university</p>

<p>Con Cornell: I worry i will lose myself at such a large and competitive school. I dislike a competitive atmosphere (although i of course want to be challenged). I worry i will be dispensible at cornell, just a number and no one will care in the slightest if im failing. I worry about the infamous grade deflation (if you graduate from cornell Engineering with a 2.0 are you still eligible for good grad schools/career options?) Is it competetive to volunteer in labs and do research as an undergrad?</p>

<p>Mostly i worry i will not be happy there. I am not averse to hard work, but there is a point where it becomes excessive. I want to have a fun, challenging, and rewarding undergraduate experience, i want to learn a lot, and make friends too. </p>

<p>Pro Rochester: the medical center, ample research opportunities, close knit department, wonderful advising, supportive environment, beatiful campus- not too big, my dad is an alum, students seemed so friendly on the tour!, great facilities/state of the art equipment</p>

<p>Con Rochester: Rochester does not advertise itself as having much on campus BME recruiting, very cold and far away from home!, not as "prestigious", dorms were dark and dingy (not really important tho), perhaps less connections and opportunites </p>

<p>What to do! Do i pass up Cornell? How good is rochester engineering (specifically BME)
it is so hard to find the real deal elsewhere because each school plugs for itself obviously! Rochester is also slightly less expensive and it seems like Cornell really "nickel and dimes" its students.
I would really appreciate input/advice.
I visited both schools, like the campus of Rochester much better, but am sleeping overnight at cornell tomorrow and hoping to get the same positive feeling i got at rochester
Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>Rochester Engineering is nowhere near the level of Cornell Engineering.
Go to Cornell.</p>

3

<p>so ive heard… yet i worry that this wont translate to me if im not at the top of the class
how much does “ranking” mean if you are average or below at this highly competetive school
the average GPA for engineers i believe is 2.7-3.0
is it very competitive to get involved in research? If so it seems like a Cornell engineering education will only be catering to the exceptional engineering student.
i obviously don’t know yet how i’ll compare, where at rochester i’m positive ill be able to get individual attention no matter what</p>

4

<p>You’re right to be worried about GPA in this competitive economy. You get no bonus for merely graduating from Cornell versus an above average URochester graduate in my previous engineering industry or in my current consulting industry. But you have to consider the risk that you might not do as well at Rochester. There are always kids who turn down more prestigious schools due to costs and other factors. Besides, Rochester is no slouch when it comes to academics. I’d worry less about the academics as biomedical engineering is challenging anywhere but more about comfort.</p>

<p>But one important clarifying point, Cornell does still manage to give individualized attention despite being such a large school. You will have an advisor and small class sizes (in your later upper class electives especially) that will help shape your experience there. And you will have individualized research opportunities there should you choose to pursue it.</p>

5

<p><<but one="" important="" clarifying="" point,="" cornell="" does="" still="" manage="" to="" give="" individualized="" attention="" despite="" being="" such="" a="" large="" school="">></but></p>

<p>you are definitely right about that, in the origional post i meant that after visiting both schools in two days, the department of BME as a whole seemed more intimate and personal at rochester, which would make sense as it is smaller in comparsion to cornell</p>

<p><<but you="" have="" to="" consider="" the="" risk="" that="" might="" not="" do="" as="" well="" at="" rochester="">>
yes, you are right and i do not feel that i will be guaranteed to do well at rochester at all as i know that engineering itself is extremely rigorous and that that rochester is a competetive tier 1 univeristy</but></p>

<p>thank you for your responses (both of you)</p>

6

<p>juliaann,</p>

<p>I’ll try to address a few of your points… Overall it looks like you have two very nice options to choose from! I’m sure you’ll end up in the environment that suits you best.</p>

<p>I’m sure when you were on the University of Rochester campus that you got to explore the new Biomedical Engineering and Optics building: [BME</a> Biomedical Engineering | University of Rochester](<a href=“Department of Biomedical Engineering : University of Rochester”>Department of Biomedical Engineering : University of Rochester)</p>

<p>If you were to give their department / the Career Center a call that they would be able to inform you of recent BME major career outcomes: [Gwen</a> M. Greene Career & Internship Center](<a href=“http://www.rochester.edu/careercenter/]Gwen”>http://www.rochester.edu/careercenter/) Hopefully that would help you understand the options UR BME students have after graduation.</p>

<p>You will absolutely be challenged academically at the University of Rochester, but you will not be immersed in a “cut-throat” atmosphere.</p>

<p>I can assure you that a Cornell winter and a Rochester winter are practically the same, so you shouldn’t lose sleep on that topic. Good luck with your decision!</p>

7

Hi! I know this post was made a while ago, but I’m currently in the same position! I’m looking to
major in BME and proceed to med school and I am deciding between U of R and Cornell… Which school did you wind up choosing and are you happy with your decision? Thanks!!