<p>I got into NU-Medill and then a few days ago Cornell took me off the waitlist. I need to let Cornell know whether I'm accepting within 6 days. In general, is NU stronger than Cornell in humanities and social sciences, while Cornell is stronger in sciences? Which school is better in these areas: literature, linguistics, and cognitive science/psychology?</p>
<p>Congratulations on your admission. Cornell is certainly stronger in the sciences, but is also ranked higher across the board in the other areas you cite according to the National Research Council's ratings of graduate departments. There are no specific undergraduate rankings of these areas but the NRC rankings speak to the general quality of the departments, although they are now ten+ years old (will be updated this fall.) Confirming this advice, on the most current rankings I could find, PhDs.org (funded by the Sloan Foundation) Cornell also is well ahead of Northwestern in faculty quality. Cornell is ranked seventh in English literature and Northwestern is seventeenth. In comparative literature, Cornell is fifth and Northwestern fifteenth. In linguistics, Cornell is eighth and Northwestern is twentieth. In psychology, Cornell is twelfth and Northwestern twenty-second. Both are excellent schools and I think, beyond the academics that favor Cornell, the decision comes down in part to one of environment---Big 10 school in a congested suburb of a large city or an Ivy League school in an attractive college town that is part of a small city---and reputation. Outside of Chicago area, people have heard of Northwestern, but Cornell and Ivy League certainly are far better known.</p>
<p>The problem is redcrimblue, your argument holds no weight. Michigan has higher ranked programs than most of the ivy league schools. is it stronger? </p>
<p>But, Northwestern has a STRONGER student body. yes, STRONGER!</p>
<p>That is the one thing you failed to mention. It has better consulting recruitment. it was ranked higher on the grad placement ranking. It does better where it matters. Sorry to bust your boat.</p>
<p>yeah, an ivy league school that seems more like a state school than anything else. Not to be harsh, but Cornell is an ivy back-up for the real ivy league schools that don't have strings to the state of new york.</p>
<p>Collegeboard: Cornell, 1280-1490
Northwestern, 1320-1500</p>
<p>the academics seem to favor Northwestern my friend, don't they?</p>
<p>We are talking about the school of Arts and Sciences, where the 25-75% SAT range is 1410-1520. You can't equate Cornell in these areas by lumping in schools that have nothing to do with the subjects the OP seeks to study. What an absurd statement, NU grad, coming from a conference where 10 of the 11 schools are in fact state schools. I turned down Yale (and other Ivies) for Cornell and Cornell is hardly a "back-up" to "real Ivy schools." It is higher rated than Brown right now and is likely to go higher this August, and all Ivy schools are in the top 15 in the country according to USNWR. In contrast, the Big 10 schools average in the 50-100 range. Northwestern is a fine school (as I said) and is the best school in the Big 10 BUT it is lower rated than Cornell on any benchmark. Consulting and grad placement stats? Where are those? And how is Northwestern better? In my Harvard Law School class, there were 37 Cornellians and seven students from Northwestern, as an example.</p>
<p>NuGrad, it isn't much of an argument to simply propose your opinion that Northwestern has a "stronger student body." SAT scores don't mean anything really. There are ample numbers of students with top SAT scores and academic talents at Cornell to satisfy the intellectual interests of any student. </p>
<p>Have you ever attended Cornell or have you had first hand experience with Cornell's undergraduate opportunities and campus life? If not, then you are rehashing the same old stats that are consulted when kids are in high school and want to narrow the schools to which they will apply. At this late stage, the OP should have an opinion about which is his/her favored school. To the OP, have you visited each and what do you think of each school?</p>
<p>And if people want opinion, I think that one can't beat Cornell for the variety and diversity of its undergraduate experience. No matter what one's interests, academic talent, career goals, there will be excellent opportunities to achieve career goals, make lifelong friends, and have fun.</p>
<p>"Collegeboard: Cornell, 1280-1490
Northwestern, 1320-1500</p>
<p>the academics seem to favor Northwestern my friend, don't they?"</p>
<p>umm...how? SAT scores are HIGH SCHOOL achievements. How does the fact that the SAT scores of Northwestern students are a couple points higher demonstrate that NU has better academics?</p>
<p>Cornell's SAT score ranges are always going to be skewed because it has two entire schools (Hotel and Architecture) which place very little emphasis on SAT scores. Those two schools have no relevance to the OP. All of the majors he/she wants is in the College of Arts and Sciences. I'm a graduating senior and I've yet to take a single class outside of CAS, not out of snoberry but because all of the elective classes I've taken (sociology, Spanish, anthro, Asian American studies, history, English, psych, sociology, etc.) are offered by CAS.</p>
<p>Redcrim, you are wrong. Check Cornell's stats. </p>
<p>there you go, Arts/Sciences, is 1310-1510. I am sure, if you just took NU's arts/sciences as well, it would be even higher than its average as of now, which is still higher than Cornell.</p>
<p>My nephew graduated from Northwestern with a major in music and a minor in cognitive something-or-other, and my daughter's best friend will graduate from NW next month (international studies). NW was on my daughter's short list, but she ended up at Cornell and has loved it. She will graduate with honors in psychology and has done research with a prof for the past 2 years.The students at Northwestern seem very happy; I have heard this from many people. NW might be a touch more pre-professional than Cornell, it also has more of a Midwestern flavor (of course) and may be a bit more conservative. NW has the quarter system, which is a little different; you start late in September, have a short Christmas break, then 2/3 of your school year to complete in the new year. IMHO the NW campus is a little crowded, but in good weather the lake shore is great. The Cornell campus is exceptionally scenic.</p>
<p>Good luck. I don't think you can go wrong. Just decide which school feels best!</p>
<p>You really out to visit/have visited both schools and see which campus/lifestyle you like better. Both of the schools are great academically and close enough that it shouldn't be the main factor for your decision.</p>
<p>Looks to me like BBall87/simbajune55 has been reincarnated!</p>
<p>Can't be bball because he had an even worse experience at Northwestern than he did at Cornell! lol Serves him right for transferring because "Cornell's average SAT score wasn't high enough."</p>
<p>I don't know what you guys are talking about. I went to Northwestern like 6-7 years ago and recently went to Duke for my law degree.</p>
<p>bball was a prestige whore who constantly agonized over the fact that Cornell's SAT scores were a bit lower than peer institutions. Even before he matriculated at Cornell, he wanted to transfer; that was the only reason he cited. He ended up transferring to Northwestern and admitted after a semester there that it was a mistake to transfer to NU and wished that he were back at Cornell. Then he fell off the face of the earth (thankfully).</p>
<p>wow, this has turned into quite a heated debate! Thanks to everyone for your advice and information. I'm glad to hear that both schools are very strong academically, so either one would be a great choice. And to odyssey: I only visited Northwestern, and I really liked the atmosphere of the campus and Evanston. But I will visit Cornell early next week. I am worried Ithaca is too isolated, but who knows? Maybe I'll love it when I get there.</p>
<p>Hold up. The Medill School of Journalism? Isn't that the best journalism school in the country? If you're going for journalism I wouldn't think this would be a hard choice (I think Medill offers 1 or 2 other majors, right?)
Anyways, Cornell > Northwestern in most other respects. Why? Cornell is an Ivy League school. Now, HOLD UP before you start spitting fire at me: you want to know why this matters? The best professors want to say they teach at an Ivy League school, so the best professors go to Ivy League schools. Period. Cornell's Arts and Sciences is a step above NU's for this reason.
NUGrad, take your insecurities elsewhere, please.</p>
<p>Why don't you take your insecurities somewhere else. Why don't you prove to me that Cornell is systematically a better school. The only thing that Cornell stands on is its research and ivy league affiliation. Its student body is no more accomplished than a school like Emory or USC....please continue.</p>
<p>so I guess by your logic, Stanford and MIT and Duke are a notch below Cornell........</p>
<p>Perhaps, Amherst, Williams, and Swarthmore are a step below as well b/c they aren't "ivy league school." Meanwhile, all of the aforementioned schools have higher stats among incoming students than does Cornell, even in CAS....</p>