Cornell v Notre Dame

Parents Forum
1

<p>Please help me settle a debate:</p>

<p>If a student were accepted to both schools, which one should he go to? I would have naturally been inclined to say Cornell, since its an ivy and I live in the NE. However, I was told that ND is actually better due to its more national/international reputation.</p>

<p>What do you think? </p>

<p>(Please note I'm not putting either school down. I have personally visited both and think they are great. I'm just curious to settle this issue and would like to hear others opinions.)</p>

2

<p>Well, wouldn’t that answer depend upon how many angels one can fit on the head of a pin?</p>

3

<p>The student should go to the one s/he likes best. Both are good.</p>

4

<p>Agree unless there substantial differences in the specific major the OP’s son is interested in he should pick the one he likes best.</p>

5

<p>Choosing Cornell simply because it is an Ivy League school ignores all the most important reasons for picking a college and focuses on the most trivial. You’re right when you say they’re both great, so call them School A and School B and ask yourself which one is a better fit for your interests and personality.</p>

6

<p>My D has friends who LOVE ND. She knows one at Cornell. He likes it. Both are great schools. Such a dilemma to be in! :)</p>

7

<p>There is no obvious better choice.</p>

<p>It depends on the student’s preferences in terms of areas of study, campus culture, and geography.</p>

<p>This is a good dilemma to have. It’s a choice between two excellent universities.</p>

8

<p>ND is a catholic school with some religious requirements and some very strict rules in the dorms. If the student did not attend a catholic HS, I’d look at it closely before deciding to attend. It is also much more socially uniform that Cornell (for the same reason).</p>

9

<p>IF is a really big word. </p>

<p>Instead of putting increased pressure on yourself or your child, don’t count your chickens before they hatch. You may find that the decision could be made for you; You have already been accepted to ND, what would happen if you were denied by Cornell?</p>

<p>Instead of dealing with hypotheticals, think about what attracts to to ND. IF you were not accepted to any other schools, would you be happy to attend?</p>

10

<p>I haven’t seen any ranking lists that put Notre Dame ahead of Cornell, but they are both excellent schools. I imagine they have quite different atmospheres, so I think you should figure out where you would be happier and forget the prestige factor. Both my kids did not pick the highest ranked school that accepted them. My older son will be graduating this spring and certainly missed out on nothing in terms of opportunities. He had a dream internship last summer that offered him a permanent job. Youngest son has had a wonderful first year at a college that has delivered everything it promised and then some.</p>

11

<p>Both are great schools. However, Cornell is known more internationally.</p>

12

<p>Those are two very different schools. Notre Dame is a niche school. It suits a particular type of student perfectly but is probably not appealing to the majority of people. Cornell is broader, appealing to a far broader group of people. </p>

<p>Academically, Notre Dame is excellent for a well rounded, liberal arts education. Cornell is too. Both also have excellent undergraduate business programs. But in most other respects, Cornell offers more. Cornell has top ranked programs in Engineering, Architecture, Industrial and Labor Relations and Hotel Management. Also, for students who intend on delving deeply in a given discipline, Cornell will have more to offer.</p>

<p>Both are excellent, but for very different types of students.</p>

13

<p>Notre Dame Majors:
For Bachelor’s Degrees
Business/Marketing: 24%
Social Sciences: 16%
Engineering: 10%
Biology: 6%
Psychology: 6%
Health Professions: 5%
Visual and Performing Arts: 5%</p>

<p>Cornell Majors:
For Bachelor’s Degrees
Engineering: 18%
Business/Marketing: 13%
Agriculture: 12%
Biology: 12%
Social Sciences: 10%
Architecture: 5%</p>

14

<p>Thanks to everyone who replied. This is truly a debate that I was having with someone. This is not specific to my S. He applied and was accepted to ND but “he” didn’t like Cornell when we visited, so he didn’t even bother to apply. </p>

<p>It’s just that I met someone who’s kid was accepted to both and she swore ND was hands down the better school and I disagreed. I wasn’t saying that ND wasn’t as good, just that it wasn’t better. The major of the student involved was Bio/premed.</p>

<p>Hence the reason I wanted to hear others opinions…</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

15

<p>I also don’t think either is innately better, though it would be a great “problem” to have to choose between them. Cornell isn’t better because it is in the Ivy League Sports Conference, and small differences in “rankings” are both flawed and do not pertain to individual students.</p>

<p>Think about the logic for “it’s an Ivy.” The Ivy League was founded in 1954; was Notre Dame better than Cornell before that, but since the latter joined a different sports conference, it took off? Not really, no. Seven of the eight Ivy League schools do predate the founding of the United States, and thus have long histories of education, which are often pointed to as reasons for their excellence; Cornell is the exception, as it was founded in 1865, over a decade after Notre Dame.</p>

<p>Personally, I feel that they are both excellent schools and would be excited to go to either. I don’t think one is inherently better than the other.</p>