<p>i got into the engineering schools at both cornell and penn.</p>
<p>which one would you choose and why?</p>
<p>ofcourse cornell not penn...reason being cornell engineering is much better known</p>
<p>I second what orasool said. Cornell is better for engineering.</p>
<p>thanks! anyone else?</p>
<p>anyone wanna comment on campus life? cornell is in the middle of nowhere, and penn is in a big city.</p>
<p>im from a big city in the south..would the transistion to cornell be really hard?</p>
<p>Not to hijack the thread, but being faced with a similar dilemna would I be correct in supposing cornell's life science (biochem) < penn's</p>
<p>@emilyequalsfun - fully agreed with other posters that Cornell's engineering is definitely > Penn, as for campus life, I think whether or not you can make the adjustment is really something only you can answer...</p>
<p>I would rather live in Cornell's area than Penn's, but in terms of big-city excitement, Penn probably wins. Still, it's not like Cornell is devoid of interest. It all depends on what you're looking for. I personally don't care that much for big-city offerings, so the stuff at Ithaca is more than enough to satisfy me.</p>
<p>sdong, why would you suppose that? I've never really seen any rankings that would put Penn above Cornell in biology or chemistry.</p>
<p>yes penn does have one of the best life sciences programs in the country.
engineering as a whole is superior at cornell, with the exception of bioengineering--penn' s bioengineering is really top-notch (i think top 5)...
also with the overall strength of the penn med school at ur diposal and the University of Pennsylvania Health System (one of the largest and #2 most heavily funded in the country), if you are interested in combining engineering with the life sciences or biomed or anything like that penn would probably have greater resources and better research options (esp since cornell med school is 4 hours away from the rest of the campus). However, mechanical and electrical engineering etc. are stronger departments at cornell.
Penn is also more flexible than Cornell in allowing you to pursue inter-school minors and majors across different schools--so if you have other interests outside engineering you may want to consider that.
Campus life is really what you make of it and both schools have excellent opportunities for involvement, extracurriculars etc. but in very different settings. For on-campus options they are probably the same, but as for off-campus opportunities i would give penn the edge (philly>ithaca).</p>
<p>I do not have the specific undergraduate rankings (I'm not sure if a well-known one even exists for specific departments) but the Gourman Report does place Penn's Undergrad Biology and Physics better than Cornell's. Chemistry at Cornell is better ranked than at Penn according to the same Report.
At the graduate level, Penn's Medical School is ranked #3 in the country by US News (just behind Harvard and Johns Hopkins) and undergraduates studying the life-sciences do benefit from the research opportunities it provides and from the faculty members that hold joint-appointments in the biology and chem depts. Also, Penn is the #2 most heavily funded by the National Institute of Health--if that is any indication of the level of scientific research and the strengths of the science depts. at the University.</p>
<p>thanks everyone...i applied for bioengineering. but i might change my mind.</p>
<p>anyone else?</p>
<p>Eh? Cornell's physics ranking in the Gourman report I'm reading is third overall, and about tied with Penn in biological sciences.</p>
<p>And the medical school ranking is irrelevant. Otherwise I might bring in how Cornell has the number 1 vet school in the country.</p>