<p>Cornell's got prestige, Wesleyan's feel is awesome, and being at NYU and in the city there are plenty of opportunities. Totally unsure of which to side with, any advice would be greatly appreciated. I want to be on a liberal campus, not be absolutely consumed by the workload, and have fun but a crazed party scene isn't a necessity. Thanks!</p>
<p>go for wesleyan</p>
<p>if you choose Cornell, don't do it on the basis of prestige. Once you get pulled into the whole Ivy snarkiness matrix (visit any one of the Ivy CC fora and you'll see what I mean) you will find very quickly that Cornell is at the bottom of the food chain.</p>
<p>You have the rest of your life to live in a city, don't miss a chance to be a part of a campus community, which you'll get at Cornell or Wesleyan and not NYU. Not to mention that you'll have dumber, less interesting peers at NYU than at the other two.</p>
<p>Have you visited them?</p>
<p>I'd also say Wes. Don't underestimate it in terms of prestige, and it seems to fit your desires the best.</p>
<p>I've visited Wes close to 10 times and stayed with friends. I really love it and originally debated applying early there. I'm visiting C and NYU next weekend, so I guess I'll see then. </p>
<p>Gellino, you're definitely right. I'm most likely going to move to nyc post-college so I think a real campus experience is important. </p>
<p>Aside from Cornell's being considered "at the bottom of the food chain," the "illegit ivy," etc. (I'm not bashing for the record, just repeating what i've heard) are there things that its vaster resources can provide that Wesleyan simply cannot. Are there things I should know about either that I can't find out through visiting (I guess I mean hmm as shallow it might seem, but not trying to be..a consensus people have on C's and Wes's reputations?) ? </p>
<p>Thank you for all of your responses, I appreciate it. I originally thought it pretty corny to post my doubts on this site, but it has proven helpful.</p>
<p>Cornell is actually near the top of the Ivy food chain among those who know something about the quality of specific majors. The Arts and Sciences at Cornell and Engineering at Cornell enroll students equivalent to the best in the Ivy League.</p>
<p>What will your major be?</p>
<p>History, most likely</p>
<p>A history major at Cornell certainly equals a history major at Penn and isn't very far from a history major at Brown, Dartmouth or Columbia, so it's not like that is buried deep at the bottom the Ivy League. Visit both and see where you fit better; they are both essentially equivalent schools reputation-wise. </p>
<p>I've found much fewer Wesleyan alums going into business/finance type jobs upon graduation than peers at places like Brown, Williams, Amherst (the three schools with most likely the largest overlap of applications with Wesleyan students) and even somewhat lesser schools like Middlebury, Colgate, Hamilton. I'm not sure if that is the personality of someone who picks Wesleyan or some transformation that occurs while at Wesleyan; probably it is some of both.</p>
<p>I agree to not just choose the school based on prestige. If you like the way the school feels, that is way more important. However, one benefit of attending a bigger school (such as Cornell) is the sheer volume and variety of classes to choose from. There would also be more things to do on campus. None of that is going to matter, though, if it doesn't feel right to you.</p>
<p>history major? it's a wash, academically.</p>
<p>gellino,
Not sure I'd classify Middlebury as a "lesser" school. But I agree with your comments about the value of a history major-there aren't great differences from college to college. Academically, between Cornell and Wesleyan, there is no clear winner or loser here, although I would certainly place both ahead of NYU.</p>
<p>In non-academic terms, you seem to have answered the question quite well with your description of Wesleyan's feel as "awesome." Most Wes folks I have known feel the same way and that includes folks several decades from their graduation. Great place for undergraduate education. </p>
<p>I think you're making this harder than it needs to be.</p>
<p>I would go to Cornell.</p>
<p>how does a school having more "resources" manifest itself in an average student's day to day life?</p>
<p>bump for my question and the OP's question.</p>
<p>wesleyan hands down! My friend is at cornell and has found it to be too big and a bit too cold and dreary for him- very homogenous and more of a party school that he anticipated. However, he seems happy with his classes.</p>
<p>As you've noted, NYU is a very different experience. I don't think you can go wrong with either Cornell or Wesleyan. Go to the one that feels the best to you. You'll drive yourself nuts trying to compare the stats on how many history majors from each get into whatever graduate program. Forget all that and decide which one you really like.</p>
<p>I have cited to this before: study showing percentage of undergraduate History majors who go on to get PhD's in History.</p>
<p>Privileging</a> History: Trends in the Undergraduate Origins</p>
<p>Wesleyan and Cornell both strong.</p>