Cornell vs. Carnegie Mellon

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Ok, I am a senior right now and I am trying to decide where I should submit Early Decision to.
My reach schools are Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, UMich, and Georgia Tech. </p>

<p>My parents says I should apply to Cornell, because its the best school on the list.
But I personally don't really want to go to Cornell..
Especially because it is so isolated and have reputation for a high suicide rate.
I visited the campus before. And I lived in a large city all my life, so I am scared that I won't be able to adopt to the environment.</p>

<p>And out of my reaches, I definitely want to go to CMU for many personal reasons.</p>

<p>I am going for an engineering major, particularly Mechanical... but I am not sure if I will go on with this choice.
I know that CMU and Cornell both have strong engineering program, but Cornell is an Ivy league. (My dad says Cornell is better, but the ranking says CMU is better)</p>

<p>I tried so hard to convince my parents, but it never worked.
They do not think that personal reasons should alter my decisions.</p>

<p>What do you guys think?
I really need some advice on this....... I don't want to waste my Early Decision on a school that I am not attached to.</p>

<p>Is CMU actually not as good as Cornell in Engineering?</p>

2

<p>I doubt there is that much difference in engineering. It may vary by subfields to a degree, but not enough to change a decision. There are perhaps some distinctions outside of engineering.</p>

<p>As to the various points:
-Many people find plenty to do at Cornell and ithaca; including many city folks. There are a number of posts on CC by same, eg transfers there from NYU who say to effect “I can’t believe I was worried about this”. Doesn’t guarantee you will have same impression/experience, but there are those who do.</p>

<p>-“Reputation” is different than truth, data indicates suicide rate is still at or below average, despite the recent anomalous cluster.</p>

<p>Nevetheless, I would not consider you certifiably insane if, at the end of the day, you decide you prefer Carnegie Mellon. You visited Cornell, and did not come away saying “this place is great”. So maybe for you it isn’t.</p>

<p>I believe personal reasons should influence decisions, since if you are happier someplace you are more likely to do your best and have the most success there. But particularly if you evaluate two alternatives as quite comparable in other respects, what is left to distinguish them but personal reasons?</p>

3

<p>Have you ever visit CMU? How do you like Pittsburgh?</p>

<p>Pittsburgh is totally different than Ithaca. Although Pitts is a big city, has everything, but Ithaca is one of the best college town, there are plenty things to do. There are tons of students activities from Cornell and nearby colleges. </p>

<p>Cornell is tough but CMU is fame by their work load. </p>

<p>Visit both of them, read their website, you can see the different of these two schools. Then, follow your heart. Good luck!</p>

4

<p>I can’t help feeling we’re not getting the entire story. Complaints about adapting to Ithaca and suicide rates sound like meager excuses especially when you mention that you want CMU for “many personal reasons”. Ithaca may not be “the big city” but if you see yourself adapting to Ann Arbor then Ithaca should be no problem. Suicide is not technically contagious, so it’s doubtful that you’ll suddenly decide to “do yourself in” once you pull onto campus.</p>

<p>If you want to go to CMU, go to CMU. CMU’s engineering is on par with Cornell’s, if however you envision transfering to a liberal arts major, the average person is going to assume that Cornell is the better school. If the “personal reason” that you want to go to CMU is another person then maybe your parents are trying to tell you to expand your horizons.</p>

<p>Lastly, you need to assess the likelihood of getting accepted ED. If you’re in the 50th%-tile academically at either school then I’d say you’d have a good chance, if you’re far below that then this discussion is probably moot.</p>

<p>Apply to the school you want to go to for academic reasons then factor in the personal issues.</p>

5

<p>@monydad
Thank you so much for your advice :slight_smile:
My dad’s logic is that CMU is only strong in Computer Science, and he doesn’t want me to go into that major for some reason. I will do more research into such differences in ranking to convince my dad</p>

<p>@flyinglandbird
I am US citizen, but I live in South Korea. I go to an international school…
At the moment, I have no time to visit US and CMU campus…
Thank you for your advice and encouragement though :)</p>

6

<p>@vinceh
Is the whole suicide rate thing just a myth?
I have heard this from everywhere… even from my counselors…
It’s just that I am debating over CMU and Cornell, and I would prefer CMU. Because I feel like I would match better at the place. (Diversity, Size wise, etc) </p>

<p>I do have high enough GPA for both Cornell and CMU, but my SAT score is a bit lower than their average acceptances ( English is my second language)… That is why I consider them my reaches…</p>

<p>Thank you for your concerns :)</p>

7

<p>“Is the whole suicide rate thing just a myth?”</p>

<p>There was a recent cluster there that was sadly not a myth. This was preceded by several years (2005-08) of none whatsoever. Measured over longer periods, the suicide rate there is still, I believe, at or below national averages.</p>

<p>[Hopkins</a> suicide rate in line with national college trend - News](<a href=“http://media.www.jhunewsletter.com/media/storage/paper932/news/2006/04/20/News/Hopkins.Suicide.Rate.In.Line.With.National.College.Trend-2242150.shtml#2]Hopkins”>http://media.www.jhunewsletter.com/media/storage/paper932/news/2006/04/20/News/Hopkins.Suicide.Rate.In.Line.With.National.College.Trend-2242150.shtml#2)</p>

<p>[MIT</a> Suicides Reflect National Trends - The Tech](<a href=“http://tech.mit.edu/V120/N6/comp6.6n.html]MIT”>http://tech.mit.edu/V120/N6/comp6.6n.html)</p>

<p>The reputation has been there forever, well before the recent cluster. Jumping from bridges is highly dramatic, public, involves many parties and city agencies doing manhunts for the body, hence gets massive publicity. As opposed to other places where people overdose in their dorm rooms, or whatever, these can probably better avoid publicity. But the data suggests the actual rate there was not excessive. As for recent, suicide clusters are a recognized phenomenon that have occured in many disparate places. Theories differ, publicity and copycat phenomenon seem influential in their occurrence. But this is not the normal state of affairs there, though it seemed like it at times last year.</p>

<p>In response to the cluster, they have put up additional barriers at the bridges to hopefully deter some impulse jumpers. For more see here:
<a href=“http://www.cornell.edu/caring/docs/062010-cu-consultation-report-basic.pdf[/url]”>http://www.cornell.edu/caring/docs/062010-cu-consultation-report-basic.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>“My dad’s logic is that CMU is only strong in Computer Science,…”</p>

<p>I don’t think your dad is correct. At least that certainly did not used to be the case.
Strongest perhaps, but that’s hardly all there is to the place. It has a highly regarded engineering school. Go do your research. Even if there is some difference of a few places, this is not really important IMO.</p>

<p>Rankings aside, you can look at each Registrar’s list of courses being offered this semester to compare the breath and depth of courses that would be available to you. Surprisingly, the rankings people don’t do that.</p>

9

<p>“I am trying to decide where I should submit Early Decision to”</p>

<p>Then you don’t have one dream school. You haven’t mentioned financial aid, so we must assume you need none (otherwise you would want to compare FA offers from various schools).</p>

<p>Without a dream school, it’s a loooong time from November to September, plenty of time to change your mind and regret the binding commitment; waiting until May 1 to decide gives you six more months to find your favorite school, the best fit for you.</p>

10

<p>Since it’s you that is going to college, not your dad, I think it should be your decision unless it’s finance related. I live in Ithaca and enjoy the town but it’s not for everyone. I have heard that engineering students are unhappy and stressed at Cornell. I have a son who is a senior in hs, interested in science or engineering and he is not applying to Cornell because of this reputation. My son went on a tour and heard that Cornell’s motto was “Where Your Best Hasn’t Been Good Enough Since 1868” That really turned him off. I don’t know if CMU students are happier.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

11

<p>Stressed probably, unhappy depends largely on social life IMO. Anyway engineers kind of thrive on this chest beating “we’re tough, nobody has it harder than us” thing, however at a certain tier of schools they are all doing pretty much the same work, and have pretty much the same capabilities. And IMO both these schools are in that tier.</p>

<p>Cornell engineering is certainly no picnic. If engineering students at CMU are actually materially better off that would be great. But I have my doubts.</p>

12

<p>For mechanical, US News ranks Cornell #9 and Carnegie Mellon #11. Virtually a dead heat. Still, I would prefer Cornell. I just love Cornell. The school did so much for me. I don’t know much about campus life at Carnegie Mellon. The campus is on a kind of escarpment overlooking Pittsburgh. I know that CMU is really outstanding in electrical and computer engineering.</p>

13

<p>CMU has a great reputation in engineering so you don’t need to worry about getting into grad school or getting a job from CMU. In engineering, either school will be great. You will work very hard at CMU. The projects are intense, just like those at Cornell. I think, though, both schools have a School of Engineering and I don’t know how easy it is to switch from the School of Engineering to the School of Business (equally hard to get into), especially if you are trying to switch because your grades are suffering. At a small school like Rice it might be easier to switch out of engineering if you don’t like it. So I don’t know that I would pick one school over the other based on the quality of their other programs.</p>

14

<p>“Ok, I am a senior right now and I am trying to decide where I should submit Early Decision to.”</p>

<p>You should only apply ED to a school if you have visited several universities and know without any doubt that it is your favorite school of the bunch. </p>

<p>“My reach schools are Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, UMich, and Georgia Tech.”</p>

<p>Those are four equally excellent Engineering schools. You cannot go wrong with this bunch.</p>

<p>“My parents says I should apply to Cornell, because its the best school on the list.”</p>

<p>Cornell is not the best school on the list. There is no best school on your list. All four universities are excellent, particularly in Engineering.</p>

<p>“But I personally don’t really want to go to Cornell.
Especially because it is so isolated and have reputation for a high suicide rate.
I visited the campus before. And I lived in a large city all my life, so I am scared that I won’t be able to adopt to the environment.”</p>

<p>Cornell’s high suicide rate is a myth. Its suicide rate is in fact right around the national average for college students. However, if you do not like the thought of a small, rural and isolated college town, Cornell may not be the ideal setting for you. On the other hand, keep in mind that Cornell University itself is a little town on its own, with 20,000 students. Trust me, those students never run out of things to do.</p>

<p>“And out of my reaches, I definitely want to go to CMU for many personal reasons.”</p>

<p>I would do more research before making such a major decision…including actually visiting the different schools. </p>

<p>“I am going for an engineering major, particularly Mechanical… but I am not sure if I will go on with this choice.
I know that CMU and Cornell both have strong engineering program, but Cornell is an Ivy league. (My dad says Cornell is better, but the ranking says CMU is better)”</p>

<p>For Mechanical, Cornell is slightly stronger than CMU, but Michigan is slightly stronger than both. In terms of overall Engineering, all four schools are equal and the rankings say as much. Remember that academic program rankings are never accurate. In Engineering, there is no difference between #4 and #10. When it comes to those four Engineering programs, do not look at the rankings because they are all equal.</p>

<p>“I tried so hard to convince my parents, but it never worked.
They do not think that personal reasons should alter my decisions.”</p>

<p>Since your parents and you do not agree, I would not apply ED to any of the schools. I would apply to Michigan EA however, as it is non-binding and really makes a difference in admissions chances.</p>

<p>“What do you guys think?
I really need some advice on this… I don’t want to waste my Early Decision on a school that I am not attached to.”</p>

<p>I agree, which is why I am surprised you are considering applying ED to CMU, a school you have never visited. How can you be attached to a school you never visited?</p>

<p>“Is CMU actually not as good as Cornell in Engineering?”</p>

<p>Yes it is.</p>

15

<p>I’m from NYC. Many years ago, I visited Cornell during the fall of my senior year in HS and felt so isolated that I actually withdrew my application! It was probably a stupid thing to do, but luckily I ended up at MIT. Nonetheless, if you are at all hesitant about a school, and clearly you are, then don’t apply ED. It sounds like you should not apply ED to Cornell, and perhaps you shouldn’t apply ED anywhere. </p>

<p>If you like cities, check out Wisconsin and Northwestern too.</p>