<p>I am looking for some opinions regarding deciding between Rutgers School of Engineering Honors program for free vs. Cornell which will probably cost around $30k-$40k out of pocker per year vs. Carnegie Mellon which will probably cost about the same as Cornell. Does anyone have any opinions on this very difficult decision? In particular, in 4 years how much less value does a Rutgers Honors degree have vs. a degree from Cornell (Ivy) or Carnegie Mellon. Any opinions welcomed. Thanks.</p>
<p>im interested in the answer to this as welll…i could be in honors arts & sciences at rutgers for 15k a year or cornell for about 50k a year…very tough decision.</p>
<p>I’m biased but I would choose Cornell. Cornell Engineering is already very well-known and the new NYC tech campus would enhance its prestige further. Considering future earning potentials & opportunities and the prestige that will follow you for the rest of your life, I would recommend Cornell.</p>
<p>It is not an easy choice. My son also received the Presidential scholarship to Rutgers and the math department is strong (he has been taking Rutgers math classes for the past year). Still, we made the choice for him to attend Cornell in the fall for the type of college experience that he wants. For us, the out of pocket is closer to $15-20K with financial aid. I really do think that Rutgers has wonderful opportunities. I don’t think we would have made the same choice with $30-40 out of pocket annually. Maybe your family can manage that better. What is lacking at Rutgers is peers. There are some brilliant kids there, but you will have to work harder to find your peer group. The Rutgers math department is much higher ranked than the engineering school (but really, you are looking at graduate school rankings), so the difference was less for us. We considered the graduate school rankings, because our child will be taking graduate level courses by his second year. Also, on a separate issue, we like the safety record at Cornell. Good luck with your decision.</p>
<p>You have two choices</p>
<p>Cornell vs CMU </p>
<p>Then the Winner of the above competition vs Rutgers Honors.</p>
<p>These are very strong schools, and the Engineering Schools are ranked comparably. However, IMO, Cornell has the much stronger ranking overall, given the choice between the two (and all else being equal) I would recommend Cornell.</p>
<p>Winner vs. Rutgers.</p>
<p>Putting the economics aside – Either Cornell or CMU is the better choice academically. Period.</p>
<p>However, the economics here is major. I honestly cannot provide an answer to you here. Last year, My D had the choice between Cornell or Northwestern (paying full freight) and UConn Honors or Tulane (with major Scholarship). Which is a similar choice to what you face.</p>
<p>We chose the better school with the higher cost. However, we are in the financial position to do so. Not that the cost doesn’t hurt. So, I really think that this is a family decision.</p>
<p>i agree with zephyr. but if you go to rutgers and do well, you shouldn’t regret turning down cornell when your job search rolls around. 200k is serious money, don’t make that kind of commitment if it would destroy you financially.</p>
<p>About 10 years back, my family faced same situation. One went to Cornell, other chose Rutgers. Both now work for prestigious IT/Engineering companies…There were plenty of on-campus recruiters at Rutgers as well (Wall street firms, pharm companies…).</p>
<p>To each his own, it depends on the individual.</p>
<p>Both were able to secure great internships/on campus research lab…I would not discount Rutgers honors engineering. Again as the above poster said, finance is a big factor.</p>
<p>My son got presidential scholarship and accepted into Engineering Honors Program (includes honors housing) at Rutgers in Biomedical Engineering. He also got accepted into Bioengineering program at Cornell with no financial aid. Financially, it’s over $220,000 cost difference for four years. Additionally, Rutgers Biomedical program is very good. Cornell has overall much better (Ivy) reputation for engineering. Considering finance, programs, reputation, he chose Rutgers. We hope we made the right decision.</p>