Cornell vs Northwestern (Engineering)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
1

<p>I'm choosing between applying to Cornell (CoE) or Northwestern (McCormick) ED but I'm not entirely sure on which to choose. Cornell is closer to home and is supposedly has the edge in engineering but I liked Evanston much more than Ithaca when I visited the two places.</p>

<p>I was originally planning to do engineering for undergrad and go to grad school for an MBA but I've heard some people graduate Cornell with 2 degrees. I know a few of my friends who study Economics at NU and say that it's one of the best schools for it.</p>

2

<p>If you want a pure engineering major, Cornell is better (from what I have heard food is #1). Northwestern is better if you are not worried about the engineering ranks and want to be in a smaller school in a major city and try out more liberal arts classes and probably a totally different crowd overall.</p>

3

<p>Do you know if Northwestern has some sort of program for getting a degree in Economics while taking engineering?</p>

4

<p>Dual degree or double major? NU has some dual degrees if you spend 5 years.</p>

<p>[Undergraduate</a> - Department of Economics – Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.econ.northwestern.edu/undergraduate/index.html]Undergraduate”>Undergraduate: Department of Economics - Northwestern University)</p>

5

<p>My D was in your situation (accepted to both Cornell and NU) and accepted to NU.</p>

<p>The E schools had very different feelings. D particularly liked the Engineering First program. </p>

<p>Cornell is certainly known for its engineering program, but its ranking (8 in USNWR) isn’t that much higher than NU’s (13). So I don’t think that’s a major concern.</p>

<p>This is really a case of your having to visit both schools and then decide based on feel for the campus, reputation of each school, and other factors.</p>

6

<p>Some of NU’s engineering departments are actually ranked higher than Cornell’s by USN. Cornell has a clear edge only in electrical or computer engineering (as far as USN rankings go), which are considered the weakest at NU.</p>

<p>But perhaps to many people’s surprise, NU is actually ranked HIGHER than Cornell across the board in the latest NRC ranking!</p>

<p>Here’s the NRC R & S 5th percentile rankings:</p>

<p>Biomedical
Cornell 31/11
Northwestern 10/13</p>

<p>Chemical
Cornell 19/12
Northwestern 6/6</p>

<p>Civil
Cornell 16/54
Northwestern 9/8</p>

<p>Electrical
Cornell 18/14
Northwestern 16/8</p>

<p>Materials Science & Engineering
Cornell 23/41
Northwestern 4/4</p>

<p>Mechanical
Cornell 14/9
Northwestern 3/2</p>

<p>Operations Research/Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences
Cornell 6/4
Northwestern 4/1</p>

<p>In addition, I think NU has a more well-established co-op program with alternating terms even during the school year. The engineering first curriculum and the emphasis of producing “whole-brain” engineers are pedagogically superior to most other school’s curriculum, which haven’t changed much from last generation.</p>

7

<p>Both are great schools and world-class, but I think you’d be much, much more happy at NU than at Cornell. I also think that NU students are more well-rounded, better looking (yes seriously) and more sociable. It would not also hurt that NU’s graduate business school (Kellogg) in a solid top 4 or 5 in the nation.</p>