<p>I'm finalizing my list, and now that I've gotten into one of my matches (one that I'd be thrilled to attend), I'm looking to add on one more reach school. I've always been interested in Cornell and Northwestern, but never really considered them because I focused more on match schools. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone could give me a comparison on them, because I haven't had the time to visit either of them, and would ideally only apply to one of them. </p>
<p>These are my thoughts so far:</p>
<p>Cornell:
- Within driving distance of home (big plus)
- Kind of in the middle of nowhere, but beautiful campus (can anyone who has visited tell me about the surrounding area? Is there literally nothing to do?)
-Overall, great academics, probably not known as a superstar in my intended major (International Relations), but I don't think you can really go wrong at Cornell.
-Atmosphere? Is there one general atmosphere at Cornell? I can't really tell</p>
<p>Northwestern:
- Easier to fly ( negative)
- Great location- in a suburb, but really close to Chicago (I want a school that has the resources of a city and has access to the city, but isn't a "city" school),
- Again, great academically- I'm not sure of its reputation in International Relations, although I know it's superb in economics.
- Seems to have a bit more of a laid back midwestern-y feel to it, which is nice because I want a school that is strong academically but not cut throat or anything like that.</p>
<p>Sorry for the long post! any thoughts? thanks!</p>
<p>Not to sound negative about Cornell, but I do know that it is considered the easiest ivy to get into but the hardest to graduate from. I have heard there is intense pressure there. I know it has terrific academic opportunity, but it might not be the place for an ideal college experience on the whole. </p>
<p>I don’t know much about Northwestern, but I think its SAT range is a bit higher than that of Cornell. I have heard more good about NU than CU.</p>
<p>“can anyone who has visited tell me about the surrounding area? Is there literally nothing to do?)”</p>
<p>There is not “literally nothing to do”. It is a college-town city of 30,000 that is the center of a county metro area of 100,000. There are restaurants, bars, music spots and movies downtown that are used by college students routinely. For water activities Cayuga lake is there, for skiing Greek Peak is in Cortland, for hiking and nature stuff there are multiple great state parks ringing the city. There are various other things off campus I used to go to: bowling alley, tennis courts, theater. A few malls, and various other shopping. Others have reported using a good dance studio. But a great deal of the time is spent by most students on near campus, where there is lots to do.</p>
<p>Having said that, it certainly does not have a Chicago nearby. But as a college town, what it has is generally comparatively friendly to the budgets of college students.</p>
<p>“Atmosphere? Is there one general atmosphere at Cornell?”
Cornell has seven undergraduate colleges with different missions and programs of study, including the contract colleges which offer reduced tuition for state residents. As a consequence Cornell has a quite diverse student body, with diverse interests. I think its fair to say that most people take academics seriously,but beyond that it can be difficult to pigeonhole accurately, due to its diversity. </p>
<p>" have heard there is intense pressure there."
Most people do not find it a cakewalk. However, based on reports from two good friends of D1 who went to Northwestern, it would be a mistake to think that Northwestern is materially different with respect to academic demands.</p>
<p>My daughter’s twin - born on the same day, bought the exact same dress for the senior prom, got rejected by their first choice school, got in all of their waitlisted schools, have exact same major(s), going to work in finance upon graduation, never met each other except when they were a month old, and are facebook friends - my daughter chose Cornell and her very distant cousin(twin) chose Northwestern. </p>
<p>Socially, NU and Cornell are very similar. Both of those girls loved their experiences at those schools. I think it comes down to if you want to be in the east coast or midwest. If you go to NU, it’s more likely you will get a job in Chicago. My niece was offered a job from GS in Chicago, but her family is in NY, so she had to push hard to get a job in NYC.</p>
<p>tb - I don’t think anyone should give any opinion unless it adds value.</p>
<p>I know this doesn’t answer your question, but from what you have described I think Tufts should be on your list. It is amazing for IR, has Boston close by, would probably be driving distance (if Cornell is), academically strong, but not cutthroat. Just something to consider…</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help guys. As for the Tufts piece, I was quite interested in tufts and it was great on paper, but when I visited, it just didn’t feel right, not sure why. Thanks for the advice though.</p>
<p>There is tons to do at Cornell, because it is a huge school. The fact that the town is relatively small just doesn’t register, because there are more than enough activities right on campus or in Collegetown next door. There is even more if you are willing to get yourself over to Ithaca College, which has strong performing arts departments, and therefore many excellent concerts and theater events.</p>
<p>The proximity to Cayuga Lake, rural areas, and beautiful parks in the Ithaca environs was a huge plus for me. It is a gorgeous area.</p>
<p>I’m sure Northwestern is great too–I don’t have personal experience with it.</p>
<p>I made a three-day visit to Northwestern with my eldest and we both loved it. It would have been her top choice had she not gotten into her reach school. It has an unusual blend of cultures and disciplines - world-class performing arts along with world-class tech and pre-professional. The lakefront is stunning and we both liked Evanston a lot. That said, there are some oddities. The north and south ends of campus are like two different worlds - techie on the north and artsy on the south. Architecturally beautiful on the south and architecturally brutal on the north. There is no central focal point of the campus - no quad, no expansive lawn, no signature building - it’s all an expended park-like setting. Evanston has attractions to it, but it’s an upscale place and town-and-gown relations are strained.</p>
<p>One of the things that really appealed to my D was the theatre scene on campus. NU has more theatre productions per year than anywhere in the country. We saw a Chekhov play put on by the Theatre Dept. and it was stunning. We saw a musical put on in a makeshift location in the student center by student non-majors doing their own thing. The start time was 12:30 a.m. and it was Off-Broadway quality. My son is interested in NU because it combines top-level academics with a highly-decorated Big Ten marching band program. And Chicago is a fun place!</p>
<p>I can’t compare Cornell since I’ve never been there, but it’s remarkable how often the two are compared and used as comparables on CC.</p>