<p>for Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Math, Physics, Pre-Med, and Economics. How do these departments compare? Also, how does job placement in NY/Chicago compare? How do the winters compare? What is campus life like at Cornell?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>I won’t comment on the specific departments, but if you want to work in Chicago you’d probably be better off with Notre Dame and if you want NYC, then Cornell.</p>
<p>Cornell has a huge alumni network in the NYC area and there tends to be signifcant affection amongst one another (DC is another hotbed). In addition, college reputations tend to be regional (for example, you’d find few people considering Rice on par in the Northeast and Midwest, but down South it is considered as much if not more prestigious), so you’ll get more bang for your name-dropping buck regionally if that’s important to you.</p>
<p>That said, they’re both nationally respected universities. Cornell gets higher marks in terms of overall academic reputation and is pretty much top shelf in the hard sciences but is Notre Dame probably more well known generally due to football and its stellar academic reputation. But I know plenty enough people who went to small midwestern LACs that no one in New York has heard of who are make 6 figures many times over in NY. </p>
<p>So, in the end it’s probably smarter to go with fit.</p>
<p>Regarding campus life at Cornell, you can look up other threads. In a nutshell, it becomes its own self-contained animal. Absolutely gorgeous campus, funky albeit isolated city in central New York’s wine country, and pretty much whatever you’re into you’ll find.</p>
<p>If you want the meathead frat party lifestyle, there’s plenty of that but (based on other posters on here) only 30% of students are in frats. So, if you want to spend your weekends going to avant garde cinema (a few options, actually, both on campus and off) and chatting afterwards in cozy little cafes where local musicians strum away, there’s certainly that lifestyle there as well. You can also meld cultures if you wish. Pretty much anything else you want besides the big city clubbing culture, but a strong local music scene makes up for it.</p>
<p>Thanks applejack.</p>
<p>any other thoughts?</p>
<p>cornell for sure! especially engineering</p>
<p>Cornell!!!</p>
<p>Can anyone describe Cornell student culture relative to Notre Dame student culture? And campus life?</p>
<p>I’m an ND alum with nephews there now and I have a son at Cornell - here’s my thoughts - both have beautiful campuses, excellent programs in the departments you mention, and lots of snow. Applejack sums up the job scene pretty well - altho the ND network is pretty strong on the east coast too -and the Cornell name/reputation gets attention in Chicago. Biggest difference is campus life - Cornell is much more diverse, students work really hard, bigger campus feel, greek scene, sports if you’re into them, strong catholic community on campus but you need to seek it out. All freshman live together in dorms on North Campus and then move on in later years to off-campus housing, upperclass dorms or frat/sorority houses. At ND, students are into sports, very service oriented, Football weekends dominate the fall, and while there are students of many religions there, it is clearly a catholic university. Freshmen are assigned to dorms that include upperclassmen. These dorms each have strong traditions and sense of community. Students tend to live on campus sophomore year and beyond before moving off senior year. The dorms are not coed and have parietals. You are lucky to have both options to consider!</p>
<p>Thanks dysphoric. Why did your son choose Cornell over ND (as I imagined you encouraged him to apply to ND as well)? Also, what specifically does he like about it the most?</p>
<p>We are a typical ND family - ie. FANATICS - so our son grew up going to ND campus, games, etc. several times a year. When it came time to choosing a college, he was looking for something different - ND was just too familiar. He was also a recruited athlete and was lucky enough to find a great fit at Cornell -team, academics, social - which not eveyone is able to find. I can’t say what he likes the most - he always seems very happy with Cornell - he’s formed some great friendships, has alot of respect for his professors, loves the social life (maybe too much!). From a parent’s perspective what I like is that Cornell has been more of a challenge for him - ie. took him out of his comfort zone(Midwest, Catholic) into a more diverse environment that has really stretched him and challenged his values.</p>
<p>As somebody who very seriously considered matriculating at ND, I’ll echo housewife’s comments. I come from a pretty typical midwestern suburb – lots of white Catholic families and not much else. So growing, ND was basically my dream school and when I was accepted ED I was pretty certain I would end up there.</p>
<p>It wasn’t until very late in April that I actually decided that Cornell would be a better place to be. Not because it would be more supportive or more familiar – it’s not. But because it challenged me in a lot of ways that Notre Dame probably would not have (socially, religiously, etc.) I’m somebody who had never had sushi before going to Cornell, so such a cosmopolitan campus was a big challenge for me my first year. </p>
<p>That said, Cornell is definitely not for everyone, and if you aren’t inclined to get out of your ‘safe zone’, Notre Dame would likely be a better fit.</p>
<p>How did you manage to get out of your ED contract?</p>