<p>Ok so I posted this in the Rice forum and I'm looking for a different perspective. Currently I'm a sophmore at Cornell (econ major, CAS, GPA is 3.7) but Ive been thinking about transferring mainly because Ithaca is downright depressing and I think Id prefer to be near a city but I definitely do not want to transfer if I'm going to hurt my future chances of being able to go to graduate school and eventually get a good job. So here's the post:</p>
<p>How do the economic programs at these two schools compare? I know Rice is great for research but are the business/economics classes much weaker (if at all) than similar programs in Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences. </p>
<p>i.e. Where would it look better to graduate with an economics degree--Rice or Cornell, and is there a huge difference?</p>
<p>Rice is like the IVY of texas...so you'll definitely have jobs available to you out of rice...</p>
<p>while cornell is the better school IMHO you'll have a good enough education at rice as well..</p>
<p>if you know you'll be happy at rice...then by all means go...it'll be cheaper too...not sure how transfers to rice work though...it might be too late for a junior transfer?</p>
<p>Economics is pretty much the same wherever you study it. In terms of program quality, I don't think there would be a great difference between Cornell's and Rice.</p>
<p>What do you want to do after graduating? Do you want to go do consulting/banking in the Northeast? Cornell definitely has a better name in the Northeast, and if you have any intention of working in NYC, Philly, or Boston, Cornell is the better choice. I think Cornell has a slightly better name pretty much everywhere except the South. But if you're that unhappy, maybe a transfer is right for you. Exactly what about Ithaca is depressing? Why do you dislike Ithaca? I had phases last year where I felt downright depressed by Ithaca too but I managed to get used to the cold weather, isolation, etc. and maybe you will too.</p>
<p>For general economics undergraduate education, I don't believe there is much of a difference between Rice and Cornell. And both schools allow you to intensify your studies by double majoring in math and economics.</p>
<p>I do generally think that Cornell will have more connections along the eastern seaboard, but it's also a question of what you are interested in. If you want to pursue a PhD, then it doesn't matter. And if you want to go into policy/government work, I don't think any school may have an edge, even if Cornell does have the bigger alumni base.</p>
<p>So forget about academics for a second.</p>
<p>I would consider why you are entertaining thoughts of transferring out of Cornell. Is it simply the weather? If you honestly can't handle the weather, then maybe you should look to the South or the West. But truthfully, the weather isn't that bad at Cornell, and not significantly different than anywhere else in the Northeast or the Midwest.</p>
<p>Do you feel that Ithaca is too small and doesn't offer enough opportunities? If so, how connected are you to Ithaca... have you volunteered in the community and gotten a feel for life off-campus? If not, then I would definitely explore some new activities and see if you can't find something that interests you. I suspect that most students who find Ithaca depressing haven't had the opportunity to really find where they fit in the Cornell/Ithaca communities yet.</p>
<p>Best of all, you can apply to transfer while exploring Cornell for one more semester, so you would have some time to make up your mind. Still I would definitely approach it with an open mind. Transferring can become a risk as you need to learn the ins and outs of a new school and a new place, and you have already invested a significant amount of time into Cornell. If you feel at home at Cornell with close friends and a comfortable residential setting, transferring obviously presents itself as a bigger risk.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Honestly, I know people that can't stand the weather anywhere in the Northeast, and to me, it seems like a valid reason to want to transfer. It is an entirely different mindset, climate, and attitude in the south, and different people like different things. Just judging by what I hear from school, Rice and Cornell are extremely similar in terms of prestige and education, so I would go wherever you think you will have the best time.</p>
<p>
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It is an entirely different mindset, climate, and attitude in the south, and different people like different things.
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</p>
<p>Like hurricanes and concealed weapons.</p>
<p>I think more southerners know Rice but anyone that has gone to college knows that Cornell is more prestigious...also more expensive :-d</p>
<p>all of us cornellians can sympathize with your desire to leave the dreariness of a good ol' ithaca 6 month winter of snow, frigid temperatures and 5 pm sunsets. but as someone who spent 4 years in texas, be prepared for a VERY different type of society than you find here (unless youre from the south, in which case you have been fully desensitized to it). the south is far too conservative and religious for me. this situation would definitely be less prominent at rice, since you would be in a large, diverse city in houston as well as at a top tier university, where ideals tend to be more liberal and progressive. that said, you would be in the pimple of progress on the larger face of backwardness. of course, when you exclude hurricanes and extreme summer heat, the weather is a lot more favorable and the city is a lot more bustling. living in ithaca makes this perhaps enticing enough to validate the relocation.</p>
<p>though i am making generalizations, you would certainly notice evidence of the differences i've poorly highligthed. i was in a texas town of ~100,000 people during my elementary/middle school years. each of my adjacent neighbors were racists, and i'm sure this trend followed radially outwards from my home- i just cannot confirm it. my schools taught a very different historic recollection of slavery (often sympathetically noting that it was a necessary evil), the civil rights era, secular movements, etc. of course, i didn't notice all these things until i came to the northeast, which resulted in my now obvious resentment. ithaca is depressing in its isolation and weather this time of year for certain, but i myself will forever keep my latitude above 40 degrees.</p>
<p>^ things like that make me scared to go south because i'm not white lol. although my Southern friends in college are all really nice and openminded, some have told me they came to NY to get away from that type of atmosphere. I'm sure that at a big, elite school like Rice you won't have that type of problem, everyone there must be fairly smart. </p>
<p>I love Northeastern weather, I love 4 seasons, I love snow, I can't stand heat, humidity, bible belters and the like...but I totally understand why someone not from here would be turned off by the weather. If you find Ithaca depressing, don't make yourself miserable by staying. Rice is such a good school, it's one of those "southern ivies" and you can get a good education in Econ there (or really, anywhere). good luck</p>
<p>"...that said, you would be in the pimple of progress on the larger face of backwardness..."</p>
<p>That was the coolest sentence I've ever read.</p>
<p>Is going to Duke like living in a pimple of progress on the larger face of backwardness as well?
I'd definitely prefer Cornell and its culture over Duke, but I have to keep my mind open.
I know Cornell does harbor some Duke-haters, but an unbiased opinion from a Cornellian would be great.
I was considering Rice at some point last year, but Texas is not somewhere I want to spend four years of my life at. North Carolina is definitely more favorable.</p>
<p>"Is going to Duke like living in a pimple of progress on the larger face of backwardness as well?"</p>
<p>No</p>
<p>i dont understand the texas hate...for being such a redneck conservative state we're actually faring decently during this economic harshness...</p>
<p>also as brian kinney (sp) said: dems hate you to your back_reps hate you to your face...ithaca has more racism issues than i've seen here in texas...</p>
<p>nahh the only person generalizing texas was a texan, so what's the problem? the economic crisis or dems vs. reps has little to do with Rice, so let's not start some argument about racism in ithaca...not that i'm saying you are, but eventually someone will come along and do so</p>