<p>I have found myself in a predicament of epic proportions. I was accepted to both Cornell CALS and UConn CANR. I applied as an animal science major, and I currently have no intention of following a pre-vet track. In fact, I foresee myself changing my major in the event I find that I learn that I do want to go into agribusiness. Anyway, I received no aid (joy) for both universities and I am an out of sate student for UConn, therefore cost winds up the same. Now I will get to the problem. I know I was only accepted to Cornell because of some VERY significant hooks. I can say with complete confidence that if it was not for these hooks, I would surely have been swiftly rejected. On the other hand, I was accepted to UConn with no hooks and as an OOS, and so I feel the acceptance was more legitimate. I love both universities, although I do like UConn a bit more for various reasons. So I am faced with a decision that has been plaguing me for weeks. Do I go with the name-brand university, in which I feel I am grossly under the caliber of the students there, or do I go to a well-known public Uni where I feel I am more on par with those who have been accepted? I realize the prestige of an Ivy can boost the possibility of acceptance to a grad school and/or job opportunities, but the horror stories concerning the amount of work, the god-awful weather of Ithaca (I've been there and it was depressing) and the competitive attitudes stress me. I don't even know if I can handle the level of work with which I'll be given at Cornell. Also, I spent many hours walking around both universities at different months to get a feel of them, and I found that Cornell students walked alone, never smiled and didn't seem very inviting, while UConn students seemed to travel in groups and had an overall much happier vibe. Maybe I wasn't at the right places at the right time to see the flip side of things? I would just like some input, if any of value can be provided. Many thanks :)</p>
<p>What is your intended major?</p>
<p>@Latuza I’ll be entering as an general animal science major and if all goes well I will stay in it, however I am considering agribusiness if I find that animal science is not what I want.</p>
<p>Cornell is a very large campus, with 7 different colleges. I have 2 kids, one graduated 3 years ago and one is still in school. They had a lot of friends to go out with, never lonely, but they didn’t have friends to walk to classes with. They met friends for lunch or coffee in between classes. Sometimes when I am on the phone with them, I would hear them say hello to friends. </p>
<p>It sounds like uconn would be a better fit for you. You should go with what your gut tells you. I don’t think Cornell would have admitted you if they didn’t think you could do the work. At the same time, you have to decide you want to do the work. </p>
<p>For bio-related majors, I believe u need grad schools to do well in the industry, so if you’re academically below par with Cornell students, probably your gpa won’t be high, but that’s ok if you’re ok with mediocre grad school or working in a hospital with some sort of medical certification from community college.</p>
<p>I second this:
I don’t think Cornell would have admitted you if they didn’t think you could do the work. At the same time, you have to decide you want to do the work. </p>
<p>But I think you should go to Cornell and try it out for a year. If it u can’t cut it, withdraw and transfer out, provided that won’t be too costly.</p>
<p>If u just want to graduate no matter what your gpa is, and can get a decent job with the degree (not sure if agribusiness is that type of major), then Cornell would be fine for u.</p>
<p>@oldfort and @Latuza I really appreciate both of you for the advice and guidance. I know it seems as though if I was accepted, naturally i should be on par with the rest of the class, but this is not the case. I feel doing well enough will be the greatest struggle I will face if I chose to attend Cornell. My high school severely lacks in college prep and along with my lackluster stats, I feel like I may walk in grossly unprepared for what I am to face. I do hope to attend grad school, but I just don’t know if I am cut out for Cornell. I work hard and I am motivated, but I have a slight learning disability that seems to have the greatest impact during times of stress. Now I know that obviously I will face a college-level workload and stress in either college, and yes I’ve dealt with the stresses of high school, but I know my limit, and if I surpass it, the experience is not enjoyable. I sincerely hope this makes sense to both of you. </p>
<p>Well, I was originally going to say Cornell, but it does seem like UConn would be a much better fit for you! I mean, an Ivy degree is definitely a bonus, but I think having a solid GPA is even more important, especially if you want to go to vet school. </p>
<p>Best of luck! </p>
<p>@Coriander23 Thanks for the input! You make some good points! </p>
<p>Cornell’ s academics are challenging for sure. If you are concerned that they would be too much so, and you feel you would be more comfortable at UConn, then you should go to UConn. Cornell’s reputation is stronger academically, for sure. But that is of no value if you are miserable or fail out. </p>
<p>If u have learning disability, then your state school may have tuition discounts. Maybe Cornell or UConn does too.
Also see what each school has to offer to help disabled students…like extra time for tests.
Are u also allowed to take fewer classes than normal full-time students?</p>
<p>I don’t think u should pay a lot for UConn (if u are, 40k/yr). Probably investigate your options more.</p>
<p>I attended UConn undergraduate and went on to go to any Ivy for post graduate studies, and one thing that I think you should carefully consider is the level of support you can expect from each program. It was my experience that UConn had a “sink of swim” culture, and it was very difficult to get direct face time from faculty if you were struggling with a class (they relied very heavily upon TA’s, which were hit or miss in terms of their ability to help). Ivy League schools have tremendous resources at their disposal, so tutoring and professor access are much stronger (at least this was my observation and experience). You should take a close look at each programs retention rate for incoming freshman - if you see that it is much higher at Cornell, then I would go with that.</p>
<p>As far as the culture and happiness, I can’t really speak to Cornell, but UConn does have a very happy student body. The campus is somewhat isolated (although there has been a considerable amount of development over the past decade), but this seems to draw the community closer together and allows you to forge very close relationships (many of my closest friends are people I met when at UConn). </p>