<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>Shouldn’t UConn still be a bit cheaper? I got waitlisted at Cornell so I grappled with this and decided I’d rather near the top and getting opportunities at uconn than bottom of my class at Cornell. </p>
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<p>Is the weather in Storrs really that much better? I’ve never been to Ithaca so I’m not familiar with it. I for one do no appreciate living in a wind tunnel. If you haven’t experienced 20 mph winds during the winter you haven’t experienced Storrs’s weather.</p>
<p>I sad something similar in a thread for Boston College’s forum. You generally won’t be able to tell how your peers in college performed in high school.</p>
<p>@cocochanel14, from looking at the websites, it turns out that Cornell is a tad less expensive,but not by much and this is only based on their own estimates, which, for all I know, they could still end up being pretty much equal. Also as an OOS entering Uconn, the tuition is substantially greater than what it is for instate. 
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<p>@SaintSaens yeah I’ve heard about the windiness of storrs, but it is not nearly as horrific as Ithaca’s winters, which are known to be long, dreary, and miserable. I have a close family friend and former resident of Connecticut who has told me that Connecticut winters/ weather in general are not as extreme as what you find in NY, which really surprised me because it’s not like they’re so far apart. Anyway, weather is not that great of a deciding factor, but i do take it into consideration.</p>
<p>@cocochanel14 I understand what you mean by the top-bottom situation. This is a great worry of mine because I know I will not be performing at a high level or possibly even an average level at Cornell. I hear the workload is intense, and for someone who will be coming into the school from a rural public high school in which college prep is very limited and my admission stats pale in comparison to the accepted class’s average, I anticipate a real struggle. </p>
<p>Curious, which school did you pick?</p>