Cornell vs. UCSD?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>Hey everyone! Decision time is coming up and I have yet to make one. I'm currently deciding between UCSD and Cornell. I'd like to add that I got into USC/Berkeley, but they didn't really appeal to me.</p>

<p>I haven't visited either campus for various reasons, but I heard both are very beautiful. I'm currently on the pre med route, but I'm open to changing my path once I get to college (possibly thinking of going into economics).</p>

<p>For those that visited, could you describe the campus? I love a huge, sprawling campus that has a lot of nooks and crannies to explore. Is Cornell anything like that?</p>

<p>However, in the end. I think the biggest deciding factor is cost. I will be paying 30k/year to go to Cornell vs. 15k/year to go to UCSD. My parents can pay about 12k/year comfortably. More than that, and we'll both have to take out loans. I applied for scholarships, but I don't know the results till late May.</p>

<p>I'd like to hear other people's thoughts on this. Would Cornell's name/alumni network help me much after college? Is academic advising ample at Cornell? I am planning to grad school or med school after college. Thanks :)</p>

2

<p>I have a few friends at UCSD. I was the Valedictorian my year and went to Cornell. The Salutatorian went to UCSD.</p>

<p>Very different locations. UCSD is in La Jolla, which in my opinion is one of the two nicest beach locations in California along with Newport Beach. Mitt Romney has a house there. It isn’t right on the beach like UCSB is, but it’s a ten minute bus ride or an hour walk, so you can get there pretty easily. Very nice weather and rarely gets too hot or cold.</p>

<p>Cornell is more of the forest/waterfall type of campus. Both are great campuses, and it comes down to personal preference. I’d say Cornell architecture is nicer, though UCSD has one really cool looking library. Weather at Cornell sucks, though. Lots of nooks and crannies to explore both on and off campus.</p>

<p>Cornell has grade deflation, but its academic reputation hands-down beats UCSD’s. Not sure if that’s worth 60 k to you, though.</p>

3

<p>thanks @Saugus! Are you from CA/west coaster? Would you mind if I asked why you picked Cornell over a school like UCSD?</p>

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<p>I’m from a suburb of Los Angeles, namely, Santa Clarita.</p>

<p>I took Cornell over Berkeley, UCLA, and UCSD for a few reasons. </p>

<p>1) I didn’t want to deal with the massive UC budget cuts and just hated the system as a whole.</p>

<p>2) I was sick of the West Coast.</p>

<p>3) I wanted access to Cornell’s network.</p>

<p>I never really even considered UCSD. I was only applying to Berkeley/UCLA and an advisor clicked to add UCSD for me while he was looking at my application.</p>

5

<p>Trust me, UCSD’s environment is quite terrible. The campus is absolutely dead after classes and people are rather unmotivated there. You’ll probably meet much brighter, more interesting people at Cornell. The strength of your peers is an integral component of the experience.</p>

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<p>@Saugus, I’m a Cali resident myself and I got into Cal/USC, but they just didn’t appeal to me. (lol, I just realized you put your location in your description…) How was the shift from warm California weather to cold Ithaca weather? I also heard New Yorkers can be more distant than people here… Is grade deflation as bad as people say it is? Do you regret your decision at all?</p>

<p>Thanks @Mistasuggs! I’m assuming you’re speaking from experience?</p>

7

<p>^
I was pretty inland, so it wasn’t like the weather was fantastic where I was from. Most of the year, it was either cold enough to the point where it was unpleasant to be outside, or excruciatingly hot.</p>

<p>California weather is really only nice along the coast. Still, Ithaca is much colder during the winter, though like I said, it was unpleasant in California too. I dressed exactly the same in California winter as I did in Ithaca winter (sweatshirt and jeans)-- it was just more uncomfortable in Ithaca.</p>

<p>People suck everywhere.</p>

<p>Depends on your major, but generally yes, grade deflation is horrendous. I don’t regret my decision, though I wonder if I would be happier at schools I got rejected from.</p>

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<p>It’s a tough decision - both are very good schools. </p>

<p>To answer your other two questions:
Would Cornell’s name/alumni network help me much after college?
Yes, but only a little. Ultimately, your undergrad college won’t matter much at the end. Instead, what matters is what you do with your four years in college. For med/grad school, they don’t care how “prestigious” your college was - instead, they care about your GPA and what you did during your free time in college. </p>

<p>Academic-wise, I’d say Cornell is slightly better - it is more well-known and there are definitely more academic opportunities available to students (project teams, undergraduate research, etc). However, if you are hard-working and take the initiative to find opportunities on-campus, you will do well at either school. </p>

<p>Is academic advising ample at Cornell?
Yes, absolutely. </p>

<p>In summary, I feel that Cornell is definitely stronger academic-wise, but not by an overwhelming around. If you put in the work and search for the opportunities, you will receive a stellar education at either institution. </p>

<p>I would make your decision based on the locations / communities / “vibe” of the two campuses - Where do you think you will be happier living for the next four years? The financial situation is also important, but the two campuses have very different locations and communities. </p>

<p>I’ve visited both schools (only 1 day for UCSD, however) - UCSD has amazing weather and the people there seem very laid-back. However, I felt like there was less energy / activity going on at UCSD’s campus. Cornell, on the other hand, has terrible weather in the winter, but the community seems to be more active and involved. To summarize, UCSD is very california-like (suburban, laid-back, sunny weather, etc) while Cornell is very rural and more northeastern (rural, beautiful waterfalls / forests, more intense, there are actually four seasons, see this video for what I mean: <a href=“This Is - YouTube”>This Is - YouTube).</p>

<p>Either way, I doubt you will go horribly wrong. Good luck with the decision!</p>

9

<p>@saugus: Is cornell weather really terrible as people say? I heard cornell has really great heating systems. I am trying to choose between Berkeley and Cornell, if you’ve gone to both campuses, do you mind sharing some compare/contrast notes and some analysis on both schools? (How “hippish” or liberal is berkeley?)</p>

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<p>If you’re definitely set on pre-med, I would go to UCSD. You won’t have to take out loans (which you WILL have to do for medical school), and it will probably be a slightly easier school. Though Cornell’s reputation may help slightly for medical schools, GPA/MCAT, ECs, and clinical experience are far more important; all these things can be found at UCSD. They also have a medical school on campus. If it was the same price then I would say pick Cornell, but loans are horrible and it’s best to start medical school as debt free as possible.</p>

<p>If you’re not set on pre-med and want to do economics or go into competitive fields such as I banking and such, then Cornell will have the edge for sure. Reputation goes a long way in those areas. </p>

<p>In the end, both are great schools. It comes down to your finances and preferences.</p>

11

<p>^^
Did you get off the waitlist or something?</p>