Hi! After months of tearing my hair out over college decisions, I’ve narrowed it down to two and I’d like some input from CC!
First things first, I’m still waiting on Cornell financial aid so I’m not sure how much it’ll cost, but I’m thinking it might be full pay. My parents might be willing to pay it, and I think my dad is ready to do so, but I’m hoping to go to law school and the extra money could come in handy. UIUC is also full pay, but way less of a strain financially. Since I don’t know how much Cornell will cost, please leave finances OUT of the equation right now. It might be equal to UIUC for all we know!
I’m positive I’m staying in Engineering!
Cornell – ranked better as a school (not sure how much this matters for law school because UIUC is also a solid school), alumni network (my parents love this) and I recieved a Cornell tradition fellowship. More diverse in terms of types of students coming there, other things (???)
UIUC – ranked better for Engineering and chemical engineering, in state, adore the school, have good friends and a relationship here, James and chancellors Scholar, a few smaller scholarships, big 10 vibe. Basically, I’m hoping I’m not crazy for seriously considering picking this school.
They’re both rural ish schools a few hours away from big cities with strong college towns and Engineering programs. Can i go wrong? Lol
Congrats! I don’t think you can go wrong here, but you mentioned Illinois would be less of a strain financially. Law school is expensive so I would be cautious about going into too much debt for undergrad. Law schools aren’t going to distinguish between Cornell or UIUC, they will care about GPA + LSAT.
P.S. This obviously depends on the individual, but I would imagine engineering at Illinois or Cornell would likely lead to a lower GPA compared to liberal arts applicants. Law school adcoms might give you a “boost” for being STEM, but It’s not going to be a big bump. However, the benefit of having an engineering degree from a top program is that it will make you very desirable for intellectual property and patent groups at law firms (a very “hot” area of law in terms of hiring).
I see you have outlined many reasons to go to UIUC, and one reason to choose Cornell – the Ivy alumni networking. You are not crazy for seriously considering picking UIUC. Every year there are many top students with Ivy admissions who choose their scholarship offers elsewhere over the expensive Ivy, usually because the parents don’t want to pay for the Ivy since it will be a big dent in their finances. You have to ask your parents if they want to spend an additional $40,000 a year for you to have that Ivy network. If not, then rest assured you will not be the only student at a public university who could’ve gone to an Ivy. My daughter is at U of Minnesota and she was also admitted to Cornell. One of her high school friends is at U of Georgia and she was admitted to Cornell. And don’t worry about law school admissions in your selection – law schools won’t care which of these two universities you attend. What they will care about is your GPA and your LSAT score.
My parents are willing to pay for Cornell and are, in fact, encouraging me to choose it. I’m honestly torn–that extra money would really be useful for law school.
@gmfreedom I’ve heard a lot of people say things along those lines. Do you think Cornell has a really cutthroat environment? What makes kids happier at UIUC?
@mommyrocks UMN was also on my list for a really long time until I realized the city was too much for me. Did your daughter or her friend ever regret their decisions? All my family friends seem to think that Cornell is the obvious answer haha
@blackdog23 If money were no issue, it is possible they would both be at Cornell. However, my daughter actually prefers big cities over small towns, and she is able to take an obscure language as an elective at UMN that is not offered at Cornell, so all is well.
I would pick UIUC. Everyone loves it there and it’s a lot cheaper where as Cornell has a high suicide rate and is super expensive. Also save that money for law school.
However, my daughter actually prefers big cities over small towns, and she is able to take an obscure language as an elective at UMN that is not offered at Cornell, so all is well.