Cornell vs. UNC

Transfer Students
1

<p>I've been set on Cornell for a long time. I was a GT/TO to Cornell's College of Human Ecology, so I've spent most of this year with that goal in mind. However, I also applied and was accepted to UNC during the transfer process. My current college is about 40 minutes away from UNC and from my visits there I've really loved it and could imagine myself there.</p>

<p>Ever since I've been admitted to both schools, I've been waffling back and forth like mad. The biggest factor is my major at Cornell. I'd be a Human Development major and I'd pretty much be locked into HumEc. I know that I could handle it but I've always been more of a humanities person and I'm afraid that I would be missing out compared to UNC's liberal arts education. Basically I'd be doing a major that I am interested in but not passionate about in order to attend a school that I absolutely love.</p>

<p>Prestige and affordability are both compelling factors but by no means something that would make or break my choice. I was just wondering whether anyone else could provide me with any input on making this choice.</p>

2

<p>you have raised several red flags against cornell. it seems like u are more interested in unc and i think u should go there because you "love it" there and because at cornell u might be stuck with a major that you later regret</p>

3

<p>why are you locked into HumEc?</p>

4

<p>I'm locked into the College of Human Ecology because as a transfer student, I don't think I can do an internal transfer.</p>

<p>I don't mean to say that I'd be unhappy at Cornell or within the major. I've visited the school multiple times and I really love it and feel a personal connection to it. Another factor is that I have friends and people that I know at Cornell. At UNC I'd be an OSS transfer student. I'm worried that it would be a much harder adjustment socially.</p>

5

<p>I was in a similar situation. After being accepted to CALS, I was worried that I would miss out on the more liberal education offered at the other schools I applied to. This was unacceptable to me.</p>

<p>However, I realized that the CALS allows their students to take 55 free credits. This means that you take all major-related courses in CALS, while taking 13-18 humanities classes in CAS, which should be much more than enough over 3 years. </p>

<p>I'm not sure if this applies to the other colleges within Cornell as well. Do you know HumEc's policy on free credits? </p>

<p>If HumEc shares CALS's free credit policy, then I don't think it's even a question of considering an internal transfer (though they are still possible for external transfers...I think) --you can make a liberal education for yourself by taking tons of humanities courses from CAS, while taking Human Development major classes in HumEc.</p>

<p>I'd go with Cornell</p>

6

<p>Thanks, HumEc and CALS probably have similar guidelines. I'm pretty sure that HumEc requires 40 hours within your major and then 3 other HumEc classes outside the major. I've also read that Human Development is their most flexible major and in my essay I wrote about wanting to incorporate Communications and other elements into my study of personality development. My interviewer also emphasized that we have no limit on how many CAS courses we can take. I assume the only "limit" on outside courses is imposed by having to complete the requirements for your own school/major. </p>

<p>BTW, are you transferring to Cornell/have already?</p>

7

<p>There's a very good chance I'll be at Cornell next year although I'm still waiting for UChicago's decision. If U of C accepts me and gives me the credits I'm looking for, then I'll have a tough call to make. </p>

<p>Anyway, I think a fine liberal education is possible at Cornell regardless of school or major. I mean, A.D. White himself said that Cornell should be a university where practical instruction and liberal arts are well balanced.</p>

8

<p>I'll chime in because I considered both Cornell and UNC, and I will also be an OOS transfer student at UNC.</p>

<p>I was considering Cornell for Nutrition (also Human Ecology department, if memory serves), and I had similar trepidations regarding the ability to transfer should my plans change, which they have several times thus far throughout my rather nascent college career.</p>

<p>I ultimately did not apply to Cornell, though my reasons went beyond this question of majors (cost, wanting to get away from NY, bigger than the other Ivies -- not much smaller than a school like UNC). That said, I know people currently attending Cornell and have good friends who have graduated from that institution. These individuals are easily some of the brightest and friendliest people I know. However, it also worth mentioning that not a single one of them is a Humanities or Social Sciences major. They are exclusively in Engineering and the Sciences. I realize that Cornell is, over all, an amazing institution, and I do not seek to denigrate it in any way; however, I do consider its strengths to be in Math, Science, Engineering, and the Human Ecology/Agriculture disciplines. As a result, I could not justify going there and potentially being "stuck" in a major because I too have leanings elsewhere (Poli Sci, for example) and am very much interested in double majoring (not difficult to do at UNC). I'll say this, though: if I was going for something like Computer Science, I would be at Cornell in a heartbeat.</p>

<p>So what's my point? Try to be honest with yourself. Why are you majoring in Human Development? If you're not passionate about it, as you claim, what draws you to it? Can you do something similar to this at UNC if you wanted? From a Health standpoint, UNC has one of the best Public Health schools in the nation; perhaps a discipline in that school might interest you?</p>

<p>I am not going to say that UNC is "better" than Cornell. They're two very different schools in fairly dissimilar locations. From your descriptions, you seem as though you're considering Cornell because it's the "easier" choice (a major you have, friends you know, so forth). I would ask that you consider what you really want to do. Majoring in something for which you have little to no zeal is a rough road to start down.</p>

<p>Don't worry about the OOS at UNC thing. I've considered this as well, but it's not the deep South, and while the OOS population is small, it's still significant (hello, there's me, hehe!).</p>

<p>Good luck with your decision, and I have little doubt that you'll make the best of wherever you end up.</p>

9

<p>Thanks for the advice...looks like I will be making a tough decision very soon.</p>

10

<p>Man what a great thread-This is the EXACT situation I was in. Applied early decision to Cornell and got in, but couldn't afford it. So I had to negate and went to UNC oos, my second choice. I really can't emphasize how welcoming and impressed I was my first year. Honestly it was the perfect school-really smart kids who passed up Ivies like me because of money, amazing professors small (yes small classes-only 2 of mine had around 100, one had 8 people and the other 12), great social life (whether you are a partier or more interested in less conspicuous/legal socializing), nice people (southerners are really accomidating as opposed to the north where I am from haha)...Plus the money will let me go to any grad school I want! Prestiege is high at UNC. I know I'm biased-both are great schools, good luck</p>

11

<p>oh-and in terms of the social life nothing beats storming Franklin street (a massive mile long street of restaurants, cafes, clubs, interesting stores) after a Carolina win. Plus with duke and NC state nearby (and free shuttles), it's almost like having 3 colleges at once! I also should mention (all though Cornell kids might disagree) that one of my really good friends went to Cornell and she is transferring because she doesn't really like the social life there (isolated). Gotta say though-beautiful campus (I'm a sucker for the old-style architecture and that waterfall is incredible)</p>

12

<p>The question is: who would you date? The cool, popular, independent girl, with lots of admirers or the cute, funny, obeying one?</p>

13

<p>I'm not quite sure I catch your drift...anyway, I was accepted to Georgetown yesterday, which was a very big surprise for me and something that I didn't expect at all. Based on my feelings from that acceptance versus how much I agonized over UNC vs. Cornell, I really feel that it is the best choice for me and what I wanted all along. Thanks for all of the help though. These three schools have always been on my shortlist of dream schools, so it was both difficult and amazing to have to choose between them.</p>