Cornell vs UPenn for Engineering

Hi y’all. I think I’d like to enter Bioengineering or Chemical Engineering. I’m interested in research in drug delivery, bio-sensors, biochemical engineering, nanotech, and bio-materials. Not so much prosthetics, tissue engineering, or medical devices. I’m not sure that entering industry is the best choice for me, since I’d like to be involved in research. I’ll probably pursue grad school.

I was accepted into Cornell, Upenn, Northeastern, and Univ. Maryland.
Got no finaid from all except Northeastern (for which I’d have to pay a little over half tuition). I don’t live in the state of Maryland. My family can afford all colleges, but I’d like to pay my parents back for at least half or work while studying to defray the cost.

I loved both Cornell + Upenn’s Campuses. Northeastern felt kinda small, but I enjoyed the cities of Philly and Boston. Even though Cornell was in a rural setting, the campus is very charming, and Ithaca commons has a nice vibe ^^ I haven’t visited UMaryland.

If students or graduates from these schools could chime in about some of the following concerns, I’d really appreciate it!


~~~Would it be a waste to go to UPenn for engineering? They are more known for Wharton and The College. Both schools are great opportunities, but I hate to feel that I'm rejecting Cornell because "it's too hard." UPenn engineering (engineering in general) is rigorous. 

~~~Penn offers a "Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering" major, whereas the other schools do not. They may offer "Chemical Engineering", and I'm sure all schools offer concentrations within ChemE for bioeng, but would the "Biomolecular" tag associated with Penn's degree be a big benefit for me?

~~~Northeastern, Penn, and UMaryland all offer "Bioengineering", whereas Cornell only offers either "Biological Engineering" which seems to be more related to agricultural sciences (?) and "Biomedical Engineering", which I don't think fits my interests all that well... 

~~~I've heard that there are opportunities (though highly competitive) in research to receive grants that cover one's whole grad-school education at various universities around the nation. All schools offer good research opportunities, but will any give me a greater chance of securing these grants/fellowships? Are there grants which are given to a greater # of students, as well as those that are reserved for an extremely select few? 

~~~Maryland and Cornell are the two more highly-ranked engineering schools I'm considering. But can someone speak to the rigor of Northeastern and Maryland's programs? Why aren't NU and UPenn's programs ranked higher? Or are rankings not indicative of anything meaningful at all?

Thank you all so muchhhh!

You pose lots of great questions (which will be unlikely to be answered by any one poster.) I don’t have a strong opinion on what rankings actually measure, but I would suggest that if you consult them, you should view them by score and not rank (USNWR, overall undergraduate engineering programs, on a 1 to 5 scale):

Cornell: 4.2
Maryland: 3.6
Penn: 3.5
Northeastern: 3.0

(So if rankings, which in this case are simply peer-assessments, are a useful guide, maybe one “exceptional,” two “excellent” and one “excellent, but a notch lower” among your choices.)

It would help, of course, if further research could establish that the names of Cornell’s programs are not necessarily indicative of a narrow focus outside of your primary areas of interest.

Some aspects of your questions, though quite understandable, may be unnecessary distractions to you at this time. For example, I’d ignore the Penn/Wharton association and the Cornell “too hard” interpretation. In the latter case, I’d guess you probably already have worked hard up to this point; beyond this poiint you will probably continue to maintain your own high standards at whichever school you decide to attend.

I wouldn’t think so. It’s pretty standard for ChemE programs these days to have both Chem & Bio elements–some uni departments are called “Chem and Bio Eng” while others are just “Chem Eng” but if you look at the course offerings they’re pretty similar.

The areas you want to study are specialized ones that you’ll focus on in your master’s/PhD rather than undergrad. ChemE is quite broad and will prepare you for any of those. I’d recommend you consider grad school or PhD if you want to specialize (and get jobs doing more interesting research). In that case, either Cornell or Penn will give you excellent opportunities.

Have you looked at the course list of the ChemE programs at both schools? My D applied for ChemE to both Cornell and Penn last year; she didn’t see much difference between the two, but you might find one set of courses/options appeals to you more than the other.

@merc81 @insanedreamer Thank you both for your responses! Upon a second look, I don’t think the two programs differ greatly - primarily only by name, as you mentioned. But I’m glad to know that I can reach those research areas w/undergraduate education in Chemical Engineering. Insanedreamer, just curious - which college did your daughter end up attending? Cornell, Penn, or another that she was accepted to?

I hold an undergraduate degree from one of the two, though not in engineering, and did advanced training at the other.

Factors to consider include;
– Location, vibe, available activities, weather, etc.
– Prescribed curricula in anticipated engineering tracks at both institutions. Does either one permit substantially more flexibility to explore (both inside and outside the sciences)?
– Advanced level course work and graduate study in prospective sub-specialty areas. These could facilitate involvement with research, internship placement, graduate/industry placement.
– Faculty involvement with undergraduates.

In my opinion, for most incoming undergraduates the major considerations should relate to the first listed. Good luck.

@LudeJaw08 she was unfortunately not accepted to either (waitlisted). Neither were her top choice in any case (the molecular engineering program at Chicago was her top choice, but waitlisted there too). She ended up enrolling at RPI and quite happy there. I do recall that she was more excited about Cornell than Penn due to its heavy STEM focus, but since we live abroad she hadn’t had the opportunity to visit either campus and she hadn’t researched Penn as much as she did Cornell.

I would not worry about the ranking differences between Cornell and Penn - both will get you to where you want to go and provide research opportunities. What you do in college - how much you hustle to get research/internships - will have a bigger impact.

Check the areas of research their chem/biochem departments are involved with. One might be more aligned with your particular interests than another.

http://www.cbe.seas.upenn.edu/about-research/

https://www.cheme.cornell.edu/cbe/research/

I would pick Cornell or Penn over NU or Maryland. NU has a great co-op program but if you’re going to go to grad school to specialize in research then co-ops aren’t as important (doing research in undergrad will help you more).

Also, while the degree from Cornell is “chemical engineering” its from the “chemical and bimolecular engineering department” (same as Penn), which combines both aspects. That’s pretty standard these days.

Congrats and good luck .