Hello! So May 1st is quickly approaching and I have no idea which college I should choose. I have been accepted at Cornell, USC, and UCSB, but I am going mainly between Cornell and USC. I have also been wait listed at Stanford and UCLA but I’m not sure how much hope I should have for those. So the pros and cons…
USC
Pros:
-location (warm weather and its only a two hour drive from home- I’m really torn about leaving behind my family, friends, and bf)
-major (I got into Biomedical engineering there)
-good music program (I plan to minor in violin performance)
Cons:
-lower prestige (maybe it’s my ego but a lot of people from my school are going there)
-crowded area
-I’m already familiar with the LA area and want an adventure
Cornell
Pros:
-Ivy League
-I was nominated for the Milstein program where I would have the chance to take summer classes on the Roosevelt Island Tech campus
-beautiful area
Cons:
-SUPER far from home (plane tix home are ~$600 from what I’ve seen)
-cold weather
-it sounds like the campus is fairly isolated so I’m not sure if that would affect social life and if it’d get boring
-more rigorous academics (which I think I could handle-I mean I made it in- but I am prone to really bad anxiety so I don’t know if this would be a poor decision)
I really don’t know what to do. Any information or addition perspectives would really be appreciated, thank you!!
You wrote about USC:
“Cons:
-lower prestige (maybe it’s my ego but a lot of people from my school are going there)”
Don’t put down USC with %14 admission rate!
It seems like USC is where you fit in but you’re struggling to get over prestige, and perhaps worrying you’d be choosing USC for the wrong reasons (like the boyfriend). I don’t think there’s nearly as much of a prestige gap here as you think, and if you want to stay on the west coast after graduation, maybe none at all. Anxiety + rigorous academics + away from a family you’d miss doesn’t sound so appetizing to me. I’d go USC if I was in your shoes, but the good news is that there’s no bad choice here. Congrats on the acceptances!
I think that you should ignore prestige. USC is a good school. When I was a graduate student at a very top school there were lots of other graduate students who had come from schools ranked lower than USC. Also, a degree from any of these schools will be taken seriously by potential employers. From an academic point of view I don’t think that there is a bad choice here, assuming that you are able to handle the academics at any of these schools (which seems very likely, for example as you say you did get accepted).
I think that you should go where you are comfortable and feel that you would fit in.
Greater rigor = better education (generally, in my opinion)
You said you want an adventure. If the cost of Cornell is not prohibitive, buy a hat (stocking cap) and a winter coat and some sweatshirts and/or sweaters and head off to Cornell. Most schools have enough to do on campus and in the nearby town to keep life from becoming boring.
It will probably be harder, but if you persevere, you’ll be better for it.
I would say USC as well. I definitely struggled similarly with prestige/not wanting to go where my peers were going, but luckily I got denied from the higher prestige school. I always had a gut feeling that I would be unhappy there, but continuously tried to convince myself I would like it! It took me getting denied to realize that prestige was one of the only pros about the school! And even though Cornell is Ivy, USC is very prestigious as well. It sounds like you’ll be much happier at USC but you’re just struggling with the idea of turning down an Ivy which is completely understandable.
D was in a similar situation a couple of years ago. Wash U vs. USC. She chose USC.
USC has as much academic rigor as any other school. And the 13% acceptance rate (not 14% mentioned by @uclaparent9) tells you how much in demand the school is now.
Just to also tell you minoring in violin performance will not be easy… I hope I’m mistaken. (S will be majoring in violin perf @Thornton in the fall). The violin faculty is top notch with Dicterow, Chalifour, Bahn, Wang, etc, and studio space is limited. Some of these profs had internal, post-admit waitlists to their studios. I’m not sure they will make time for someone that wants to minor in violin performance. So you should contact professors and make sure they have room for you there.
I wonder which the OP chose. Would you mind filling us in, please, @songbirrdd ? 
I ended up choosing USC and am very excited about it! I visited Cornell last week and while it was gorgeous I really could not see myself there. Everything about USC “fits” and I am super happy about my decision.
Thank you to everyone for all your input, it was really invaluable in sorting out my feelings about these two schools! Best wishes to all
@songbirrdd, congrats on your decision. I too was accepted to Cornell back in the day. Visited the campus and loved it. USC is also a very special school. You will be challenged, you will be engaged in your classes, and you will succeed. FIGHT ON!
Thank you so much! @USCWolverine
@songbirrdd This was the choice my son was faced with last year. He ultimately went with USC and has had a great freshman year. I’m sure you will too!