@Greymeer I don’t think the cost of living has a big impact on CS for two reasons:
- Most of the top CS jobs are in SF, NYC, or Seattle.
- If you ignore where the jobs are, Ithaca has a lower cost of living than Austin.
i believe you should go wherever you feel is right, deep inside your heart
Agree with @purplebug whose name is about as sweet as they post they made. I would do what you feel is exciting and maybe even a little scary, or takes you out of your comfort zone a bit - this is the time to live, explore and challenge yourself. You will not believe how fast these four years go by. Great choices. My choice would be Cornell because I think it is the better school, and as a parent I want to do the best for my kids regardless of the cost, and giving them that would be fantastic. (We like what private universities give a student.) You said you have visited, can you take another quick trip to Cornell to see how it feels now that you are admitted? (I’m thinking you are close and more familiar with UT, but not sure.) It can feel different knowing you are in - sometimes you get that “this is where I belong feeling” wash over you once a school is attainable, that you don’t get before admitted. Or you may feel like UT is it. But I would try to visit both again as an admitted student if you are really on the fence. There is still a month! Update us on your choice and good luck!
I’m sure most people understand the perks of private education. Were it not for Turing, Imight agree. But an elite group of 50 of the top cs students in the world has extraordinary opportunities that an average cs student at Cornell won’t have. Yes, the Turing program really is that good. Coming from a family with several Ivy cs majors, they say take Turing.
The basic take away: you have .no.bad.choice. Both are awesome. Turing is incredible. Cornell is terrific also. You can’t choose wrong.
Now, plan an overnight. Take classes, talk with students, hang out in the cafeteria and the student center, visit the library, the gym, the labs, etc.
Why is this even an issue ?!!!
Turing Scholars is the easy choice (whether or not you plan a career in research & teaching).
^ it’s an issue because the parents can pay no problem, some kids like to go OOS if they can, it’s the Ivy League and its magnetic pull, and for all we know, you can add ‘seeing snow’ and all kinds of other factors that may matter to a person with two great choices. There’s no bad choice. Both are absolutely great.
@MYOS1634: You are one of my favorite posters. So, I will defer to you. To me, it is a clear choice.
I really appreciate all the help everyone! I’m leaning towards Cornell due to its possibilities in finance, but I think I’m going to follow the advice to check out both places once again before I make my final decision between the two colleges, as both places definitely have their redeeming qualities. Thanks once again for your advice!
Sounds like a great plan and appreciate the update! Admitted student days can be a blast if you can attend those, you get to see others that would be coming in with you, they roll out the red carpet, and this is the only time in your life you can do them - glad you are taking the time to give them a final look whether it is on a formal admitted day or you just bopp in between now and May 1st. Best to you.
After seeing what you have, go for Cornell.
Honestly, my cousin got in but can’t attend due to money. And that doesn’t seem to be your problem then go for it. It’s an Ivy League which a lot of people will say is overrated, but you know what…Cornell would give you so much more resources than UT Austin would. But with that I have to say, networking with Cornell would really only work if you plan on working in the bigger states, and UT Austin would work if you are staying in Texas. Best wishes.
@tamugirl22: To what resources are you referring ?
OP has been selected as a Turing Scholar at the University of Texas.
I have no skin in this game but was curious about the program after seeing it on here since I wasn’t familiar with it. There is a lot of posted information and reviews on Turing on Reddit, Quora and several different threads on cc. Frankly, it is a mixed bag of reviews from students who are in the program. The Turin kids live together so community can be nice in a big school (about 50 enroll each year), but many said being Turin was just a couple different honors classes and a thesis. They said it didn’t make a difference in internships and that the thesis only matters for graduate school, so some don’t finish in Turin because it isn’t important otherwise.
People always talk about fantastic resources at the top schools. But you are paying about 40k more for those resources over a state school.
Harvard costs 65k
Texas AM costs 27k
Perhaps Texas AM should charge 65k also and in turn pay each of its students $250 per day for attending. They could market it as the students, “earn while you learn, we pay you to go to school”.
If you want to study CS, then go to the school that’s offering the opportunity. UT-Austin is very inflexible and ridiculously selective with their CS program, if you find you don’t like Life sciences. You’re much better off at Cornell. If money isn’t an issue, do it!
@blueskies2day: Turing is a fairly new program & has improved substantially since the earliest cohorts. The reviews may not be from the most recent classes–although I don’t know.