<p>Hey everyone, I'm debating which one to go into. I was accepted into ChemE at UT (Instate, no honors) and the School of Engineering at Cornell (gave me Rawlins Presidential Scholar). The thing is that Cornell will cost my family about 10-15k more a year than UT. I think I'll be like 15k in debt at the end of my four years if I go to Cornell. My parents are willing to pay for me to go to Cornell, but they want to know how much of a difference going to Cornell vs. UT will make in the long run. I know both schools are really great for engineers. I really love Cornell's campus and would love being there than UT (I'd be alright there, I just wouldn't be as excited going there) and I kind of get the feeling that Cornell would offer me more opportunities than UT as a scholar. Also, I'm not completely sure which engineering field I want to go into (Cornell lets me choose at the end of my second year and UT starts me in ChE right away). I think money would be the only reason why I'd choose UT over Cornell. When I'm looking for a job or want to go to Grad School, will it have made a difference to go to Cornell and be somewhat in debt or go to UT and save my money? Can someone offer me advice? Thanks!</p>
<p>The other positive about UT is the opportunities for research. My son got to start helping in the research lab this semester, and he’s just a freshman. If you were my child, I would tell you to go to UT. You’d save your family a lot of money, and you’ll still get a fabulous education.</p>
<p>Cornell vs UT won’t make a different just because of the name. Many students say they appreciate the opportunities Austin offers vs. being in the middle of nowhere in Ithaca. Co-ops, internships, research opportunities, etc are plentiful on the UT campus. I’m not sure what co-ops Ithaca offers, on the other hand.</p>
<p>The Ivy name should never be your deal breaker. If you just happen to prefer the Ivy over the other school, then by all means go there. But the name? I sincerely hope that’s not actually what you were debating on.</p>
<p>I don’t think 15k of debt is large enough to be your deciding factor. If you’re more excited about Cornell than UT then I think you should go there.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. Money is definitely a reason why I’m having such a hard time choosing between the two schools. If it wasn’t for that, I’d choose Cornell in a heartbeat. I truly do love the school (I’ve visited both and I truly do love being at Cornell more). It’ll be a tough month for me trying to decide. I actually feel that I would have better opportunities for research, internships, job placements, and get a better education at Cornell. Yes, I know that UT is great for those too, but I’m thinking my opportunities would be better at Cornell, especially because they offered me a spot in their research program (even without it, I am still amazed by the wealth of stuff to do there). I could be wrong and thus, I am still thinking about my decision. I’m curious how distinguishable being a Cornell Presidential Research Scholar would be when I am applying for grad school, jobs, etc. Can anyone tell me more about Cornell’s opportunities as an engineer vs. UT’s?</p>
<p>The total difference in price is not 15k, is it? It’s 55k to 75k. Ouch. Have you looked specifically at the amount of engineering research done at the two schools? I’m sure UT does more. </p>
<p>The Cockrell School’s website states, “The Cockrell School has a tradition of faculty members who have been elected to the [National Academy of Engineering]. The school’s senior faculty constitute the fourth highest membership in the organization in the U.S. The Department of Chemical Engineering includes eight academy members.”</p>
<p>I’m not trying to be argumentative. If you have your heart set on Cornell, you should go there. But I can’t imagine using research as a rationale NOT to go to Texas.</p>
<p>Yes, the total price would be 55-75k more than UT and I would be in debt 15k at the end of four years if I went to Cornell. It does scare me quite a bit and makes this a really hard decision for me. MaineLonghorn, I really appreciate your comments. I’m glad that you’re giving me some reasons to consider UT. I’ll be sure to look into UT research more. Any more advice anyone?</p>
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<p>You did note that Cornell has accepted the OP into a rare, and prestigious, research program, right? – one that offers some unusually impressive opportunities and perquisites.</p>
<p>^ Yes. I guess I don’t understand how that would be worth that much money, when UT has such an excellent engineering school and is ranked higher than Cornell (#8 vs. #10).</p>
<p>^ Those two rankings are statistically insignificant. Additionally, Cornell ranks quite a bit higher than UT in the aggregate National University numbers.</p>
<p>MaineLonghorn, you got at one of the most troubling questions that I have right now! How much will I benefit from Cornell’s impressive research scholars program along with a Cornell education vs. a peer program at UT and is it worth the cost? It seems to me that Cornell is giving me a prestigious opportunity right off the bat, while I wasn’t given anything like that at UT. It makes me feel that Cornell will try its very best to help me find even more opportunities later on. Still, I know that I can receive an education that is very well respected and probably graduate paying 55k less over four years. Is the price of Cornell w/ the Scholars program worth it to give up in-state tuition at UT?</p>
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<p>Yes, so why pay almost a year’s salary extra for Cornell?</p>
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<p>I’m not sure what that means. If you mean Cornell overall ranks higher than UT, that wouldn’t matter to me, personally. I went to college to become an engineer, not a Latin scholar.</p>
<p>proster, I’ve said the same thing about five times now - sorry to repeat myself. You’re going to have to make up your mind. I’m looking at this through the experience of many years. $55,000 is a LOT of money, even for an engineer! Your college degree really helps you in getting your first job only, and there’s no way you’ll make THAT much more, if any, with a degree from Cornell. After your first job, employers will be looking at your experience.</p>
<p>OK, I’m out of here.</p>
<p>Thanks for your advice MaineLonghorn! I really do appreciate your comments and I’ll be thinking about this for quite a while!</p>
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<p>Some folks have more than one pursuit, and take an interest in a minor in addition to their major. Also, some folks find it rewarding to be surrounded by a student body with a high percentage of excelling students-- students whose diverse talents run the gamut from architecture to zoology. College is more than a one track affair, or at least it should be, when it is at its best.</p>
<p>Still, proster, if you cannot afford Cornell, and/or if you do not think that it’s worth it, then your dilemma is solved. Good luck to you, and make the best of it, wherever you decide to attend.</p>
<p>Thanks to you too Colm! While I do want to start off as an engineering major, I am not completely sure where that will take me career-wise. I would definitely like to be as versatile and well-rounded as possible. I do think Cornell would be better for that and overall, I feel Cornell would be better for my long term goals. At least I still have about a month to decide. I really do appreciate your advice!</p>
<p>Sounds like you already have your mind made up and are looking for justifications for your decision. Good luck at Cornell.</p>
<p>This is so interesting and so close to our situation. My Daughter was also accepted to Chemical Engineering program at both schools. She can transfer more than 60 credit hours to both programs so in theory she can graduate in 2 1/2 to 3 years at both. She is leaning toward UT but I am afraid it’s partly because she doesn’t want to spent too much of our money. We are in state Texas. I feel your pain because it’s really a hard decision. </p>
<p>@mainelonghorn What’s your thoughts on the large student body and class sizes? Can they still build close relationship with the professors and other students?</p>
<p>Cichlidfish, students can definitely build close relationships with their professors and other students. Keep in mind that it’s just the introductory and non-engineering classes that are likely to be big. UT was at about 48,000 students when I attended - not much smaller than it is now. My freshman English class had around 20 students in it. We had a lot of great discussions. If your daughter has that many credits already, her classes probably won’t be large at all!</p>
<p>My very favorite class at UT was American History. There were about 300 kids in the class! The professor, George Forgie, was such an engaging story-teller that I looked forward to every class lecture. He also assigned us to read a bunch of wonderful books, such as “Path Between the Seas,” about the building of the Panama Canal. 28 years later, I still remember one of the final exam questions, which asked about the similarities between Reconstruction and building the canal. I used to go into Dr. Forgie’s office, and he always had time to speak with me. He tried to convince me to switch my major to History, lol! I think he’s still teaching, too.</p>
<p>I was in Architectural Engineering, and had a core group of friends who studied and partied together (yes, we had a little time for that!). Keep in mind that you don’t see all 50,000 students at once, except at football games which are lots of fun. I was usually in Cockrell Hall, and saw the same people every day.</p>
<p>I also saw how my dad, an engineering professor, interacted with his students. He really cared about them, and took time to help whenever he was needed. He has helped literally thousands of engineering students get jobs in Texas. Almost any structural engineer in Texas would know his name. He’s still teaching full-time, and he turns 74 in a couple of weeks!</p>
<p>What I told my son was that he needs to be a little more proactive than he would have to be if he were at a smaller school. Nobody is going to be knocking on his door to ask if he needs something. But if he makes the effort to ask for help and resources, UT is one of the best places in the world to study. He loves doing research with a post-doc student in the BME labs. He is thinking about switching majors to Biology (the human body is what fascinates him, and he’s thinking biology might be a better fit for him), but the researcher told him he’s welcome to keep doing research in BME.</p>
<p>As far as being well-rounded, there are classes in every imaginable subject to take. I still don’t understand why it would be a concern to take a class from a department ranked lower than one at Cornell, when it’s not your major and you’re just interested in learning about a different subject. </p>
<p>Oh, I should mention that we think highly enough of UT that we are sending our son there as an OOS student! He got into 9 schools, including Amherst and Washington University in St. Louis, but decided on UT. I actually pushed the other schools on him, because I didn’t want him to think we were pressuring him to attend our alma mater. Next year, it’s probable that he will qualify for in-state residency and tuition (it’s easier to get it in Texas than in most other states).</p>
<p>@MaineLongHorn
Thank you for taking time to address my concerns. It’s so true that you really need to be proactive in college. At this level, there is really not much difference academically between UT and Cornell. It really depends on the individual to pursue what he/she wants out of the education. The class size is probably not a concern since she already taken all the weed-out classes like calculus, biology, chemistry, physics, etc. Austin is really gaining ground in attracting high tech companies and the state of Texas has always been very pro-business so there will be many jobs in Texas for engineers.</p>