Hello,
My daughter was admitted at Vandy arts & science (public policy) and Cornell Human Ecology (PAM). She is having such a hard time deciding. We are from South Florida so southern thing not really a plus but not a negative either. She seems to click with Cornell students from the accepted sites on Facebook and visiting, but I am concerned that weather, lifestyle, academics and being away from home for the first time is all a little overwhelming for a young freshman. (will have just turned 18 when starting in fall) Also so hard to get to from here as compared to Vandy. But inconveniences would all be ok if she I felt that she would not find overwhelming. Cornell is so large in so many ways. Help!!! Need to decide soon.
To the extent you mean physically large. It’s not as functionally large as it looks at first when you go on a tour.
The reason is, depending on what college you’re enrolled in, there are whole sections of campus, where other specialized colleges that you aren’t attending are located, that you may never ever set foot in. Furthermore there are whole huge areas of teh campus and vicinity occupied by housing units, that you won’t go to if you don’t live there. It’s still plenty spread out, but everybody masters the campus enough to get to their classes and back in short order.
The university feels large in terms of population also. One can feel somewhat anonymous. There will be all sorts of people in the dorms.However, I have heard some people who attended some of the U’s smaller programs say that their colleges created a more intimate experience for them, owing to the small size of their programs. Suggest your D talk to students attending Hum Ec and verify whether that is typically the experience there. If so, that may mitigate your concern on that score as well.
I suggest that your D carefully examine the course and distribution requirements at Hum Ec, and makes sure she wants to take those courses, including any non-major courses within other areas of Hum EC that may be required. It is not an arts & sciences college, it has different course requirements. She may like its curriculum better for all I know, but it is different, and she should be aware of, and have considered, that.
As for other concerns:
weather- It’s cold in the winter. She’ll buy a winter coat, wear layers, be cold, learn to deal with it. She may not prefer to do it, at the end of the day, but not sure why it’s cause for “concern”. She won’t actually freeze to death or anything. Maybe she’ll send you a “selfie” of her skiing on Greek Peak. BTW in the summer it’s nicer in Ithaca than in Florida IMO.
lifestyle- huh???
academics- hopefully she’ll do great knock on wood,all parents are concerned about that. I don’t recall PAM as being a source of much particular stress though, on that score, Though your D would best ask current students.
Being away from home- same at both schools
hard to get to- I drive myself, so I’m no expert here. but it doesn’t sound all that bad to me really. Worst case, fly to NYC then take the Cornell campus to campus bus (or, later, get a ride with friends). Just takes a while, costs something. But she won’t do it every day either. Will probably occasionally take the opportunity to stay a couple extra days with college friends in NYC metro before coming home, or going back to school.
One fringe benefit is your D is just about guaranteed to have a dynamic social life at Cornell. Come winter break, people are going to be lining up to visit her at your place in South Florida.
My daughter is in the same boat and trying to decide between Cornell (Arts and Sciences), Duke (Trinity), an Vandy (Arts and Sciences). We live in South Carolina so have the same concerns as you. As her mom, I worry that Cornell will be too big, too cold, too impersonal, and too competitive/intense but she loved Cornell on her visit and thought it felt like a good fit. However, it does feel that Cornell is a little more impersonal from my perspective (comparing admitted student days, responses to questions by email, etc) but maybe it doesn’t indicate what her experience will be like?
I am from North Florida and my daughter was accepted to both as well. She will be a PAM major. My daughter cannot wait to get out of the south and try something new. We visited both campuses and she did not care for Vandy as much. I loved it. I also like the fact that it is easier to get to. Cornell is an Ivy and with that goes prestige. People from all over the world have hard of it and it has a stellar reputation. I am from NY originally and never heard of Vanderbilt until I moved to the south. Has she visited both campuses?The weather is rougher but It snows in Nashville too and think of how many friends will want to come home with her over spring break! What about financially? Does one offer more aid than the other?
Wow. Congrats on having such great choices. There’s no wrong decision. If she was accepted to Cornell, she can do the work. Vandy’s no walk in the park either, so it’s not like she’d be stress-free in Memphis.
Don’t make the decision based on fears. After checking the distribution requirements in each school, assumung she’s fine with both, she should just use her gut.