<p>I'm sure you've read at least one or two comparison threads by now...any input on this one would be appreciated!</p>
<p>and i'm sure all of them have responses asking what you want to study, what size campus you want, what kind of social life you are looking for, is travel expense an issue etc etc... :D fill us in on you.</p>
<p>cornell, i am in ny, it's closer</p>
<p>Cornell. :)</p>
<p>Engineering, don't care about campus size, travel expenses don't matter...what kinds of social life are there?</p>
<p>lol washu is the world most overrated school and its not relaly that nice of a campus/atmosphere. go to cornell</p>
<p>if you wanna be a dishwasher, then go to WashUrdishes, just kidding...
I just have a bad impression on washU</p>
<p>I'm not going to pretend to know the quality of the programs in each school. What are you planning on concentrating in? I'm going to assume that you're doing either Arts & Sciences or Engineering.</p>
<p>Here is my understanding of the differences between these schools:</p>
<p>Academic Rigor
Cornell: Hard to beat. You will be studying Sunday to Thursday. This is good if you enjoy your classes; many do.
WashU: From what students say, it's slightly less difficult (unless you're pre-med!). You will be studying most of the time from Sunday to Thursday, but you'll have little puddles of relaxation time.</p>
<p>Student Personality
Cornell: There is an incredible diversity, due to the variety of schools within the university (Hotel, Life & Agriculture, etc.) Students tend to be either very social or very reserved, with not much grey area. Students tend to be competitive academically.
WashU: Similar diversity, but toned down a notch. There is every "type" of student here. Around 30% of the students are Jewish. The students are tend to be more friendly, relaxed, and outgoing than Cornell's. Like Cornell, the students aren't arrogant or pretentious.</p>
<p>Social Life
Cornell: I don't have too much praise for the social life at Cornell. There is stuff to do in Ithaca if you really put your mind to it. Most students spend Sunday to Thursday studying, and Friday and Saturday drinking. If you like to hang out during the week, this isn't a good place to do it. If you're into the whole "cram 24/5, party 24/2" then Cornell could be the place for you.
WashU: During the week, most students spend 60-80% of their time studying. There are a few activities going on during the week, and other students are generally willing to take a break from studying to hang out. On the weekend, WashU's advantage over Cornell is St. Louis. WashU is in a contained suburban area with lots going on. The city at large is accessible to those who get bored with the on-campus activities and surrounding area. As with Cornell, frat parties are available every Friday/Saturday night.
Note: At both colleges, the predominant weekend activity is pre-gaming (drinking a little in the dorms) and then going to either frats (if under 21) or bars (if over 21). This "social life" comparison is intended to show the opportunities beyond this monotony.</p>
<p>Name Recognition
Cornell: Strong with both employers (nationally) and strong with grad schools.
WashU: Mediocre with employers (nationally) and good with grad schools.</p>
<p>THAT was an awesome post. Thanks a lot sabnetwork. Anybody know what the weather is like in St. Louis? I know Cornell is COOLLLLDDD...</p>
<p>k1n6d4v1d:</p>
<p>Monthly</a> Temperature Chart for Ithaca, NY
Monthly</a> Temperature Chart for St. Louis, MO</p>
<p>Ithaca is certainly cold. You will adjust to any weather though. I'm from the Boston area, and know from experience. ;)</p>
<p>By the way:</p>
<p>I wrote that before you mentioned that you're into engineering.
Cornell's engineering program has an edge in reputation over WashU.</p>
<p>(That does not mean, however, that the program is any better.)</p>
<p>cornell is #10 engineering in the nation, #1 engineering in the ivy league. cornell has an excellent excellent excellent alumni network. cornell is cold but thats alot of fun theres skiing really close to campus, which is great to learn if you havent tried it already.</p>
<p>Hm...not that cold...where I live now (north jersey) is right in between the 2 of them, so weather's not going to be a big deal at all. My averages are actually closer to Cornell's than Wash U's.</p>
<p>I LOVE skiing. Just started 2 years ago, so I'm not very good yet, but I definitely like it.
Rankings don't really matter to me, or I would've already picked Cornell. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be in an awesome program no matter which one I go to; I think it will come down more to social life to be the deciding factor. And location...Wash U has St. Louis...but Cornell is a lot closer to home.</p>
<p>If rankings don't matter to you, then definitely pick Cornell.</p>
<p>I think the only reason you (and some other people on this board) are considering WashU when they've gotten into great schools like Cornell or Duke is the fact that they have become very proficient at manipulating their US News statistics and have made an unparalleled migration up the rankings in the past few years.</p>
<p>Trust me, everyone in the academic world knows about WashU's inflated prestige.</p>
<p>WUSTL is trash. It's better than Chicago at manipulating its USNews rank and the school is full of neurotic competitive stressed out students.</p>
<p>Well, shizz, the academics section of sabnetwork's big post kinda contradicts the last part of your post...from what he said, Cornellians have more work than Wash U...ians. That makes sense because Cornell does have a better engineering program. And as far as I know, the only thing WUSTL was doing to increase its rank was accepting slightly lower-level students to increase yield, which is no longer part of the ranking system. So, any justification for your accusations?</p>
<p>They bombard unqualified applicants with propaganda, giving them a false sense of hope when apply to the school. This increase the number of applicants, and therefore the number of rejections. They also waitlist heavily. This means that they will accept a low percentage of students and have a large waitlist that they draw off of. This eliminates accepting a large number of students who won't matriculate. WUSTL is famous for this manipulation used to boost its USNews ranking. </p>
<p>As for WUSTL having St. Louis.. Cornell has Ithaca! Ithaca is a town for college students, and is one of the better college towns in America. There are as many full time residents of the town as there are students. Also, within close walking distance of the campus there are many shops, restaurants, bars, and coffee stores suited for students. You also have NYC 3 hours away, and the outdoors to explore.</p>
<p>wash u is too nerdy. cornell is way more fun and has way better parties...haha i love my inane comments</p>
<p>yeah ithaca is one of the best college towns out there. its got two universities and no other distractions, so it caters totally to college students</p>