<p>your UVA/tech comment was a little ambiguous! If i was decideing between UVA and Tech I'd go UVA all the way (lol gay rhyme!). When I heard from Cornell the first thing I said was "YEAH! Now i don;t have to go to Tech!!!"</p>
<p>my second post was to ehuinno</p>
<p>Don't assume a Cornell diploma will get you anywhere further than a UVa diploma; thats just not the case. The main thing that is keeping Cornell on the top of my list is the Engineering Physics program, not the fact that it's an Ivy.</p>
<p>I totally forgot about rolling. oops</p>
<p>well i want to do ILR also and Cornell is the only college in the US that offers that degree</p>
<p>Referring to the Tech/UVa Decision</p>
<p>well, for engineering its not nearly as cut and dry. If I were considering anything other than Engineering or physics, I would choose UVa hands down any day of the week over any other school in Virginia, maybe even the whole country. In fact, the programs other than engineering at UVa are the main thing keeping UVa afloat after my Rodman rejection. I love science, but I also dabble in philosophy and literature. I may be able to talk about Yang Mills with strong physics students at either school, but there are not too many kids I can discuss nihilism and Dostoevsky with in depth at Tech...</p>
<p>ps. that is understandable, we face similar dilemmas!</p>
<p>Can anybody confirm for me UVA's method of informing applicants of their acceptance decision? Online? Snail Mail? Which is done first? Any info on exactly when the decisions are announced? Prior to Mar 30? Just curious.</p>
<p>The decisions are available online on the 30th at 5:30pm. They will also be mailed on the 30th. You can only view your decision online if you applied online, otherwise you've gotta wait</p>
<p>wow....less than 4 days</p>
<p>hey jaw, I think it's less than 5 days (it's Sunday evening). But I know you guys must be getting very excited. (RD is Friday, 5:30 isn't it?)</p>
<p>oops yea thats what i meant</p>
<p>rustyram, UVA isnt appealing to you because lots of people get in? Thats pretty superficial. And to ehiunno, not getting Rodman should't hurt your self esteem and make you think less of UVA. You were still considered one of the top applicants (through likely letter) and it's not an easy decision by the school.</p>
<p>I'll just throw my 2 cents in.</p>
<p>I picked UVa over Cornell. Basicly...
1) Cornell is too cold... And I was <em>freezing</em> at UVa this winter. I don't know what I would have done in Ithica.
2) While money wasn't really an issue with my family, I didn't see Cornell being any better than UVa (I wasn't going to be a hotel manager) and especially not $10,000/yr better.
3) I personally think UVa is nicer
4) I objectively can say that the girls at UVa are better looking
5) Cornell has a reputation of being the "easiest to get into, hardest to get out of." Not that UVa is easy, its just I don't think I wanted to be in an environment that was (to go back to the homage i hate) too <em>work hard</em> not enough <em>play hard</em>.
6) There is nothing around Ithica. At least I can drive to Richmond or Washington for the weekend at UVa. And Charlottesville's downtown is so much fun if you have some extra bills.
7) In New Jersey, where I am from and plan to return once I graduate, UVa is considered just as prestigious as Cornell. So I didn't feel like I was taking a "hit" passing up on an "Ivy League" school.
8) UVa has much better sports.
9) My sister came here, and I guess coming down to visit her for 4 years got me accustomed to grounds. I never really felt as comfortable anywhere else I went.</p>
<p>Also, regarding UVa vs. Virginia Tech.</p>
<p>I don't mean to be pompous or arrogant, but I personally think there is no reason ever to pick Virginia Tech over UVa. If UVa doesn't have the program that Tech has, choose something different to major in. Maybe specifically in Virginia, people think Virginia Tech is a good school...they do not in New York, and suspect thats the same everywhere else in the country. Its a 2nd tier school at best. Also for all you who monger about "well what about tech for engineering" I keep responding that UVa engineer grads make more than virginia tech engineer grads. Just go browse each schools engineering career services page. So much for the "superior" program.</p>
<p>sigma, i was not saying UVA wasn't good b/c everyone i know's going there, im saying i am truned off from UVA because everyone i know is going there. College is about meeting new people from all walks of life, not 4 more years of the same people from high school, granted they're nice people.</p>
<p>I know what Rustyram means. Rutgers is a great school, but I can't imagine going there with so many people I already know. Furthermore I go to high school in Princeton, so it would be hard for me to imagine spending another 4 years here, despite the fact that it's Princeton University.</p>
<p>Well, I think there are going to be more people there going from different schools not from your high school. Granted, it would be nice to see a nice familiar face once in a while, wouldn't it?</p>
<p>I am so nervous abouting receiving the decision on Friday!!! I wish it would come but it will be here before I know it, well that's what everyone else tells me. Only 4 more days!!!</p>
<p>jags861, I don't mean to sound sarcastic, but you managed to sound exactly like what you were trying to avoid. ;-)</p>
<p>Certainly, the name of the school you go to is far more important than how strong its program is, and it makes perfect sense to give up any life dreams in one area just so you can be at a prestigious school. For that matter, I might as well go to yallee for engineering, which any serious engineer knows has a terrible engineering program, just so I can have a degree from a prestigious school. Its fine that most employers/grad school reps realize that yallee's engineering program is far below that of Tech or UVa, because I will have diploma from yallee, and what can be better than that?</p>
<p>UVa engineer grads make more than Tech grads because few of them are engineers. Its not a diss on UVa engineering, but UVa trains engineers to be "engineering leaders," not R&D engineers. It's not all about money, it's about passion, and I have met few UVa engineering students that are passionate about research and design, but I have met plenty who had absolutely no interest in engineering before they got to the program, or who intend to go into something outside of engineering after they graduate.</p>
<p>If there were not things that I love about UVa I wouldn't have applied, and yes, a number of those things do involve the engineering department, but don't begin to tell me UVa is better because their grads make more money. If I cared about that, I wouldn't want to be a research engineer/scientist, I would be an investment banker...</p>
<p>"UVa engineer grads make more than Tech grads because few of them are engineers."</p>
<p>Where'd you hear that? Of course there are engineers at UVa who go into business...I.E. system engineerings. But I highly doubt any of them are becoming Ibankers. Only the very very very top students at UVa get into Ibanking--mostly out of the business school. These jobs arn't flowing like the Nile, regardless of what some people tend to believe. Also, career services will give average incomes based on individual concentrations of engineering. I doubt there are many civil engineers going to work at Charles Schwab or Meryll Lynch.</p>
<p>"don't begin to tell me UVa is better because their grads make more money."</p>
<p>I'm not saying that UVa is better because its graduates make more money. I'm simply saying that UVa is better, and its graduates make more money. Sorry for my prior ambiguity.</p>
<p>I've heard it both from students in engineering at UVa and from e school reps.</p>
<p>I am not saying they go into IB, I am saying a large percentage of them become engineering managers or project leads. People that work in engineering firms and direct the engineering but don't actually do much engineering, and it is a well known fact that engineering managers, on average, make more than engineers.</p>
<p>I definitely think that VT is more geared towards working engineers.</p>
<p>I've been trying to avoid posting on this thread about the whole UVA vs VT topic, but I must defend a smart school while praising a well-rounded one. VT's engineering is exceptional: the faculty is awesome, the resources are astounding, and most engineering students are exceptionally bright. However, most are not well-rounded in fields outside of engineering (english, social sciences, ect). That's because VT's curriculum is designed to crank out powerhouse engineers who go on to top grad schools.
UVA, on the other hand, prides itself on developing smart engineers who have a broad background. This will enable the graduate to go on to any career or type of grad school that they want. Engineering is still a strong subject there, and the faculty and resources are amazing as well, just not as big as VT, which can have pros (more personalized) and cons (not as many opporunities) to it.<br>
All of this probably explains the gap in post-grad salaris. UVA students can do anything, whereas VT students are more limited to engineering unless they go on to grad school. So while a UVA kid may land a high paying job, it may not be a top engineering job that the VT grad lands.<br>
Regardless, both are excellent schools. As a current VT student, <em>hopefully</em> transferring to UVA, I know both very well. My reasons for transfer are simple: I want a broad educational background. But I know a few UVA students who hate the fact that they have to take so many classes outside of engineering, and are actually trying to transfer here.<br>
Everyone on this board should be smart enough to realize that we're all extremely lucky to have both VT and UVA. They're two GREAT schools that are tailored to very different types of students. It just depends student to student: one person's trash may be another person's treasure =)</p>