<p>So it’s ok to bash Cornell College but not Cornell University? :)</p>
<p>^^ I never bashed Cornell College, I simply stated that she may have the University confused with the much smaller Cornell College. They are two different places and I don’t think that is the same thing as bashing a school.</p>
<p>Most of Cornell is private, but there is an Ag Science college that is part of SUNY (so lower tuition for NY residents). From what I’ve heard, all give an excellent education. Cornell may not be the right fit for some students, but certainly it offers excellent education opportunities.</p>
<p>FYI - ALL of colleges at Cornell are private schools and NO part of Cornell is a state school. Cornell does have an agreement with New York dating back to the original land grant where New York residents in certain colleges pay lower tuition … these schools are still private … are not state schools … are not part of the SUNY system … and are not run by the SUNY systems.</p>
<p>D knew there were many, many schools she could apply to based on both her scores, her grades, her extracurriculars, and that had yellow ribbon agreements with GI bill so the cost would be the same. She has chosen to apply to mostly LACs, with a big state U and a larger private U among the list. Of all the schools, she is either in the top of the 25-75 range of scores or above it. Except for one school where she was considerably above the range and visited and the class she attended was less academic than her current lit class, I know she won’t be choosing by any rank or score range. SHe chose schools based on academics (except for safety) and potential fit. Her potential fit did not include schools in the Northeast nor CA.</p>
<p>Cornell is one of the many, excellent, land-grant universities. So is MIT. Does that make MIT crappy?</p>
<p>S1 turned down Harvard for Carnegie Mellon, because he felt the computer science program at CMU was much better. Also thanks to their generous AP policy he would have very few requirements at CMU. He’s never regretted the decision. He’s graduating this June and already has a great job offer.</p>
<p>S2 turned down U of Chicago for Tufts. This was a really hard decision for him. In the end, he liked the way International Relations was set up at Tufts, he liked what he saw coming out of the Global Leadership Institute and he liked the idea of an education that encouraged changing the world now instead of concentrating on theory. He also thought Tufts might be “more fun”, as it’s turned out, while he loves Tufts he’s been working so hard his time for “fun” has been very limited.</p>
<p>One aspect that needs to be added into the decision mix is state budget cuts. The Federal Stimulus money got some colleges and states through crises, but this year, that money is spent. This may be the worse year for budget cuts in many states, particularly for the many states with new Republican governors. Those budget cuts are hurting many highly ranked public universities, and resulting in larger classes and more difficulty getting into reduced numbers of classes. Programs are being eliminated. </p>
<p>As a result, it may make sense to go to a slightly “lesser ranked” college that is financially stable than a higher ranked college that has been/will be going through severe cutbacks.</p>
<p>Back in the day, I transferred from an Ivy to a Big Ten public. No regrets (though watching the Big Ten’s performance in the New Years Day bowl games was painful :().</p>
<p>Son turned down Brown for Carleton (both highly ranked, but C has less name recognition).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>hmm … need to criticize my own posting … to prove my point I went to the SUNY web-page … and to my surprise the Cornell “land-grant” colleges are listed as SUNY schools … [SUNY:</a> Complete Campus List](<a href=“http://www.suny.edu/student/campuses_complete_list.cfm]SUNY:”>http://www.suny.edu/student/campuses_complete_list.cfm). That is a change from when I was at Cornell … that said, I would be amazed if the experience at the school has changed … while there is some ribbing across colleges for 99% of the students there a Cornellie is a Cornellie whatever college they attend.</p>
<p>It’s interesting to see other kids who have done the same thing as my D and hear how their parents reacted. We ALWAYS vowed that the decision was going to be 100% hers. It was hard at times to keep quiet, but we did not want to influence her decision. She made thorough pro/con lists of the three she had narrowed it down to, and we would add if we thought she left out something important. In the end, I believe she chose her school over the other two because of three primary reasons: </p>
<p>A) Social Fit – Her observations of the students as a whole were that they appeared to be most like her. They were preppy, into fashion, high-achieving kids who didn’t merely study 24/7. They were driven but appeared to also enjoy having fun on weekends. Also, Greek life was fairly prominent at this school and it didn’t exist at one of the others.
2) Tradition – She had always wanted to attend a school rich in tradition where everyone attends sporting events and supports the school.
3) Weather – Of the three, the one she ultimately chose had the mildest weather. She almost selected another school because although the social fit wasn’t quite as good, their science/pre-med is one if the best in the nation. The horror stories of the frigid cold weather (southern kid) seriously affected her decision. </p>
<p>Thus far, all is well; she’s happy and doing well both socially and academically. As her parents, that’s really all we ask for her.</p>
<p>From Cornell’s website;</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>However, it does not mean that just because you are from NYS that you will have an easier time getting admitted to Cornell land grant schools (unless you are admitted through one of the opportunity programs), it just means, that if accepted, that you will pay less in tuition than someone who is not a NY resident (COA- $38,536 in-state vs 54,676 OOS) .</p>
<p>This is a great thread and is inspiring-- it seems that in almost every case, kids who chose for fit over prestige were very happy. This is why we help them go through the hunt for the “right” schools-- “right” meaning where they can thrive, not where we can brag about.</p>
<p>We’re dealing with this even though D2 is just in the admissions process now. She feels that the right fit for her are smaller northeast LACs that few people here in California have heard of. The questions like “Why isn’t she applying to Vassar?” Or “What about Columbia?” are finally fading. People who aren’t going through it themselves just know the name-brand schools and assume that all “smart” kids should go for them. Touring Vassar, for instance, gave my stress-prone D a stomachache. She’d rather be where she can comfortably thrive instead of get in by the skin of her teeth and then be anxious about keeping up.</p>
<p>So thanks for this positive thread!</p>
<p>My D turned down NYU for Coastal Carolina University. Pretty much everyone has heard of NYU and Tisch School of the Arts. Not so much CCU and their wonderful musical theatre/acting programs. But she chose to go where she felt was the best fit for her and she couldn’t be happier. She just finished her first semester and people still ask her how she could have possibly turned down NYU. But she feels like she made the right choice and hasn’t looked back.</p>
<p>I was a disappointment to myself and relate to Neon and Gwen. S1 did not get into his #1 school so in the end accepted a lesser ranked school than several higher ranked schools he was accepted at… I spent a year fighting the …'but he was accepted at A, B, and C, but could not be happier than he is at D Uni" </p>
<p>He is a Jr. now and doing so well on so many fronts, I only find myself doing this once in awhile…but it is still there! Bad,Bad Parent.</p>
<p>“Of all the schools, she is either in the top of the 25-75 range of scores or above it.”</p>
<p>That’s true for most of the schools DS has applied to, also. I think it’s a great way to get Honors Program admittance and substantial merit aid, but I worry a bit whether DS will be challenged enough. On the other hand, college really is what you make of it. You can always find challenging courses if you look hard enough.</p>
<p>Gwen and Olympic: </p>
<p>I know it’s really petty of me, but I got the school decals that listed majors to compensate a little…Law School, Pharmacy School, Nursing School. They make me happy even if the schools aren’t the higher ranked schools that I wished my kids would have attended…at least until someone with Ivy decals parks next to me. </p>
<p>I swore I would never be the type of parent who lived vicariously through my kids’ successes, who would compete over whose kid talked or was potty-trained first, who would brag if my kid got a varsity letter as a sophomore, and on and on and on. It’s harder than I thought not to feel those little pangs that two of my kids didn’t choose the higher ranked schools.</p>
<p>Ultimately my son chose his safety (#47). Left Duke, Swarthmore, Case Western etc. on the table. Turned down Cornell for financial reasons.</p>
<ol>
<li>most of his core group of friends was going there</li>
<li>honors college and a number of perks</li>
<li>gave him 52 AP credits so he didn’t have to take a number of general education courses which he loathed.</li>
<li>Ability to join and participate in big ten marching band performing in front of 105,000 screaming people</li>
<li>students were able to get into all top graduate programs</li>
<li>not too far from home (3hr ride) </li>
</ol>
<p>Worked for him. He is now in a top graduate program in his field.</p>
<p>Lady Dianeski posted:
That’s true for most of the schools DS has applied to, also. I think it’s a great way to get Honors Program admittance and substantial merit aid, but I worry a bit whether DS will be challenged enough. On the other hand, college really is what you make of it. You can always find challenging courses if you look hard enough. </p>
<p>I have had the pleasure of seeing how well my d does with working with less hard working kids or kids who are less able. It makes absolutely no difference to her. Now saying this, the level of classes that are held will be a determining factor. She went to one college visit where her stats were way above their median. It wasn’t a match at all since the 200 level lit class was taught at a lower level than even the English class she took as a freshman in high school. Plus the kids were not behaving well in class and their conversations were stupid to say the least. She will be visiting other schools but just from their catalog descriptions, I think the classes are at a higher level</p>
<p>D. would not apply to any schools beyond 4.5 hours of driving from home. This is her #1 criteria for choosing Grad. School. She did not apply to far away UG either. She has never checked rankings at all for UG, we did not care for rankings, so we do not know if she has chosen lower or higher ranking UG, but she is graduating in May, so it does not matter. Her UG was fine, treated her very well, served its’ purpose. We did not pay tuition because of Merit $$, which we did not know beforehand, it just happened.</p>