I’ve gotten accepted into both of these schools (Pratt for Duke and CAS Cornell). Part of the indecision about making a final decision on where to go stems from my indecision about what exactly to study as an undergrad to reach a certain career path.
Initially, I would like to study physics or engineering as an undergrad, mostly because I think I would have the most fun in those areas. Physics and engineering are “ideologically attractive” to me; I like how pure physics is as a science and how applicable certain types of engineering are to entrepreneurship and startup culture, which I am interested in as well (think Elon Musk, Salman Khan, Zuck, etc.) However, I still would like to end up working in the financial services industry; management consulting, i-banking, etc. Economics and finance are my secondary interest. Workers in those fields benefit much from an undergraduate science degree and the associated quantitative skills, and besides, I’ll at the very least generate enough profit for me to retire as a physics teacher or something. To summarize my career interests, I’m looking for some vague combination of physics/engineering and econ/finance that is flexible enough to allow me to pursue some kind of graduate degree in physics or MBA while also allowing me to jump into some sort of financial services career right away if I so choose.
I’ve visited both of these schools, so here are my feelings so far.
I really liked Duke when I visited, although as someone who was never really into basketball I’m not sure well I’d adapt to the sports culture over there. Still, I noticed that the Pratt subculture way more in line with my interests. The students were well rounded: socially active and intelligent. Obviously the campus was beautiful too. I heard that because of the smaller size of the physics department, it was easier to find research opportunities. The actual facilities and campus were top notch too; it’s clear that the school’s really using that $7 billion endowment. Also, another plus was that the physics and engineering majors I talked to enthusiastically extolled the opportunities for finance internships.
Still, I can’t ignore the Ivy League physics/engineering powerhouse that is Cornell. Rankings wise, it beats Duke in all of my interests besides econ, and it seems way more science oriented; I would be hard pressed to find an actual particle accelerator under Duke’s football field. Also, the Cornell name holds greater weight than Duke, especially internationally (China, India) where I may potentially find work after I graduate. However, when I visited, I felt like the student body wasn’t as happy as Duke’s; people seemed stressed out and tired. I think the gloomy weather might play a not insignificant role in that sort of mindset, as well as the competitive student body and the rampant grade deflation. Moreover, Cornell is a good deal less selective than Duke and seems to have lower testing scores, etc. So Cornell seems to be both less intelligent and less fun. Am I getting the worst of both worlds? Ultimately I want to enjoy the next for years of college, not just get a degree.
Thoughts?