<p>I am an above average student and I want to apply to one of my top college choices for early decision to increase my chances. I want to major in Computer Science, and I have narrowed my choices down to Cornell and CMU.
I like Cornell because it is a highly prestigious Ivy and I like sports (Cornell has division1 basketball)
I like CMU because it is probably ranked the #1 school for anything computer-related</p>
<p>Any opinions on where I should apply early decision?</p>
<p>–have you considered money as a factor? cmu is probably more stingy with financial aid than cornell.</p>
<p>I would 100% choose cmu. Cornell will have hotter girls and better networking opportunities, but you’ll learn more and have better job prospects out of cmu. If you’re an athlete/social/notyouraveragecsnerd at CMU it will be a struggle to keep that up and continue to stand out in the classroom, but even with B’s you get access to some of the best summer / graduation gigs out there</p>
<p>I would choose CMU also. SCS grads from CMU make the biggest of the big bucks. Don’t worry about liking sports and stuff, I’m pretty “bro” and I already know a lot of people going next year who are the same way. That’s what is great about CMU, everyone is just chill about your interests. Yeah, there will be some nerds, but there will be a normal scene as well. </p>
<p>Also, don’t let the interwebz fool you, CMU has its fair share of dimes. Keep in mind, Tepper and CFA are both nationally ranked so they draw a lot of people. Including a lot of babes. </p>
<p>Plus, Cornell people are kind of smug </p>
<p>/endBiasedResponse</p>
<p>bco09 might know more than me about the females there, considering I start in August</p>
<p>It’s pretty hard to accurately stereotype 13,000 undergrads studying in seven disparate colleges. There are smug people. There are not at all smug people. There are lots of different kind of people. Cornell is not some little LAC where everyone marches to the same drummer.</p>
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<p>And neither is CMU, of course. We also have a similar number of disparate colleges, ranging for the very highly ranked School of Computer Science to the similarly well regard College of Fine Arts. CMU might get stereotyped as a tech/CS nerd school, but if you actually take a closer look, you’ll find that isn’t as true as it might seem at first.</p>
<p>so as a CS school, CMU is much better… but if u are a “bro” how exactly do you spend your time? i hear there is no school spirit, very little sports, and a mass population of nerds… would i be a better fit for cornell?</p>
<p>When I was applying this fall I was thinking about the same thing (minus I didn’t really care about sports). I really loved Cornell’s campus and academics and the whole ivy league prestige was cool. Truthfully the decision came down to the fact that I was interested in minoring in Communication Design or double majoring in Human Computer Interaction and I liked the fact that CMU is based in a city versus Cornell is a bit more rural. I applied Early Decision II and got in and I am excited for CMU this fall :)</p>
<p>For you, I’d say look at things besides CS as Cornell and CMU are pretty equal there (although I would CMU the edge). Make sure you visit both campuses to get a feel for each. Good luck!</p>
<p>wow! congrats cmucs… so theres no way i can go wrong - its just personal preference</p>
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<p>Join a sports team. Join a frat (Pika always seems pretty bro-y to me…). Join a different group like Fringe or something. If the CMU social scene still doesn’t cut it, party at Pitt.</p>
<p>Everything californiadancer said will work out so long as you’re not a cs major (the topic of this thread).</p>
<p>If you are a CS major, don’t expect to play on a varsity team. Swimmers and runners can probably do it, but they’re not usually “bros” so it’s irrelevant. Club teams are still pretty competitive and fun. There is time for fraternities and/or partying on the weekend, but not all the time. Depending on what organization you join, they might not be understanding when you have more than the average freshman does on your todo list.</p>
<p>ok thanks. but i was more wondering if there were any sports to watch at cmu… and cmu seems extremely low on school spirit. the one major flaw in my opinion</p>
<p>also cmu has about 15% higher acceptance rate for early decision than cornell. but would applying to cmu for computer science actually be harder to get in than cornell?</p>
<p>Really, just go visit. That made me decide between the two. Two different locations, campuses, and programs.</p>
<p>yeah there’s no school spirit at games. a dedicated few go to the soccer games and be rowdy, basketball gets an ok turnout, and football attendance goes downhill as the season goes on. become a steelers/pirates/penguins fan if you want to root locally.</p>
<p>Theoretically you could root for pitt, but i’ve never heard of anybody not from pittsburgh going out of their way to do that</p>
<p>i would be fine becoming a pitt fan actually!</p>
<p>does anyone happen to know the rough acceptance rate for computer science applicants for cmu and cornell (early decisions)? would i have a better chance being selected into cornell’s program (despite the lower overall acceptance rate) or cmu (probably more competitive cs, but higher overall acceptance rate)?</p>
<p>There are normal people at CMU, believe it or not. It also depends on your definition of “bro”. My definition is a dude who is chill, likes to party, likes watching sports, drinking with the guys, playing video games, try to get…you know, etc. If you agree, then I don’t think you’ll have any problem making friends at CMU.</p>
<p>Sure there are the social turtles, but most people are down to earth and just genuine people. </p>
<p>And yes, I did make the generalization (sarcastically) about 13,000 people based on two people I know that are going to cornell. </p>
<p>Visit both places in the fall (I suggest a sleeping bag weekend in October) and decide from there.</p>
<p>[Admission</a> > Admission Statistics](<a href=“Home - Computing Services - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University”>Home - Computing Services - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University)</p>
<p>Oh and here is CMU’s statistics</p>
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<p>Step 1: Locate a salmon polo shirt</p>
<p>Step 2: Rush PiKa</p>
<p>Step 3: Try not to fall down the stairs at a party and suffer extreme brain/spinal damage within the first week (it’s been done)</p>
<p>Step 4: ???</p>
<p>Step 5: Profit</p>