ED to Duke vs. Penn vs. Cornell

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>Rising senior and these three are my top choices. I'm thinking about applying to engineering, so Pratt for Duke, SEAS at Penn and CoE at Cornell. I'm having a hard time choosing which one to apply to. To be honest, I like them equally and I would be ecstatic to go to any. I'm leaning towards Duke and Cornell. If anyone could tell me more about the differences between these schools (social life, atmosphere, etc.). Also, am I competitive enough for ED(for any of these schools)?-</p>

<p>Stats:
Male, from competitive public HS in MA (class of ~400, about 15-20 to ivies and 40 to top 20 schools each year)</p>

<p>GPA: 3.82 UW, 4.6 W
Rank: My HS does UW ranks, so I get penalized a bit. I'm around the top 10%- give or take 3/4 spots
SAT: 2010 (retaking later, but will use ACT)
ACT: 33 (36 M, 35 Science, 31 Writing, 31 Reading)
Subject Tests: 790 and 770 on Math lvl 2 and Physics subject tests.
Courseload: Most rigorous. 6 APs and 2 colleges classes by graduation</p>

<p>EC's: I'm not going to go in much depth but I have a fair amount of ECs related to engineering and science. I have leadership positions in clubs, have gone to state/nationals in competitions and have worked in labs (I intend on sending an additional rec from mentor and/or research abstract)</p>

2

<p>If we are to believe USNWR Rankings; Penn #5, Duke #8, Cornell #15 overall. Cornell and Penn are Ivys (people have differing views on how important the Ivy League brand is). For the Engineering Schools, Cornell #8, Duke #22 and Penn # 32. Make of this what you will. Though I’m not a huge fan of USNWR, I think the difference between Cornell Engineering and the others (especially Penn) is significant, and probably reflects the view of most that Cornell has the better engineering program. Bottom line, Cornell probably has the best engineering school, but all three are excellent schools, you wouldn’t go wrong with any of these.</p>

<p>What kind of engineering are you considering? I don’t think Duke has a Chem-E major, for example. Also, individual departments at schools have relative strengths and weaknesses, you can research all this on the internet.</p>

<p>Other than that, the choice really comes down to intangibles, such as which campus you like better.</p>

<p>Early Decision – other than your class rank, which is a bit low (but you know that), your Grades, ACT, SATII are excellent. Overall, you should be a competitive candidate, assuming good essays, recommendations, etc. It doesn’t mean you’ll be admitted, all of the schools you mention get far more competitive candidates than they can accept, so it becomes a numbers game.</p>

<p>(I know less about Penn and Duke admissions, as my D decided against applying to either of these schools, but I think the admissions profiles are pretty close for all three.)</p>

<p>If Cornell is your clear first choice school, and you don’t need to shop financial aid packages, I would recommend Early Decision. The acceptance rate ED is significantly higher than RD.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

3

<p>@zephyr: I was thinking about Mechanical or Electrical since I’m interested in robotics. This is another reason why Cornell seems to be a better fit, I noticed that were a lot of robotics related research and teams and this is something I’m definitely interested in.</p>

<p>Also, regarding the rank- my class (of 2012) is notoriously competitive- so I guess my guidance counselor can convey that.</p>

<p>Could someone tell me about the rumor that it’s harder to go ED at Cornell versus applying RD. This is scaring me a bit, since I’d much rather for ED instead of RD.</p>

4

<p>If you’re really sure you want to attend Cornell, then apply ED. The only thing people tend to say is that a lot of legacies and athletes also apply ED. And in some cases, the applicants in ED are “more qualified”.</p>

5

<p>Duke is a good school, but the fact that it is a Southern school located in the middle of nowhere in N.Corolina would be a major turnoff to me. Also, Duke is very much of an athelete school, and I would want to attend a school with more academic/intellectual vibe. I never considered applying there back in high school, and did not bother to toss my app for law school either. I would cross Duke off my list in a second.</p>

<p>Now, between Cornell and Penn, I would choose Penn. I am much more of a city-person, and I quite like Philly as a city. Both Penn and Cornell have pretty social student body and a lot of drinking and partying take place. As a recent Cornell alum, I can tell you that while there are definitely people who loved their time at Cornell, a noticeable number of others did not like its location for a lot of reasons. One advice I have is if you are unsure which is your top choice, don’t apply ED anywhere.</p>

6

<p>Duke is a good school, but the fact that it is a Southern school located in the middle of nowhere in N.Corolina would be a major turnoff to me.</p>

<p>I’d hardly call Raleigh-Durham “the middle of nowhere”.</p>

<p>Also, Duke is very much of an athelete school, and I would want to attend a school with more academic/intellectual vibe.</p>

<p>That’s disputable, and there are many folks who don’t seem to think so.</p>