<p>Normally I don't post on college threads (I'm heading to high school this fall), but I have a hypothetical situation for you.
A student is accepted to Cornell University with less financial aid, and Emory University with more. However, one must take into account that that Cornell is more prestigious, with an excellent pre-med program (which this student wants to pursue); Emory is much more socially warm, and still offers a fantastic education.</p>
<p>Which would you choose, and why?</p>
<p>P.S. - For clarification, I did know somebody who encountered this situation. It was my older brother's best friend, who was also accepted to a number of other prestigious universities and is a really cool guy. :) He chose Emory.</p>
<p>Cornell is more prestigious but not by that much. Schools like Emory and Rice are comparable to Cornell… they are all peer schools… With more money, Emory would definitely be the right choice. Emory’s pre-med is also strong!</p>
<p>As of right now, isn’t Cornell only right above us in rankings? So not even US News sees an extreme difference in quality. But, by virtue of it being an Ivy, it’s more prestigious. It’s also been around longer. Emory is still growing. Depends on what you want. If you want to come to a place with excellent academics and continues to evolve, then this is an awesome choice.<br>
On the aesthetic/social side- The construction is annoying lol. Thus in a sense, the campus itself, while beautiful, is somewhat annoying. I also hope you like modern architecture and marble. Emory will not have classical architecture and what I consider awesome archways (amongst other features that add architectural character) common at peer institutions. You do, however, get some type of Italian Renaissance theme with a “touch of Georgia” (the marble) enshrouded in greenery/trees. Like a “Stanford of the South” (don’t understand why we are called Harvard of the south because Vandy looks more like it and we rank the same. Duke looks like Princeton). Beautiful in a different way I guess. Campus more like a glorified golf-course and thus lacks this feeling of “wholeness”(as if you are a part of something big) that one can sense at other universities and is also sprawly. Then again, the non-traditional school pride issue also contributes to this feeling. I suggest you visit both and feel them out. Both will offer excellent preparation for medical school. See which campus feels better both aesthetically and socially.</p>
<p>I always comment on the campus because I often go to other schools which perhaps lack the clean finish of Emory’s buildings, but feel more like a community because of the layout or architectural character. The housing being so spread out here really doesn’t help (the only think you get comparable to a residential village is Clairmont, and its way on the other side of campus). This seems to actually matter to some/many students. Many of my friends going here also notice the difference and sometimes wish it was otherwise and are disappointed to a degree. Just throwing it out there that it seems as if this campus is built to look good (in terms of each individual structure, you’ll find that trees saved many from an infinite level of grotesqueness) as opposed to for the purpose of building a cohesive community.</p>
<p>Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences is considered more prestigious than Emory, however, Cornell’s Land grant colleges are considered less prestigious than Emory.</p>
<p>Huh? I thought the whole thing was considered more prestigious. I don’t think I quite understand the land-grant “colleges” thing. Are you talking about the other “schools” I’ve heard of or do they have other campuses?</p>
<p>Also depends on money. My understanding is that Cornell is not as generous with financial/scholarships as we are. I know many people here who were admitted to Cornell, but simply couldn’t go. Yeah, but the whole laymen prestige thing sucks sometimes. Your school (undergrad) could be of similar quality, if not greater in many ways, but no one would choose you if admitted to both because you are not the Ivy . I would imagine that we would lose a cross-admit battle to George Town for the same reason. Emory needs to get its name out there more, through media sources other than its website. Not just its mere existence, but things going on here. It’ll never get the prestige of any of the Ivies if it does not (don’t know what Duke did, but it worked).</p>
<p>hahah, I don’t consider Cornell all 1 school lol, I see Cornell CAS differently from Cornell Land Grant schools. I have friends who got into the land grant schools, and some of them are ■■■■■■■■. The kids at Cornell CAS are a lot smarter and it is much harder to get into Cornell CAS then it is to get into most of the other land grant colleges.</p>
<p>I don’t think you apply to the others separately, I think they different schools have different essays, and in the common app, you check off the ones you are applying to, but the different schools have different admissions criteria when evaluating applicants, so I don’t consider them equal.</p>
<p>"As of right now, isn’t Cornell only right above us in rankings? So not even US News sees an extreme difference in quality. But, by virtue of it being an Ivy, it’s more prestigious. It’s also been around longer. Emory is still growing. Depends on what you want. If you want to come to a place with excellent academics and continues to evolve, then this is an awesome choice. "</p>
<p>Surprise surprise! Emory (founded in 1836) is actually older than Cornell (founded in 1865).</p>
<p>I think Bernie means that Cornell’s prestige is older than Emory’s, for Emory really is still growing.</p>
<p>These are some really interesting perspectives. So, essentially, Emory is of similar academic quality, and more generous with FA, but less prestigious.</p>
<p>I’d also take into account the climate (I love warm weather, so…) and the surrounding area. Emory is in Atlanta, whereas Cornell is in the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>I’m focusing on these two because, as I said in my first post, that my older brother’s best friend was deciding between these two, and chose Emory. (I’d probably do the same.)</p>
<p>So, what kind of SAT scores should you have to be accepted?</p>
<p>Well depends… are you applying RD? are you Unhooked? If so, then I would say 2200+ is a good score to have. If you’re applying ED and/or hooked somehow 2000-2200 would probably get you in. These are vague bounderies and are, in no way, the deciding factor. When you’re in range of these scores, other factors such as grades, essay etc. matter more.</p>
<p>I say 2150+ for RD and 2000-2150. But Alam could be closer given the fact that the SAT average (M/V) is close to 1400, including ED. 2200 probably guarantees that you are beyond the average score.</p>
<p>^^^^ That might have been true a couple years ago, but based off of last year I think that you should definitely shoot for a 2200+ regular decision. With that said this in no way gurantees admission. . .</p>