Engineering: Northwestern vs Cornell

<p>Cant really decide where to apply early
what are some adv/disadv each of the school have?
Which one has higher chance?</p>

<p>In which state do you live? Which field of engineering interests you? Both are great engineering schools. Cornell in small city. Northwestern near big city. Northwestern has great Div I sports teams. Cornell is Ivy. Northwestern may be a little easier to get into. It may depend on the engineering specialty, which school is preferable.</p>

<p>Cornell SAT, 1290-1480</p>

<p>Northwestern SAT, 1320-1500</p>

<p>Major i am interested in in Operations Research and industrial engineering
gpa 3.74
sat 2110
strong extracurricular activities</p>

<p>*Cornell SAT, 1290-1480</p>

<p>Northwestern SAT, 1320-1500*</p>

<p>Try to compare stats for Engineering. Cornell's engineering SATs are close to MIT's, not sure about NW.</p>

<p>Cornell and Northwestern are both top-15 in industrial engineering according to US News. Cornell is best in the US (#1) in Operations Research according to Gourman Report.</p>

<p>Cornell SAT scores for engineering (these are for students who actually enrolled in 2005; 2006 data aren't available yet):</p>

<p>Verbal 25th to 75th percentile: 630 to 720
Math 25th to 75th percentile: 710 to 790</p>

<p><a href="http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000176.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000176.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Sorry, but I don't know how to find similar data for Northwestern.</p>

<p>You have two excellent choices, and they are comparable in many ways. Northwestern has the more urban location, while Cornell is quite isolated. (Check prices and schedules to see if you can easily fly to Ithaca, Syracuse or Rochester from your hometown.) My personal opinion is that Northwestern is more social overall and the kids are more into material goods. However, the differences are minimal, especially in engineering. Have you visited either school? Don't ED without a visit!</p>

<p>Compare the course offerings of the two schools. Cornell has a separate Operations Engineering department -
<a href="http://www.orie.cornell.edu/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.orie.cornell.edu/&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.iems.northwestern.edu/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.iems.northwestern.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Look for four-year course plans, research opportunities, quality and number of faculty, extracurriculars that interest you.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/prospective/undergraduate/class-profile.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/prospective/undergraduate/class-profile.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>More recent data for Cornell Engineering.</p>

<p>Mid-50% SAT Math range -
admitted students 730 to 800</p>

<p>Mid-50% SAT Verbal range -
admitted students 650 to 740</p>

<p>So Cornell's average SAT for engineering (their strongest program by far) is 1380 - 1540....what about NU's just for engineering?</p>

<p>I wouldn't say Engineering is the strongest by far. Last year, the SAT range for Cornell Arts and Sciences was 1320-1510, not far below Williams, Swarthmore, and Dartmouth.</p>

<p>The 2009 data translates to 1340-1510 for Cornell's engineering. Northwestern's engineering should be very similar since their overall mid-range was already 1320-1500 (2009 data) and their engineering always has higher stats than their overall number. I don't think anyone is able to tell which one is easier to get in. However, based on limited number of EA/ED results posted on CC board, NU seemed to be noticeably more generous during the EA round than their RD round. The data posted by Ray192, while recent, is for "admitted" and that can be far higher than "enrolled" esp for Cornell when it loses cross-admits to places like Stanford/MIT..etc. </p>

<p>Differences:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Size: Cornell engineering has ~2700 students while NU's has ~1400.</p></li>
<li><p>Degree requirements:
Cornell:
<a href="http://oriedev.cit.cornell.edu/orie/academics/undergrad/programdescription/reqs.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://oriedev.cit.cornell.edu/orie/academics/undergrad/programdescription/reqs.cfm&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/programs/undergraduate-education/majors/operations/degree-req.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/programs/undergraduate-education/majors/operations/degree-req.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li>
</ol>

<p>Northwestern:
<a href="http://www.iems.northwestern.edu/images/PDF/05-06_IE_requirements.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.iems.northwestern.edu/images/PDF/05-06_IE_requirements.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Basic requirements:
Cornell has a more conventional curriculum that's similar to majority of other colleges. NU's basic requirement is rather unique. They require 6 courses in "engineering analysis" and "design and communiations". "Engineering analysis" is a multidisciplinary series. Note that NU doesn't "require" linear algebra and differential equation; the materials are actually taught and incorporated in their "engineering analysis" courses. </p>

<p>Senior design project:
NU requires two quarters devoted to design project while Cornell doesn't seem to require any though "Simulation Modeling and Analysis" may actually be their senior project class.</p>

<p>Cornell has a "coop program" which allows undergraduate students to get real-world experience. A number of students I knew there found this to be very valuable; it helped inform their course selections, provided topics for design projects, and in many cases led to job offers.</p>

<p>I'm not sure if a senior design project is required or merely optional; one would have to check. I certainly knew people who did them though. A number of students go on to a one year Master of Engineering program where a design project is mandatory.</p>

<p>I also would not say that engineering is Cornell's "strongest program by far".
It's colleges of Industrial and Labor Relations, Hotel Administration Architecture, and Agriculture & Life sciences all offer programs that are at least as renowned in their respective fields, and generally even moreso. The College of Arts & Sciences has a number of programs that I think are at least equally outstanding; Physics and Chemistry to name two. But there are others.</p>

<p>Engineering CO-OP is available at both schools.</p>

<p>These are absolutely equal schools, no difference at all. So which one do you LIKE more?</p>

<p>cornell makes people want to kill themselves</p>

<p>elsijfdl-
Your statement about suicides is false and irresponsible. If you don't have anything interesting to say, you should keep your fingers off the keyboard.</p>

<p>I would say Cornell is the better of the two when it comes to engineering, but not by far. Cornell has the lure of a location closer to NYC, Boston, Philly where its name is a bit stronger than Northwestern's and it has the lure of the Ivy League (top engineering program in the ivy league to boot). Cornell will also offer more courses and an extremely diverse student body. NU has access to a large city, though Cornell's location is absolutely gorgeous and has a very hip town with plenty of stuff to do. If it matters, many students make weekend trips to NYC. </p>

<p>I get the impression from 3 of my friends at NU and from the people on these boards that Northwestern students have a bit of an inferiority complex when it comes to schools in the Ivy League. Elsijfdl confirms this anytime a thread about Cornell and northwesterns is brought up. </p>

<p>Try to visit both schools, and see which one you like more and would fit in more.</p>

<p>"Northwestern students have a bit of an inferiority comples when it comes to schools in the Ivy League." Same applies to Cornell students.</p>

<p>Cornell has "the lure of a location closer to NYC, Boston, Philly." Wow, Gomestar, you must be from the East Coast to think that it's better to be a boring 4-hour drive from NYC than to be a 10-minute bus ride from Chicago.</p>

<p>These 2 fine universities are so similar in quality and so vastly different in location that a decision would seem to be better made by focusing on the differences in location.</p>