Hi everyone. I was accepted off the waitlist at Georgetown and Cornell on Monday, into MSB and Dyson respectively. I have until Monday to make a decision and I’m really struggling and would love any advice people have to offer.
Cornell Dyson
PROS
- small program - less than 200 students
- known for being collaborative
- love the structure of Dyson
- Sororities and Frats on campus
- cheaper bc I’m from NY and Dyson is part of the land grant
- Beautiful Campus
- IVY league!
- People I’ve talked to seem really nice/I think I would fit in
- Close and easy drive from home
CONS
- really big campus and student population
- kind of in the middle of nowhere (saw myself in a city) (this is a BIG con for me)
- really cold weather
- Nervous for academic rigor
- doesn’t take as many AP credits as Georgetown (not a big deal though)
Georgetown MSB
PROS
- Dream school that I’ve always loved
- Great area - I love DC
- Beautiful campus
- Smaller campus w/ less students
- 350 students in McDonough (more than Dyson but not huge)
- Basketball
- Jack the Bulldog!
CONS
- farther from home
- more expensive than Cornell
- heard people don’t like food and dorms on campus
- Sororities and frats are not recognized by Georgetown
- competitive club culture
- nervous of competitiveness and academic rigor
- I’ve heard the party scene is not the best (not SUPER important but noted)
I would choose Cornell. Go where the money is. Cornell is an amazing school, and your pros seem to outweigh the cons.
Cornell grad here. The weather in Ithaca is cold, wet, snowy, and erratic. Ithaca is isolated, but between Cornell and town, you will find so much to do. The dorms on North Campus were quite nice when I lived there, but so much as changed. People and Cornell and in Ithaca are genuinely nice. I have not visited Georgetown (it never quite made it to my daughter’s list), but I’ve heard a lot of complaints about dorms. You would certainly get more of the city experience you think you want. Based on your pros and cons list, especially related to Dyson and financial aid, I would choose Cornell. Good luck!
I would say Gtown. Cornell is super overrated and everyone hates it there. Georgetown is cooler and offers the same opportunities post grad.
Also I am definitely not the outdoors type and I feel that’s very present at Cornell with the area it’s in
FWIW I loved my time at Cornell as did my entire friend group. Know lots of kids there now who also love it.
Current Georgetown student. Know a few people who have chosen between these two, the ones I know who leaned toward Georgetown tended to be more on the political side of things and probably didn’t have a financial difference to consider as much.
I would say don’t think too much about the dorms: Georgetown’s are really fine to good and facilities will not define your college experience. To me it seems like the most important tradeoff is between the social culture and lower cost of Cornell, versus the urban environment at Georgetown. I personally would hate going to college in Ithaca, NY (I’ve visited and it is really out there), so if that’s a make or break, then go with Georgetown, otherwise Cornell might be better for you personally.
@somewhere2022 do you find the club culture thing to be true at Georgetown?
@belovedbytoni I would say the idea of a “competitive club culture” is slightly overplayed- there are certainly a few prominent clubs with competitive applications (although to my understanding the same is true of similar schools which would include Cornell) but there are also hundreds of open membership clubs. It is true that a lot of people find community in clubs but you can find that in many clubs, not just the most competitive ones. For some reason a lot of incoming students get focused on just a few selective clubs and they are there, they have a presence on campus, but they are by no means the only clubs or even the largest or best ones.
Top 25 Schools That Send Students To Investment Banks
- New York University
- Harvard University
- Cornell University
- University of Pennsylvania
- Columbia University
- Georgetown
SOURCE: FORBES
DYSON acceptance rate: 2.9%
Wharton: 6.49%
Georgetown: 15.84%
SOURCE: FORBES/POETS & QUANTS
National Rank 2020
Cornell #17
Georgetown #24
SOURCE: US NEWS
TOP UNDERGRADUATE B SCHOOLS 2020
Cornell Top 10
Georgetown TOP 20
SOURCE: US NEWS
BEST GLOBAL UNIVERSITIES 2020
Cornell #23
Georgetown #298
SOURCE US NEWS
BEST UNIVERSITIES IN WORLD 2020
Cornell #19
Georgetown #102
SOURCE TIMES HIGHER EDUCATION
WOW! CORNELL and DYSON clear winner there!
All my dyson friends absolutely love it! To the best of my knowledge, the academics at dyson aren’t known to be as competitive as classes like general chemistry or intro bio (pre-med weed out classes), and are generally very fair. Before actually coming to Cornell, a lot of students worry about finding things to do in Ithaca, but honestly when else are you going to have the opportunity to experience waterfalls, gardens, and hiking trails on campus along with high tech institutions? You can always live in a city post grad
does Georgetown have waitlist? I thought they didn’t have any