Help: Bucknell vs. Cornell vs. Penn State Honors

Colleges & Universities A-Z Bucknell University
1

Hey, just another desperate pre-frosh here searching for guidance.

So, I’m currently deciding between Cornell, Penn State Honors, and Bucknell for chemistry with a possible minor/second major in English. I’m currently accepted for Chem E at Bucknell, but I might switch out for chem. I also might consider Lehigh if they give me any more money at the last minute for an integrated engineering and arts and sciences degree.

At Cornell, I really loved all the students and professors that I met; I felt like I just clicked with everyone there and the amount of diversity really appealed to me. Also, this school would naturally have amazing academics and research. One downside for me might be the weather. I can deal with the cold, but, as a person who has had bouts of depression, constantly dreary skies might not be great. I also worry that I won’t have time for extracurriculars here. I’m a Tanner Dean’s scholar here, which has some special events and gives money for summer research.

Bucknell was really nice because it had that small school environment, but I worry that it lacks very rigorous academics and resources (i.e. intensive research, high rankings, and alumni). It also has a bit of a reputation as a pretty preppy place, which I don’t like much, but I didn’t feel that aura was too overwhelming. I feel like getting involved in both extracurriculars and research would be very easy there, and the campus was the most appealing of the three in terms of having a lot of green space and a lot going on and such. I also really like some of the short study abroad options they had, but I feel like the other two will have similar programs. I’m a presidential fellow here, which gives you special advisers specifically for research.

Penn State’s honors college would allow me to get much smaller class sizes and easily become involved in research, among other perks. However, I’m not a big sports person, so I’m not super into that sort of school spirit. It’s also obviously a very large school, which I’m not a huge fan of overall, but at least they should have a lot of active clubs. It has a really good student newspaper too; I hope to be involved with that. The campus is okay, but I like those of the other two more.

Lastly. . . Cornell is $50,000 per year, Bucknell is $26,000, and Penn State is $3,000 I do plan to go to grad school btw. I’m incredibly lost and don’t have much time left, so please let me know if you have any thoughts on the matter! Thanks in advance, and sorry for this long-winded post!

2

Not an easy decision…much of it will be based on your family’s financial situation. If money is not an issue, and if you can tolerate the Ithaca winter (which is very long, cold, snowy and dreary) I would say Cornell is your best option. Bucknell is a great option if it is affordable for your family.

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I agree with @dtrain1027 that Cornell may be a reasonable first choice. My D is an engineering major at Bucknell, is not particularly preppy, and is very happy with her choice of Bucknell. I will point out that Bucknell’s academics in Engineering are quite rigorous (particularly in Chem E) and their reputation as an undergrad Engineering university is justifiably excellent. The Pres Fellow award is an awesome merit honor (I think less than 100 students total on campus - and the highest merit Bucknell gives). I also think Bucknell’s sense of community and the beautiful campus is a large positive factor. Bucknell is growing and improving all the time - a very good sign. Cornell has a great Engineering rep and as a huge university probably has more facilities and a greater variety of research going on. Cornell also has lots of grad students who may well have first dibs on research positions. Just some thoughts. Congrats on the offers - you certainly can’t go wrong with such great choices!

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Don’t know much about Cornell and Penn State, but I just wanted to chime in that being a Presidential Fellow at Bucknell is an amazing opportunity. My son is one also, and he was matched with his mentor professor over the summer (you get some say in this, based on the research topics you are interested in). He met with her during his first few days on campus and then her was off and running doing his research. He was also able to continue this and stay on campus during the summers (paid). His mentor professor also helped him get into another department (son is a double major) and do research for them also, because of her connections. It’s just an amazing opportunity to have that kind of mentor relationship with a professor.

Wouldn’t worry about Bucknell not being a good enough school to get you into grad school. Because of my son’s opportunities (3 papers are on track to be published in academic journals, presented at conferences, etc.) he was accepted to 5 out of the 6 grad schools he applied to, including the 3 top ranked schools in his major.

Good luck in your decision. I’m sure you will excel at whichever of the schools you choose. I know some students who are attending Cornell right now and they seem happy there (although extremely stressed and busy with schoolwork).

5

Happy Valley

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D1 went to Cornell and D2 went to Bucknell. Both had great experiences and challenging educations.

Obviously Cornell is better known, being an Ivy. But Understand, Bucknell is rigorous and is a great school.

Both schools gave strong Greek presence. Neither D joined a sorority. Both did find.

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How recent did your daughter attend Bucknell @morrismm ? They just beat every other school’s financial aid including the school where we deposited, Villanova. There was an issue on Bucknell’s end - long story. She has been geared up to attend Villanova for the last 3 months even though she planned on starting the transfer process come October. Frankly, I cannot afford more than a year at 'Nova and they are resistant to any more aid appeals. She is not at all interested in Greek life. She just graduated from a rigorous private school that practised grade deflation. How tough is Bucknell? My daughter is very refined and it took forever to find a room mate who did not care about working out, partying, and rushing. I no longer feel the desperation of getting her transferred out now that Bucknell has come through. She is very hesitant about Lewisberg. Any thoughts?

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I’m not going to sugar coat my response, and, of course, it will be my opinion.

Bucknell is a great school. But it isn’t for everyone. My D2 is/was not a sorority girl, is not athletic and does not go to a gym to work out. She does, however, occasionally like to party. She is a vegetarian and likes a lot of different types of music. She is not hipster or preppy or straight as an arrow. She loves Bucknell, had a great education and remains loyal. But by her senior year, she was ready to leave. And she did wish there was more diversity. But Bucknell is working on that. Also she had a very diverse group of friends of different ethnicities, ages, sexual preferences and identifications. Please understand, this is not necessarily the norm at Bucknell. This was my D’s experience. She also had many friends that belonged to frat’s and sororities. And many students do rush and join a frat or sorority.

My D2 was concerened about the rigor when she entered as a first year. She felt that she might struggle because some of her stats were on the lower end of the 25-75 percentile. But she was serious about school, attended all classes, did all the required work and ended up graduating magna cum laude and winning the outstanding senior award in her major.

Lewisburg is a lovely small town. It is the consummate college town. But it is small. There are some good restaurants, lovely shops, a restored old movie theater and the BU bookstore downtown. Nearby, about 15 miles, there is a mall with most of the usual mall stores. The school regularly has well known speakers, concerts, etc. I told my kids, you can live in a big city for the rest of your life. For 4 years, enjoy the college life.

Good luck with your decision.

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Oh, and my D2 was an RA ( her choice not at all suggested by us) and did a semester abroad.

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Thank you for your thoughtful reply @morrismm and congratulations on your daughter’s accolades. I am sure many seniors are “done” by their fourth year at most places! For us, it comes down to money vs location (my D. wants to come home often (3 hours by car/5ish by bus) because most of her friends are attending local colleges. She, too, wants to study abroad. It’s not financially feasible with 'Nova’s award package. This is weighing so heavily on us. She will head to B. this week then decide. Again, I appreciate the sharing - so cute you mentioned musical taste; very important to the girls at this age!

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@emptyNessa. If you are interested, I will add some perspective from my D who is a rising junior at Bucknell. Morrismm’s description of D’s experience resonates with me. My D also loves Bucknell and feels she is getting a great education. She wishes the student body as a whole were more diverse but she personally has a diverse group of great friends. Although there is an overall “preppy” vibe on campus, that doesn’t mean that everyone is preppy or extremely athletic. She also finds that students in general are smart and pretty serious about their studies (even though there is plenty of partying on campus). She likes Lewisburg quite a bit. Market Street is quaint with some nice boutiques, restaurants, etc. She is heavily involved in theatre / dance, she is a tour guide, has another on campus job a few hours a week and worked as a Junior Fellow in one of the residential colleges this past year. She highly recommends the residential colleges, especially for someone who may see themselves as a bit more “alternative” to the more mainstream party culture. My D is also in a sorority which she likes but it has not been all sunshine and unicorns. She does like to “party” some but has friends who don’t at all and she also attends a lot of the speakers and performances that are brought to campus. D will be going abroad this coming fall to London and feels this will give her a nice taste of city life for a semester. She has also taken advantage of a number of day trips to DC, NYC and Philly through classes and also through the residential college.

One advantage of going to college in a small town is that there is less to spend money on (although frats / sorority dues are not insignificant) - restaurants are reasonably priced and tickets for students for most performances, etc. on campus are $5 or $10.

I also think that you should try to encourage your D to not come home too much on the weekends (especially the first semester) as it will inhibit her really integrating into her new college. Freshman year is the very best time to start making new friends as everyone is in the same boat. She can see her HS friends during fall break, Thanksgiving and winter break.

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@momofzag Completely interested in your thoughts-thank you so much for all the information. I agree with you completely about coming home. Also hope it is not too late to get in a residential college. We will know a lot more after our visit. You have eased my mind, too.

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I will bet that she can get into a residential college but if the seminars that are associated with the colleges are full (which I believe is how they assign students to the res colleges) ask if she can request to just live on one of the residential college halls. In my D’s experience, there are always a few “extra” people who were not officially in the college but were just assigned to the dorm. Those people are welcome to participate in all the residential college co-curricular activities (i.e. the trips, the weekly common hours, any social outings). They just aren’t taking the freshman seminar associated with the college (and there are always several different seminars tied to a particular residential college).

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An overdue follow up to @momofzag and @morrismm : My daughter started Orientation at Bucknell yesterday. To protect her anonymity, I will not mention her hall. She gave up a room in Smith to have a single–we know it was a better hall cosmetically etc. but that’s fine. She also got in the Residential College and seminar she wanted. Even though she will not be living with the others, there will be no difference. She is more than ready for classes to begin. She is definitely not hype on all the Orientation “teambuilding” baloney–that’s not how you meet your people; her people are the ones complaining about it, too!

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@EmptyNessa Glad to hear that your daughter got into the seminar and residential college that she wanted. Hope she has a great first semester. Tell her to keep an open mind and to keep looking for her people if she feels she doesn’t quite fit with the dominant vibe. It really is a great college with great opportunities for those who take advantage. My D just went up to Lewisburg Tuesday / Wednesday to see some of her friends who were pre-orientation leaders and say hello to some professors. She’ll be off to London at the end of the month.