<p>HI! Please help me, I only have a few days left to decide! I know theres another one of these but my decision is based on slightly different things. I'm a girl and right now I am interested in studying science, specifically neuroscience, possibly with psychology and/or bio.<br>
I was accepted into college of Agriculture and life sciences at cornell, with a biometry and statistics major (can minor with science or change to science major- I checked).
That was in mid-march and i was very excited as were my friends and family (Ivy-league, big name, etc.)
However, i visited midd last fall and absolutely fell in love with it- it had been the school i had my heart set on before cornell. I also had been in contact w/ the soccer coach there and theres a chance i can play at midd if not varsity then JV. (i love soccer, been playing since i was 5). I wouldnt be playing at cornell, i could try out for a club team but with such a big school idk even that might be difficult.
I got accepted to Midd a few weeks later but was hoping to get some financial aid which i did not get. this makes cornell cheaper because of the partial state-funding, which my parents like. I always wanted a small LAC but convinced myself i wanted to go to cornell b/c of the better price and prestigious name. I am still a little worried about the size and that it will be too big (my graduating class at HS is less than 150 kids). although i know u can probly find your own niche and stuff
Anyway, yesterday i was talking to a friend who's sibling goes to midd and it reminded me of everything i always loved about it and now i am having second thoughts about cornell! i am back to square one, split between cornell and middlebury... HELPPPP!!!!</p>
<p>(also thanks to anyone to took the time to read this, i just realized its rediculously long!)
ps. i most likely will go to grad. school after college</p>
<p>middlebury is as good, if not better than, as cornell. i was accepted last year but the middle of nowhere location was slightly off putting. also, when i spoke to the admissions office, it didn’t seem like there were a whole lot of research opportunities. you should go where you think you will be able to study what you want to the fullest extent.</p>
<p>In my opinion Middlebury is a better school, but Cornell has more of a name. If you want a small school, which it seems you do, I would pick Middlebury.</p>
<p>You should be really excited about where you are going to go to college, not wishing you were someplace else.</p>
<p>If the money is a big deal to your parents, start getting excited about Cornell. It shouldn’t be hard, go to the cornell subforum, they’ll help you.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, realistically I don’t think anybody here can really help you much in figuring out how much weight to ascribe to the financial ramifications to your parents, that’s kind of a personal decision to which there’s no one right answer.</p>
<p>It would be easier if one could say that the whole subsequent course of your life would obviously be better one way or the other. But I really can’t say that, I’ve known successful people from both schools. Your life may well be different, but who can say how.</p>
<p>You must be a NYS resident. I would choose Cornell, especially given the price difference, as long as you can get the neuroscience courses you want as an Ag school student. Research experiences are available if you actively seek them. Cornell will actually fund undergrad research proposals.</p>
<p>The Ivy League membership doesn’t help Cornell much–on top of that, you won’t be attending the College of Arts and Sciences.</p>
<p>Middlebury is a wonderful place to be; it’s respected by top firms, the best graduate schools, and the elite. It is as prestigious as Cornell, if not more so–Cornell is more reputable among the common populace and internationally. </p>
<p>An additional 64k is quite a hefty price to pay, but if your parents are willing to make the investment so that you can have the best possible undergrad experience, you should bite the bullet, enjoy yourself, and make them proud.</p>
<p>Ann Coulter is an idiot.
Two of the Ag school students who were in my freshman dorm were, last I heard, professors at Princeton. One who I lived with is a Professor at UC Davis. Two others I knew became veterinarians.</p>
<p>In actuality both Middlebury and Cornell fine schools, though they are very different in terms of their access to depth, breadth, and diversity. Middlebury’s small LAC character may be what the original poster is looking for, but she might want to keep in mind that it does not match the wealth of extraordinary academic alternatives that exist within Cornell’s seven undergraduate colleges. That Cornell is in the Ivy League merely distracts from its more genuine individual character as a university which has a tremendous wealth of diverse academic options, almost all of which are exceptional.</p>
<p>Calling Coulter an “idiot” and a “fascist” is just about as bad as calling Obama “stupid” and a "socialist.</p>
<p>I’m sure there are plenty of testaments as to how gorges Cornell is, but it’s outrageous as to be so petty as to deceive naive and ignorant perspectives by bringing up individual cases–the insecurities and instabilities of individuals–and using them to make crude and inaccurate generalizations about an institution.</p>
<p>Cornell is a fine university, but the OP has implied that Midd is an excellent fit for her and that it would be financially feasible for her family.</p>
<p>The matter comes down to the prestige, imagined and real, of Cornell, and how this factor holds the chief weight in dissuading her to enroll. It shouldn’t.</p>
<p>The OP also explicitly indicated that she did not yet know what the “right” decision was by virtue of explicitly asking here for feedback regarding her two final collegiate choices.</p>
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<p>That Cornell is in the Ivy League – along with its supposed built-in prestige – “merely distracts from its more genuine individual character as a university that has a tremendous wealth of diverse academic options, almost all of which are exceptional.” So the clear argument is that Cornell’s “prestige,” which some folks buy and some don’t, need not be the key factor in the OP’s decision. Attributes like Cornell’s depth, breadth, and diversity of top-notch options – in both academic, as well as social terms – is key. That, along with Cornell being a powerhouse research institution which makes available its incredible research labs to undergrads. This might be important to the OP, who indicated in her original post that she is planning an academic major based in the life sciences.</p>
<p>A conscientious reader who sets aside his-or-her biases, and who studies the particular quote by the former Middlebury student in post number 14, can discern qualities contrary to what you insinuate, that is, that the transferee exhibited qualities of security and stability in the quote, which was coherent and very clearly written. That it is just one opinion, albeit well stated, this is true.</p>
<p>If you had read the posts that you are referring to dispassionately, then you might have noticed that I referred to both Cornell and Middlebury as “fine schools.” Also, you could have noted that the posts were “leveling the playing field” from previous spurious claims regarding Cornell. And, you might have read the sentence “That it is just one opinion, albeit well stated,” regarding my take on the Middlebury outbound-transfer’s post. You of course didn’t do that because you may have a strong bias for Midd (or your simply not be a very close reader). I happen to have a very strong bias for Cornell-- but I still was careful to praise Middlebury, unlike you regarding Cornell. Your not-so-veiled snide is not-so-classy, imho, but I doubt that it detracts from Middlebury’s strengths as a fine LAC.</p>
<p>By the way Cornell has 94 reviews currently on Epinions with a 4 out of 5 stars positive rating. Middlebury has 16 reviews, also with a 4 out of 5 star rating.</p>