honest reflection

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
41

<p>"Everytime i read posts by Slipper and other ppl, they make it seem like I turned down a school (Duke) that is superior in almost every aspect, minus engineering."</p>

<p>You shouldn't allow people to make you feel bad about your college decision. On cc, there are going to be people who state that Cornell is the "easiest ivy" to get into, or things of that sort. That's fine. However, though Cornell is the "easiest" ivy to get into (because its acceptance rate is higher), it is not the "least prestigious." A lot of the time, students confuse acceptance rates with prestige, which is not a good indicator. As far as Cornell vs. Duke or UPenn etc., Cornell is not "worse" than them. They are all on par with each other academically. </p>

<p>When it came down for me to choose colleges, I chose Cornell over all the other colleges I got into, including Dartmouth. If I wanted to go to UPenn or Duke, I could have gone. My guidance counselor specifically wanted me to apply to those two schools in addition to others on my list because she would have gotten me in. However, I chose Cornell because it's a world renowned institution, and most importantly, it was the best match for me. I have never regretted my decision.</p>

42

<p>Great post, Sdma89...and good luck.</p>

43

<p>sdma89, will u be a freshman and if so, where ru from and stats if possible, just curious, b/c u seem soo confident in urself. Congrats on everything.</p>

44

<p>Collegekid1988,</p>

<p>As far as choosing between good schools, I believe it to be the best decision for one to pick a school where they are comfortable with regarding location and size. If you've always loved the West Coast, obviously, it would be in your favor to choose UCLA or Berkeley over Rice even though they're all good schools. </p>

<p>If you'd rather be at a smaller institution with a very small class size, your better off picking a school like Swarthmore College over Univ. of Penn.</p>

<p>In the end, it does NOT matter which school you go to if your choosing between Cornell, Northwestern, Duke, or UChicago (for that matter throw in UMAA, UIUC, Berkeley, UCLA, Rice, and other good schools). </p>

<p>What matters is that you do well at that school both academically and socially. Looking back at the four years of your life when you graduate, you need to see yourself as someone who grew as a person - not just in intelligence and knowledge but also in communication skills, maturity, and self-confidence.</p>

<p>My best friend chose Michigan State University's accounting program over Cornell's accounting program, UMAA's program, and UCLA's program (initially it was because MSU offered him a full ride scholarship while Cornell, UMAA, and UCLA didn't offer him anything). Today, he has the choice of interning for Price Water Coopers, Ernst and Young, Plante and Moran, and other top accounting firms. When he graduates, he will most probably be working for the company that he interned for and his salary will be well above average.</p>

<p>During his stay at MSU, he was class valedictorian and president of two rather large cultural associations. His social life was everything he wanted it to be: he had many friends and his girlfriends were among some of the most beautiful women in his college (his current girlfriend is a model). When I ask him whether or not he regretted his decision to go to Cornell, he tries hard not to laugh.</p>

<p>Regardless of what colleges you decide to attend, you need to make the best of your situation. I currently attend one of the top schools in the country for engineering. I'll also be interning for one of the top engineering companies in the East Coast (specifically in the N.Y. <-> N.J. area). Me and my best friend have had a strong rivalry toward one another ever since childhood and even in the future, we will be fierce competitors. But in the end, we both realize that several years into the future, we speak for ourselves and our alma mater can only take us so far. </p>

<p>Sure, I may be able to land a terrific job the first year out of college thanks to my resume; but as far as getting promoted and building connections in the job market well into the future, it will be up to me to do so. If I plan on getting an MBA from a top business school (which I want to), they could care less what undergraduate school I went to. What they will be looking for is my job performance. They care more about how well I fostered the skills I learnt in my prior education and used those skills in better establishing myself in the job market.</p>

<p>I'm sure that one of the reasons why you choose Cornell over other elite schools in the country is because you felt the location and student body of Cornell to more exciting and promising for your undergraduation experience than that of other schools. Make no mistake about it - Cornell's campus is one of most gorgeous places in the country and Cornell's student body is quite arguably the most exciting student body in all the Ivy League. They are known to study hard but also party hard.</p>

<p>So don't look back now and take advantage of the wonderful opportunities that Cornell has to offer you and succeed.</p>

<p>Good Luck</p>

45

<p>College guy, can you private message me your email? I've got something impt. to discuss with you but I'll be viciously attacked if I do so in this public forum. THanks, hope to hear from you soon.</p>

46

<p>Nah....your not getting creamed for your opinion. Go ahead and share with us.</p>

47

<p>Basically, I left Cornell at the beginning of this year as a freshman cuz I hated Ithaca so much, and I tought I'd share my experiences with college kid, btw reminding him it was MY experience and his might be totally diff.</p>

48

<p>Just so you know, my stats were the following:</p>

<p>SATs 1580 SAT2s 800,800,760 (history, Calc2, French)
GPA in hi: 4.0/4.0</p>

<p>Was admited at Duke, Stan, Yale, Dart, and UChi.</p>

<p>"The thing though is that When I applied to Cornell it was #6. Now what is it, #14? Rankings are silly devices (or mabye vices?) used because Americans need to quantify everything. Rankings are silly because the vast majority of student will have all the resources that they need to succeed at any of the top universities." </p>

<p>Perhaps then we should assign the Cornell board to decide which schools are really better, US News don't know the job they've been doing for decades now, it's a bunch of Cornell freshmen who are going to tell us which school is better.</p>

49

<p>My God all these schools are awesome why can't you people forget about stupid rankings? (this is from non CORNELL student) Sometimes I swear you people seem just to need to validate your own insecurities with stupid ranking systems. jeez</p>

50

<p>dukedemon I think you missed the point of that quote. They weren't saying that they could rank the schools better than US News, they were saying that ranking the schools at all is a stupid idea. I tend to agree. But if you think that your school's ranking reflects anything about you or what your experience will be for the next four years, then you can hang onto that number as long as you need to.</p>

51

<p>hmmm...my opinion, the Duke dude is a LIAR. I highly doubt you were admitted to Stanford and Yale and happened to land at Duke. That sounds kinda odd to me. Why don't u explain. Sure, buddy, I got into harvard as well...now that you mention it...i also got into stanford...but didn't like that cali sun anymore :)...</p>

52

<p>Incollege88 got into Princeton and he chose Duke. And almost EVERY SINGLE PERSON I met at Duke turned Cornell down. With Upenn, it was more or less 50/50. This information is tainted with post hoc fallacy, but personal reflections seem to run rampant in this thread.</p>

53

<p>but devil...where is the prooof....exactly my pt...how do u know incollege got into princeton or that duke troll dude got into those places or for that matter, how he got a 1580 SAT score...where is the proof. Duke is a phenomenal school...and you seem kinda naieve in a sense to believe that all these ppl are turning down Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Stanford for Duke...i am sorry buddy. I mean if they are from the South...than maybe that makes sense...but I mean it just sounds a lil weird that like the 2 biggest Duke supporters on these boards turned down HYP material...don't u think?? I mean...u don't see many ppl around the cornell boards saying they turned down HYP...b/c most likely..it would be a lie...and i think the same goes w. duke. IDK...but who cares...good luckkkkk and enjoy Duke.</p>

54

<p>Collegekid, you are ruminating singularly. People turn down schools for many reasons and not just the security that supposedly comes with name recogntion. I have conversed with incollege88 since I first got onto these boards, and he is a very smart guy. Do you mean to tell me that it is rare for a Dukie to have a 1580? Go to the duke decisions thread and you will see dozens of 1600s that were rejected. Moreover, does DUke not have a higher avg. SAT than Cornell? That is irrelevant in determining reputation, but I have to espouse the notion of turning down HYP for DUke as quite probable. Duke has, quite possibly, the most gorgeous campus in the country and the students are very laid back. </p>

<p>But hey...you already made your bed, no?</p>

55

<p>Yeah collegekid, Harvard's yield is slightly less than 80%, that means that 1 out of 5 kids admitted there don't go. Even more don't go to Yale, Princeton, and Stanford. Now sure some of those are people not going to one and instead chosing another, but I'd bet a significant amount are people chosing other Ivies or Ivy-level schools (like Duke). Even Cornell, your future alma matter, which you are so intently putting down, probably takes some of them.</p>

56

<p>Good point.</p>

57

<p>second, why is devil may cry always on the cornell board..sounds like someone is insecure about their decision, go back to your own board bud, and also, use words in the right context, you use words in the wrong context all of the time..this kid is an idiot</p>

58

<p>um...devil i got agreee broo...u use these words out of contex all of the time...i am surprised he was the first to mention that. But nonetheless, you got a solid vocabulary...</p>

59

<p>devil may cry is a pseudo-intellectual, and by the way.. i have like three kids in my fraternity that turned down duke for cornell, cornell holds better reputation and its an indisputable fact..except US NEWS which you stand behind for everything, check out the London rankings, the world rankings, see who is ranked higher buddy</p>

60

<p>why use big words on this board, we all ahd amaing sat scorese and writing, ur not impressing anyone get the hell off of our board, no one likes you and cornell dominnates you bro and all ur duke friends, this is dumb why are u always here...if u were confident u wouldknt be hear all the time..its real strange, no one elise notices this?????</p>