So I was accepted to these schools and I need to decide on which to attend. Although this is a good decision to have to make, it doesn’t make it any easier. Please give me some insight on these schools in general. Ultimately, I plan on choosing the school that is the best fit for me, but I would also like to take a look at which of the programs are the most worthwhile.
What I am looking for:
-Most outstanding CS program
-Best research and internship opportunities
-Importance of dual degrees, master degrees, and special degree programs?
-Cost is a factor – but these are relatively close in cost
Penn
Pros
-Cost of Attendance = $9k/year (received need-based aid that covers all the tuition plus some)
-Great internship & research opportunities (medium sized CS program, in Philadelphia with many companies)
-Potential Cognitive & Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence program (Computer Science + Mathematics Dual Degree)
-Close to home (may make continuing research and internships over the summer very plausible)
-Campus has good mix of urban and campus feel
Cons
-Large emphasis on Wharton, business, and entrepreneurship (not sure if this is what I want – this is my main concern with -Penn, although I’m not sure how true this is)
-Housing for 4-years is not the best
-The pure engineering/CS program (rather than entrepreneurship + engineering) may not be as strong as Cornell
Cornell
Pros
-Cost of Attendance = N/A (did not receive financial aid package yet, but the financial aid calculator from college board estimates that Cornell will cover all expenses but $15k/year. This may be my most expensive option)
-Good research opportunities (large CS faculty/program)
-Most renowned engineering program out of the three
-Reasonable distance from home (~4-5 hours)
-Campus/housing is very nice
Cons
-No nearby city to have internships/co-ops in (I can still research during the school year or do co-ops over the summer)
-Very large engineering/CS program (may be hard to get individual attention or engaging research opportunities)
-Very cold winters
-Dual degree in math and CS will take 5 years
I do not know enough to be of any use to you, but are you certain that a math/CS degree will require five years of study?
Rereading your post, I am guessing that you applied for CS in Engineering and not CS in A&S. You might want to contact someone at Cornell to see how long you would need to wait before transferring to A&S and if you could start taking some of the Math classes while still in Engineering. It is relatively easy to transfer among the colleges at Cornell.
Yes, winters are cold.
Some of Cornell’s freshman dorms are very nice and some are in need of rehab. The campus is beautiful.
Indeed, a great dilemma to have! Seeing that you want go into CS and plan on going for masters… Cornell would be better because of its stronger program… But the FIT is what’s important.
Their endownment isn’t too bad. Also, let’s say Cornell gave you 45k and Princeton gives you 55k. The extra 10k is worth it for them to get top their students. Think about it like an investment. Also, not many students will go to Cornell over another ivy for the grant match. If it were 1000 (highly highly highly unlikely) kids, and 10k extra grant each that’s 10M dollars. That’s nothing
I agree. Really, how many students are thinking… I really want to go to Cornell, but Princeton is so much cheaper. If only Cornell would match my financial aid offer.
I don’t mean to knock Cornell, which is a great school, but even if it someone considered it a perfect fit, it’s very hard to turn Princeton down, would you?
@DreamingGirl , sorry but I don’t believe Cornell would match Stanford. Stanford has one of the most generous loan-free financial aid programs around. My son goes to Stanford and my daughter Cornell. Cornell’s financial aid is not as good (turned down our appeal) and includes loans.
Sorry this doesn’t address OPs question, but just wanted to comment.
@Renomamma That’s odd, on the financial aid website it lists Stanford along with the Ivies, MIT, and Duke that they match. Did they match only the contribution part and count loans toward their total aid instead?
We “received” about the same amount of aid from both, but Stanford’s is all grant $ whereas Cornell’s includes loans I think lumping in loans with the FA package is kind of cheesy. It’s just not the same.
Many other things are free at Stanford that are not at Cornell, such as laundry, gyms, busses…
@somilgo Fit and cost of attendance should be your main criteria i think since Penn does have a very strong CS program too that routinely sends grads to top tech firms and top grad schools. The departmental strength difference between Penn, Cornell is not really important at the undergraduate level, given that Penn is also very strong and provides many cool research opportunities and other amazing stuff like Penn Apps ( prob the biggest college hackathon in the country). Also Penn has more interdisciplinary offerings than Cornell (dual degrees, double majors) and takes a more well rounded approach to undergraduate education. Can’t go wrong with either tho. Visit both to see where you fit in the best (the schools are quite different in terms of environment) and also def consider the cost factor.
I think lumping in loans with the FA package is kind of cheesy. It’s just not the same.