<p>Oh. Dang. I thought it was for a more compelling reason. But I’m with you on wanting to leave California, although I’m from Southern California so it would have been a different experience anyway, I think.</p>
<p>But would you have done the same if it were Stanford and not Berkeley?</p>
<p>Who knows. Palo Alto’s not an exciting place. I used to live there.</p>
<p>At this point in my life, I don’t get hung up on “what ifs.” I suggest you don’t either.</p>
<p>How exciting is Ithaca compared to the Bay Area? Berkeley looked like an alright city, but it didn’t seem like I would be going to San Francisco that often, and Ithaca seemed just as good as Berkeley.</p>
<p>And ugh. I wish I could be like that, but that is basically impossible. Not that I’m unhappy with the way things turned out.</p>
<p>Ithaca isn’t that fun.</p>
<p>"I don’t know which is worse, the fact that you’re arguing unsuccessfully against an actual AEM major, or that you’re justifying some ridiculous reputation promoted by people that aren’t even actual majors. "</p>
<p>I don’t see how I’m arguing with you, or that I’m doing it unsuccessfully because there is really nothing to argue about? And no, this is testimony from actual AEM majors and from personal experience. The difference is obvious when you take an actual AEM class.</p>
<p>
A couple comments …</p>
<p>First, it depends on what you are looking for. Ithaca is a great college town while Palo Alto is a upscale suburb … for me, who loves college towns and easy access to the outdoors, Ithaca wins hands down. If you want the area next to campus to be more upscale with more shopping, etc than Palo Alto wins hands down.</p>
<p>Second, If you include a 40 mile radius … Stanford picks up San Francisco, San Jose, Berkeley, and Santa Cruz (a bit further) … while Cornell picks up Syracuse. So if you’re looking for access to urban activity it’s not even close Stanford wins. That said, the immediate area off campus at Cornell is drop dead gorgeous while at Stanford you’re in suburban gridlock. Stanford if not that far from some amazingly dramatic nature (ocean, mountains, redwoods, etc) … it’s just not right next to campus. (And I mean amazing … if I could move my extended family I’d live in the bay area).</p>
<p>Personally, I likes the Cornell set-up better … the area and the nature right next to campus fit my desires better … Stanford has more to offer is you extend the radius out … however, I was more of a campus home body. </p>
<p>(PS - and yes, I attended both schools so my comments reflect my experience at both schools)</p>
<p>Is the difficulty of Cornell’s STEM classes much harder than that of the liberal arts? High school wise I found the science and math to be far easier than english/history.</p>
<p>It depends on which liberal arts class it is. Languages tend to be quite time-consuming and intensive, while an economics course may not have that full nature. Also, some STEM courses are in the arts college, so you have to keep that in mind.</p>