<p>My son was offered the $29,000/year tuition exchange scholarship at Lafayette. We're not eligible for financial aid at Cornell (or Lafayette) but can't afford the Cornell tuition without significant loans. Will study engineering (civil/environmental). Thoughts?</p>
<p>smabe:
I am a civil engineering graduate of Lafayette and I found my education there to be excellent. Cornell is probably the highest ranked ivy for engineering, and I have known several excellent engineers from that program. All things being equal, I would lean towards Cornell. However, if it were my money, I would choose Lafayette, given the scholarship differential. For undergrad education, I don’t think it is worth the extra cash for name recognition. Also, the fact that there are no grad students at LC to divert resources away from the undergrads is a benefit in and of itself.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think you’ve said what we’ve been thinking … we love Cornell (I’m a Cornell grad along with much of my family) but all things are not equal… and he also loves Lafayette! We’re re-visiting Lafayette on Monday and unless they mess up, I think that’s the decision. Thanks!</p>
<p>My son goes to Laf and I graduated from Cornell. Can’t speak to the engineering aspects, but I can to other intangibles. Having only undergrad students for faculty to focus on is a huge plus for Lafayette. I remember vividly how the grad students got most of the cool professors (read: Carl Sagan) and their attention. On the other hand, Ithaca beats the hell out of Easton and it appears that Cornell’s size translates into more things to do. Good luck. You can’t lose.</p>