Hey guys I plan on majoring in physics and eventually go into astrophysics. Pros and cons of MIT and Cornell!?
See if you are admitted first. You are past the ED date in any case so there is not reason not to apply to both.
well I wont apply until 2017 but I want to know which is better if i were to get accepted to both
want to apply ed
Just worry about getting in first…
Exactly
They’re both great. If you are lucky enough to be able to choose between them – or to choose between any two (or more) schools of very roughly similar quality – I think you’ll serve yourself best to choose based on fit and finances.
Regardless, be sure to apply to more schools than just MIT and Cornell, because nobody is guaranteed acceptance to either.
My $0.02 based on living near both areas: Boston trumps Ithaca 11 times out of 10.
“12 Reasons Why Ithaca New York Is the Best College Town in America” / Business Insider (available online).
@merc81 Boston has almost all of the positive aspects on that list, and not as much of the negative (see: MA winters aren’t as bad, save for the occasional nor’easter). Besides, subjectivity aside, Ithaca is in the middle of nowhere, while Boston is a global tech center. The internships and jobs you can get there simply aren’t matched in Ithaca.
Ultimately, it’s up to personal fit, but Boston is going to be very advantageous for job placement.
If you are applying this year you missed the early deadline of 11/1.
If you are applying in a future year you have lots of time to think about it. Academics would be excellent in either place. Consider differences in location, size, type of school (STEM oriented v more well-rounded) etc. Run the net price calculator if affordability might be an issue. Visit if possible. Then decide. Nobody on this board can presume to know which will be the better fit for you.
There is no disadvantage being in Ithaca from a career standpoint, none whatsoever. As for the comment of being in the middle of nowhere, well that is a personal preference. If you like lakes, trees, mountains, clean air, trips to wineries and such activities, Ithaca is the place to be.
After the novelty of being in a city like Boston wears off, most students do basically the same thing whether in Boston or Ithaca.
I would like @BobNotBob to provide specific examples of how Boston offers more to a college student in terms of internship.
I think the main differentiating factor is whether you want to spend your college experience surrounded by other STEM mavens like yourself or want your college experience to include people who are non-STEM. D figured she’d have the rest of her professional life to be surrounded by STEM-types so she wanted her college career to include all the art history majors, poly sci devotees, psych researchers, etc…
It’s a very personal decision.
Wait and see if you even get in first. You might have the stats to get into those schools, but so do thousands of other kids. Don’t set your sights on one and not have any backups.
You’ll need a PhD for astrophysics. Both are awesome options and can prepare you for that, so your decision should be based on personal preference. Search for posts by @harvardandberkeley, who has written a lot about physics/astronomy programs.
If you truly have no preference, you could apply both ED to Cornell and EA to MIT. (For that matter, you may want to look into other EA options as well, such as Chicago and Caltech.) Of course, you’d be required to attend Cornell if you were admitted.
Agreed. Personally, I’d much rather go to college in Ithaca than in a major city. YMMV.
@TurnerT You’re not actually attempting to argue that a city with a population of 30,000 has the same internship opportunities as the 10th largest metropolitan area in the country, right?
my mistake sorry
“Internship opportunities” are much less important than research opportunities, and both universities offer plenty of those. If the OP wants to pursue internships in a city, there’s opportunities to do so in the summer, which is when the vast majority of students do internships anyway. The NSF-REU programs, for example.
https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/list_result.jsp?unitid=5045
In any case, city life comes with some drawbacks. There’s a reason a lot of astronomy work takes place outside major cities…and why Cornell’s observatory is less than 5 miles away rather than MIT’s 40.
@warblersrule - Now that we have entered the age of the “Internet Of Things” having a remote observatory is no longer a drawback.
Four of MIT’s telescopes can controlled remotely from a virtual observatory right on campus.
They can also be programmed to carry out a nighttime observation and record the results while the “observer” is out enjoying all the nightlife the city has to offer. 
http://news.mit.edu/2015/remote-observing-progress-wallace-observatory-0527
@BobNotBob This argument comes up all the time, I have yet to see any issue. It is completely a red herring. Most kids do work over the summer anyway not during school.
If you were correct then Cornell wouldn’t get so many applications. I believe last year Cornell received over 40,000 applications.
Give me one concrete example of a Cornell student being disadvantaged. Keep in mind in your city example, how many other students are in Boston or want to internship over the summer in Boston. Competition?
A student from a Boston school could just as easily intern in Alaska over the summer.