<p>I need to decide between Northwestern and Cornell by Saturday (April 30) and I am having a lot of trouble doing so. Over the past 2 weekends I visited them both, and I can't seem to pick one over the other.
A little about myself to help make a decision: from Califronia, Comp Sci major (but truely undecided), a doer (always found doing something and getting into new things), outgoing, like to feel a sense of community, finds it hard to make decisions.
Thank you so much for your help!</p>
<p>Go to Cornell, It's an Ivy League school.</p>
<p>Same boat. I think I'm choosing Cornell for a few reasons. 1. The campus is filled with ivy covered castles and everything is clean and well kept. At NU, the tape and flyers were all over the ground. I preferred the chalk at Cornell. 2. Sports: NU may be in Big 10, but it's the lowest school, and always loses in Basketball and Football. Cornell plays ivy schools, and is number one in hockey which everyone loves and goes crazy over. Bears are a better mascot than wild cats in my opinion anyways. 3. I'll be more proud to say that I went to Cornell that NU, where people say, what's that? Also the color red is a better school color than purple. I'd like to have my office decked out in red Cornell things, than Purple NU things. Also: Cornell has Cornellians, but what are you if you go to Northwestern? a Northwesternite? I guess a wildcat? Northwestern is a bad name for a school anyways. It lacks creativity. 4. Opportunities. Cornell opens up doors with its name, and is larger and better for research. Sure NU has Chicago, which is basically the only thing it has going for it, but Cornell has itself. It doesn't need a city to define it. Cornell is great because it is Cornell. and 5. The quarter system has more cons and pros. Sure you get more classes, but you also get more mid terms, more finals, and less breadth of learning. I'd rather have more classes to choose from (Cornell offering anything and everything), and be able to submerge myself in learning everything I can in the class. 6. Airfare isn't tragic: I'm also from CA, so this is also a concern for me. I flew to Chicago for $200 with Southwest, which I thought was the best out there. But! Through JetBlue, I can fly from Oakland or Sac to Syracuse for like $250, then pay the $23 for the shuttle to Cornell. 7. If Chicago is that important of a factor, you can at least fly to NYC on the weekend and come back with airfare a little over $100. 8. Evanston has trashy slums around it, and there was a lot more crime on campus. My host told me about his iPod being stolen, and people being mugged while walking to the football stadium. Ithaca has no slums, and the Cornell campus felt very safe (partially because of its isolation, which works to its benefit here.) Everyone I talked to there said they leave stuff sitting out all the time and there doors unlocked.</p>
<p>Overall, Cornell's only draw back is its isolation (which is sometimes a good thing), whereas Northwestern's only plus is being by Chicago (which is a 45 minute trip on the 'L', which is grungy and dangerous.) A testament to the 'L' being trashy is this: When I first got to Chicago, I took the 'L' to Evanston. When I switched trains at Howard, I went downstairs to find a bathroom (there wasnt one) and on my way back up the stairs, I saw a woman in a mini skirt peeing at the top of the stairs! I could see EVERYTHING much to my dismay. I was disgusted and turned around. Then she was done, and I went back up. My dad also pointed out the puddle dripping down the steps on the opposite end, proving that this was a common occurrence. This would NEVER happen at Cornell.</p>
<p>Thus, Cornell is a no brainer.</p>
<p>(Note: I didn't know this was the NU board until after that post so please save me the onslaught of insults, I was being honest)</p>
<p>no problem; at this point i'm on the fence between the two schools; so perspectives from both sides are appreciated and encouraged</p>
<p>Elevenbanks - A wonderful post about why selecting schools is such an individual decision. Obviously these are reasons that are highly personal for you to pick Cornell over Northwestern, but i can imagine many other posters not valuing the same things you do, or picking Northwestern for hearing information just the opposite on each topic you covered. For instance:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>"NU, the tape and flyers were all over the ground." A few days ago, one poster said the opposite, They loved the uniqueness of Northwestern for having the flyers on the ground.</p></li>
<li><p>"Sports: NU may be in Big 10, but it's the lowest school, and always loses in Basketball and Football." Northwestern was 5-3 in the Big Ten in football last year, and had a 500 winning percentage in the Big Ten in basketball the year before. In the last 10 years they have shared the Big Ten championship three times in football and gone to several bowl games including the Rose Bowl and Citrus Bowl. Women's lacrosse is currently #1, Women's tennis was #2 last week with the number 1 doubles team, where both players have been ranked #1 in singles over the last two years. We had a Big Ten individual champion in wrestling and an NCAA individual champion in men's swimming this year. Luke Donald was NCAA individual champion in golf a few years back when the golf team was ranked #3. Wrestling, Women's fencing, softball, individual endurance swimming, all highly ranked this year ...(you get the point). Many students cherish sharing the experience of a big football or basketball game or taking in a Women's lacrosse game with hundreds of other students.</p></li>
<li><p>"Also the color red is a better school color than purple." Personally, I prefer purple, but cardinal, maroon, crimson are all pretty good too. Obviously highly personal. "Northwestern is a bad name for a school anyways. It lacks creativity." I think, Princeton, Oxford, Cambridge equally lack in creativity. I guess it is only creative if you name your school after it's founder. In Northwestern's case it should have been Evans University for their founder (Evanston did follow this idea in naming itself after Northwestern's founder since the city of Evanston didn't exist until after Northwestern's founding )</p></li>
<li><p>"Opportunities: ...Sure NU has Chicago, which is basically the only thing it has going for it, but Cornell has itself. It doesn't need a city to define it. Cornell is great because it is Cornell." I'm speechless. Your reasoning is similar to fans of professional sports teams, I can't argue with someone so devoted. It's great to see. You will obviously be very loyal and proud of Cornell.</p></li>
<li><p>"The quarter system has more cons and pros...and less breadth of learning." Many would argue the opposite, that the quarter system exposes them to 50% more classes through the course of their 4 years thus exposing themselves to a greater breadth of possible subjects.</p></li>
<li><p>"Airfare isn't tragic" It's good to be resourceful.</p></li>
<li><p>"If Chicago is that important of a factor, you can at least fly to NYC on the weekend and come back with airfare a little over $100." It is true that many prefer New York. Personally, I think Chicago is one of the most beautiful and vibrant cities in the world. Of course the winters are pretty bad.</p></li>
<li><p>"Evanston has trashy slums around it, and there was a lot more crime on campus." Sure, there are areas of Evanston that are not scenic but urban environments often don't have rolling hills. I am sorry you got a slum/crime impression of Northwestern on your visit. It's an impression that is unusual to visitors to Northwestern, where the reality is a beautiful campus with crime not being a problem. The woman peeing is something that comes with subways/els and big cities, but downstairs at the Howard train station is more of a Chicago phenomenon than an Evanston phenomenon. I think you will find New York City has similar incidents that Columbia students may have noticed if they wonder around New York City.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>But again, it is clear you made a wonderful choice in Cornell for yourself. Being happy and devoted to what you are doing is the first step in success. Your post is a great reminder on why college selection is very individualistic and you are obviously a great fit for Cornell. Good luck in your Cornell experience!</p>
<p>hormesis3, that was a great post. I especially applaud you for not attacking elevenblanks' post but instead taking a calm, collected approach in defending your opinion.</p>
<p>just a quick response to one point that sticks out:
"Opportunities: ...Sure NU has Chicago, which is basically the only thing it has going for it, but Cornell has itself. It doesn't need a city to define it. Cornell is great because it is Cornell."
where are you going to go for a job/internship? there isnt all that much in ithaca and sure isnt fun to have to fly down to ny for interviews etc...
where are you going to go shopping , eat out , hang out etc...?
there are enourmous advantages to being near a big city...</p>
<p>from my visit to nu, didnt get any feeling of insecurity, was out walking around late night was fine...</p>
<p>and as for the posting on the ground, i dont understand why they dont post on lampposts especially since its often rainy but its cute and seems to be done in a neat manner ( they take them all off and clean once a week)</p>
<p>srry elevenblanks, but responding to points in ur post is just a lot easier than making up bs of my own lol
one thing i do agree with you is the name northwestern just doesnt sound fancy or nice which is a pity since the school is in my opinion.. and also just doesnt look good on a t shirt.. oh well that much im willing to forgo i guess ..lol..</p>
<p>honestly, i think what u decide is more a matter of personal preference so i dont understand how after visiting both and getting a feel for both u can still be uindecided... </p>
<p>i vote nu lol</p>
<p>
[quote]
Sure NU has Chicago, which is basically the only thing it has going for it, but Cornell has itself. It doesn't need a city to define it.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>LOL! Talking about being in denial! The rest of the post is just as trashy and misleading. Pretty much everyone thinks the part of Evanston where NU is located is nice, clean and fairly upscale; elevanblanks, let's be honest, would you? People here look for meaningful info, NOT your grossly distorted description.</p>
<p>One more thing:
Evanston/Chicago: Cold As Hell
Ithaca: Colder than Hell</p>
<p>in all honesty, I know very little about Cornell, and I will be going to NU in the fall. </p>
<p>Now for some (hopefully) answers:
I think part of the reason why the fliers are on the ground is because there arent a whole lot of lamp posts. I not only found it to be kind of "cute".. but compared to my experience at u. of chicago, berkeley, oberlin, students seemed much much much more aware of the kind of activities and opportunities around them, which is great for while you are in college. </p>
<p>Location: I wandered around evanston and northwestern's campus around midnight, it was totally safe. During Preview NU, a group of about 12 prospies walked into downtown evanston around 1 AM to go to a coffee shop, and they all felt fine when they came back.... Anybody who knows anything about metropolitan america knows that the North Shore of chicago is the nice, wealthy part. You dont even have to be cultured, just watch Mean Girls. </p>
<p>Opportunities: NU has a better reputation and better programs than Cornellin many areas. Also, they have an awesome program of setting up internships with chicago institutions</p>
<p>First thing: "Cold as Hell"...that is some sort of Oxy Moron I guess. Second thing: Evanston is really not unbearably cold. Have a great coat and you will be fine. Many people consider it to be the perfect college town. Both are great schools, so in the end I would go to whereever I would feel would make me the happiest for four whole years of my life.</p>
<p>actually, I think it is indeed colder at NW, b/c of the lake effect ppl. That wind is brutal in the winter. However, both places man do not fare well with like Stanford, Rice, UCLA, etccccccccccccccccccc. :)</p>
<p>hi chris! its isaac</p>
<p>i would go to Northwestern given the choice. It was my number 1 pick out of high school, i did not get in, and still want to go there for grad school.</p>
<p>both are in "questionable" areas, but in the end i'd say evanston and its proximity to chicago would win out.</p>
<p>Cornell is an "ivy" but you're at the point where either place is incredibly presitgous so i dont think that that matters all too much.</p>
<p>ilab: stop trolling, im sure if i went through all your posts, i could find a few things that would give me a quick chuckle. For example, as long as we're talking semantics, oxymoron is one word... and cold as hell is also a colloquialism, so let it slide. So stop trying to make me look bad. </p>
<p>Second thing: I never said evanston was unbearably cold.. my comment was just meant to imply that its not as cold as Ithaca. Keep in mind, these comments are coming from a San Franciscan, so theres not a spot of earth in the other 47 states (excluding miami and hawaii) that would not be considered "cold" by me at some point in the year. </p>
<p>My understanding of the lake effect is that it doesnt cause temperatures to cool down at all, as you suggest. I could be wrong, but this is how it was explained to me: enormous bodies of water generally take a long time to heat up, and a long time to cool down, so they generally stay about the same temperature throughout the year... having this consistently moderate body nearby causes the temperature on the lakeside area to be more mild (less cold in the winter, less warm in the summer) that it would be otherwise.
I dont know though, i just heard that somewhere... would any Illinois natives, or professional meteorologists have something to add, because its an interesting phenomenon for me.
But yes, it is more windy than you would ever believe.. and the wind chill is terrible.</p>
<p>From USA Today:</p>
<p>Places along the southern and eastern sides of the Great Lakes are famous for the huge amounts of snow that fall on them. </p>
<p>When snow piles up in places such as Marquette, Mich., or Buffalo, N.Y., people start talking about the lake effect. </p>
<p>It all begins when bitter cold air dives across the Great Lakes. As the cold air flows over the warm water, the relatively warm lake water heats the air's bottom layer as lake moisture evaporates into the cold air. </p>
<p>Since warm air is lighter - less dense - than cold air, the heated air rises and begins to cool.</p>
<p>As the air cools, the moisture that evaporated into it condenses and forms clouds, and snow begins falling from the cloud if the air is humid enough.</p>
<p>The wind pushes the clouds over the land. As this happens, friction with the ground, which is greater than the friction between the lake's water and the moving air, slows the winds. This causes the air that's carrying the clouds to "pile up" - meteorologists call this "convergence."</p>
<p>Convergence increases the amount of snow that's falling on the land compared with the amount falling on the lake.</p>
<p>As the wind continues inland it runs into hills, sometimes only a few miles from the lake, which forces the air to rise, which cools it. As the air cools, more humidity condenses to create even more snow. This is why the heaviest lake effect snow falls on hills inland from the great lakes. </p>
<p>Sometimes lake-effect snow clouds develop enough up and down motion to create "thundersnow" - a snow storm with thunder and lightning. </p>
<p>While the USA's heaviest lake-effect snow falls around the Great Lakes, it also falls on other places, especially near the Great Salt Lake in Utah.</p>
<p>neat, i guess i was way off, thanks for the info</p>
<p>wow i was having the same dilemma as the op till the last weekend. personally, what op wrote made me feel like he/she would like northwestern more than cornell. i've decided to go to cornell after a month of debating, but i really think it's important for one to follow his/her gut feelings. ask yourself this question: when people said go to cornell, how'd you feel? when people said go to northwestern, how'd you feel? when were you happier (even if it's the slightest bit)? i still come to nu board and love nu. it was hard for me to send out that "declination" letter. good luck on your decision-making!:)</p>
<p>hey Issac! what have you surmized about NU? do u feel better or worse about it now that you have talked to people about it? also, did you think that the people there were friendly? I found that the people at Cornell were a lot more approchable and personable. idk, if that is true of everyone though, your comments....</p>
<p>Misty:
I'm trying to go about that whole process where I listen to my "gut feel"
when people say go to Cornell, I could very much imagine myself there, but I have a big feeling that I will get bored...I need to be stimulated and I dont necessarily want to be set in such a rural environment.
And when people say to go to Northwestern, I am pleased by the feeling that I will be next to a big city and Evanston (which I like a lot more that College Town) and I liked the school when I visited, but I feel that Cornell has nicer people and more to offer within the school
Suficit to say, i do not know what my "gut feel" is
can u (or anyone else) help?</p>