I’m currently leaning towards Northwestern having just visited the campus, but don’t want to make my final decision until I have an official visit to Cornell. In terms of academics however, I worry that I could be missing out on some things at Cornell. My intention is to go on to the premed track but i know that could change. In terms of education, how do the schools compare? How easy is it to transfer between schools/majors?I am a first generation college student trying to learn as much as I can. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated thanks
Go to whichever school you prefer – they are both excellent academically. And you need to check with both universities about the ease of changing schools – in some cases it can be very difficult to arrange an internal transfer (esp. if you are trying to transfer into a more competitive program as compared to the one you were admitted for).
Evanston/Chicago >> Ithaca
It’s extremely easy to switch colleges at NU.
The thing my son liked best about NU (he’ll be applying this fall) was that he could double major in Engineering and Econ (easier with a quarter system that would allow him to take more classes). They definitely encourage doubling, even if it involves separate schools. Cornell might be more difficult. And yeah – Evanston is great, Chicago is close.
hey guys thanks a lot for the feedback its helping me out with my decision alot!
Visit Cornell then decide. Cornell is stronger in the life sciences, but NU is amazing in Chemistry and has one of the nation’s top 10 hospitals (Memorial Hospital) close to the campus which can facilitate research and internships. Cornell co-owns NYPH, but that’s a good 200 miles away! In most ways, they are peer institutions, so you cannot go wrong either way.
Northwestern and Cornell are academic peers.
That doesn’t mean you should ignore the programs and courses they offer – do definitely see which school offers more classes that you think you’d enjoy. But overall, the expectation is that the quality of education at one will be fairly equal to the quality at the other.
Since someone mentioned NU Engineering and Econ, here is Cornell Engineering and Business:
http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/academics/undergraduate/curriculum/minors/bus.cfm
A distance relative’s daughter chose NU over Cornell 5 years ago. She loved her experience at NU.
My older daughter (same age as relative’s daughter) chose Cornell over Duke. She loved her 4 years at Cornell.
Both of those students ended up in investment banking, and are doing very well.
I am from NYC. I have never visited Evanston, but I love visiting Ithaca. It has great food and it is beautiful (close to a lake).
I’ve had 2 kids at Cornell over last 9 years. It is not hard to switch between their 7 schools. The land grant schools are not part of NY State school system. There are many other land grant schools, and MIT is one of them.
NU and Cornell are peer schools. If you can, visit both to see which one gives you a better vibe. If finance is an issue, I would choose a school that is closer to home. It was very convenient for me to go to my kids’ recitals and special events at school, and when they were sick I could easily get them home.
This is six of one, half a dozen of the other. Unless there is a major financial difference or some other extenuating circumstance, you could flip a coin and be fine. No bad choice. It’s ok at this level to have it come down to minor personal preferences. Congrats!
this is my 4th thread on CC and its really great to be getting a lot of responses thanks for the info and bringing me some peace of mind!
they are peers in terms of academics and reputation. i would choose the one that’s more affordable. if they cost about the same, i would choose NW based on location, especially if you might consider settling long-term in the Chicago area. however if your Cornell visit convinces you that’s where you should go, you can’t go wrong choosing it.
this is one decision where you literally cannot make a bad choice.
congratulations getting accepting into both of these world-class universities.
There is no such thing as NW. It’s NU. If you’re giving advice about Northwestern and calling it NW, you don’t have enough knowledge of the school to offer a credible opinion.
Still in all, this is truly a no-bad-choice, whichever-you-prefer decision.
NU’s Engineering has a great innovative program called Engineering First. I have had 2 kids go through it, and even though they are ChemEs, not MechEs or DesignEs, they were able to contribute.
http://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/academics/undergraduate/core-curriculum/engineering-first.html
My wife & I are lucky enough to live close - and got to see both kids - about 6 years apart - present with their group.
Each kid is assigned teammates and then a client, who is handicapped in some manner, and the Freshman Engineers create a product that will help that person. It’s real life - not just a school project - and all the projects that we saw were extremely impressive and helpful to the clients.
However, I agree with the poster that suggested that close is good - if our kids weren’t close, then we couldn’t see their projects, or games that we were invited to attend. Good luck - but it sounds like a win-win to me either way.
I apologize for my appalling breach of Northwestern Acronym / Abbreviation Etiquette.
But I had always associated NU with Northeastern University.
So with NU, is it the same situation as OSU and USC?