<p>" In Cornell its fairly simple: frat house parties lol …"</p>
<p>Actually it’s not that simple at all. The majority of students are not in fraternities, and after freshman year if you are not in one they do not generally play much of a role in your social life at all. Many upperclassmen live in private houses next to but off campus, not owned by the university hence not subject to its regulations. Parties and informal gatherings at these off-campus houses are a big part of the social scene for the majority of upperclassmen.</p>
<p>NYU has no campus to speak of, and its dorms are scattered over lower manhattan,not on or next to campus. The stance of the campus as a common center of existence has got to be lower there than virtually anyplace. It has more in common with a literal commuter school than a campus-based school. Social life at such a school has got to be highly fragmented. Manhattan is very expensive, and every time you are going out someplace there you are spending money. But many students do not have so much money to spend. Manhattan bars cost money, whereas Cornell collegetown house parties are more intimate, more-student-focused, and are free.</p>
<p>MY D2 started college in Manhattan (not NYU), wind up disliking it for several reasons including social & cost, and transferred to Cornell. She prefers Cornell, in every way. She finds lots to do in Ithaca, not because there is near as much around, obviously, but because what there is she can afford. My son just went through the cycle, he could have gotten into NYU with legacy bump, as both parents are alums of its grad schools, but did not even apply, since based on D2s experience he recognizes the value of a campus-based experience for his college years.</p>
<p>YMMV.</p>
<p>As far as I know there is not suffiicient information put forth to fairly compare opportunities following graduation at the two schools. Stern is physically in lower Manhattan, however when I was working on Wall Street it wasn’t particularly highly regarded by the elite firms. It seems to be better now though, than it was then. But there’s no data to compare really. They both get recruited, it seems, so presumably if you are good enough you can get in. From either. We had an analyst from Cornell AEM, but none from NYU undergrad. But that was just one department, a long time ago.</p>
<p>I don’t think it matters that AEM is housed in CALS , other than curricularly, where it does matter. AEM has managed to carve out its own distinct “brand”, you put Dyson, or AEM, or whatever they tell you to do on your resume and people who matter will know what it is.</p>