<p>My son's school limits the number of colleges that he can apply to to 8. He has on more open slot on his list. His stats are such that I think that Wash U and Cornell are realistic reaches. We live on Long Island, NY so he might have a slight edge at the Cornell state school.</p>
<p>We have not visited either school. I only have time and resources for one more college visit. Of these two schools which might be the better fit for my son? Midsize is better than large, but he can deal with large. He is thinking of Pre Law. The more diversity the better. The less jock/frat dominance the better. Less preppy, more Democrats. More laid back than intense, but still intellectual. </p>
<p>Hi! LI Mom here. My daughter is at Cornell in ILR which is a popular choice for "pre-law" kids. I can't compare chances at Wash U or Cornell, but what I can say is that most of the NYC metro kids who I know that got into Wash U, applied ED. Wash U seems to be the type of school in which you have to show particular interest - which means visiting the campus or applying ED. If your son is willing to visit Cornell on his own, you may be able to make arrangements with the "Red Carpet Society" which will allow him to do an overnite in the dorm and he could go to some info sessions. The Shortline/Coach bus (from Port Authority or Long Island) will take him directly to the campus. (Greyhound does not go directly to the campus) You may also want to check with the LI chapter of Cornell Alumni. They may be sponsoring a bus to send LI kids up to the Cornell campus. My gut feeling is that he has a better shot at getting into Cornell than Wash U. I think he should visit Cornell. If he doesn't think its for him, then let him apply to Wash U.</p>
<p>Mamy1: thanks for your imput. Visiting on his own is a good idea, but still might be hard to schedule because he works part of the weekend. Cornell is great, but he is pretty laid back and I don't know if it might be too intense for him. What does your daughter think?</p>
<p>I have visited both.Actually,the campuses are similar(gothic style),though Cornell is larger.D recently began Grad school at Wash U. Does your son have any location preference?Ithaca is a small town,albeit a nice one.You need a car, or a bus for out of town transport.St Louis is a mid sized city.Plentiful public transportation,even a light rail,and including a very accommodating University run shuttle system that takes the kids to various off campus locations for shopping,entertainment,etc.D is using it to commute to campus although she has a car.Is your S interested in sports?St Louis is a sports town..can't say the same for Ithaca.Is weather an issue?Upstate NY is cold and snowy.St Louis is moderate,some snow.Can't say anything about the frat scene.Dorm area at Wash U looked very nice,they are replacing all old dorms with new.I would say intellectually the schools are equal ...oh I'm gonna hear about that from someone LOL!</p>
<p>You should also consider that unless he's going ED for WashU, he'll be very likely to fight the "waitlist" battle to get in (if he's genuinly qualified for the school) because that school is known to waitlist everybody due to its app numbers from its intense marketing. On the other hand, Cornell is more honest and will accept all qualified applicants.</p>
<p>Are there any stats anywhere which gives # of ED 1 and ED 2 applications and the number of acceptances as well as the SAT 25-75% range for ED?????? at Wash U that is.....</p>
<p>Hi again. Chammon I am not exactly sure what you mean by Cornell being "too intense". If you mean a very competitive academic atmosphere where all the kids are overly stressed out, that really doesn't seem to be the case. Yes- the kids work very hard and "A's" are not easy to come by, but if your kid doesn't have a Type A personality and is content with grades of B and B+, he'll do fine. My d finds the reading load of the ILR school, quite intense-- but if your son is mature, self-motivated and doesn't procrastinate, he will definitely keep up with the work flow. I would not recommend Cornell, for the type of kid who needs constant nudging to do the work. My d's experience at Cornell is better than she ever expected. The kids are really a nice group. They're not pretentious and very down to earth. Again my knowledge of Wash U is similar to Flavian. Unless he applies ED 1 or 2, he may have a hard time gaining acceptance. My vote goes to Cornell.</p>
<p>Marny: Hi.. mature, self motivated, etc. are not words that I would use to discribe my son. He eventually gets his work done, and he does well in school and tests well, but he is definately not Type A. The ED situation at Wash U may be a problem, since as of now I don't think he is going early anywhere. I hope that we get to visit, but if not, your help and tht of the other posters has been very helpful.</p>
<p>uvajoe: His school has the students hand their applications to Guidence first and then the add the teacher's recs etc. They won't cooperate in the processing of more than 8. At first I thought it was a bad policy, but it does force you to trim your list.</p>
<p>I also say Cornell. Due to differences in admission approaching (in using the waitlist), Cornell is in effect less selective than WashU, but a more prestigeous school unless he wants to only work in the Midwest, IMO. I think most of the myths about Cornell's intensity stem from its large student body in Science and Engineering, which are inheriently more difficulty than liberal arts. Cornell of course has more curricula than those two.</p>
<p>My S is a junior at Wash U; he applied regular decision and was accepted--not wait listed. He is academically and socially very happy;he has many nice friends, an active social life and works hard. Wash U is a school for smart kids who like to have fun--he is in a frat, but many of his friends are not and it's not a requirement for fun. Campus is Hollywood-set gorgeous, and the surrounding residential neighborhood is very attractive. The school is across from a fabulous park--Forest Park--with museums, a zoo, think Central Park in a midwest city.</p>
<p>One drawback--because no discount airlines fly into St. Louis, airfares are expensive. Good luck with your choice.</p>
<p>Update: Mostly due to all the great info we got from CC my son is going to visit WUSL. I will be looking into the flight situation though, if it gets in, it may be a factor.</p>