<p>Hey I applied to both Penn and Cornell but I’m wondering which is better. I’m planning to major in chemical engineering. Which school is more “prestigious” in the professional and job world? I did not apply to Wharton but the engineering school. Cornell ranks higher in engineering but Penn ranks higher overall in US News. So, which school has more reputation? Would Cornell engineering get more attention because of its engineering program? Which university would people regard more highly? thanks for the advice and opinions.</p>
<p>... who cares? It doesn't matter but in general Cornell Engineering is HIGHLY respected (much more than Cornell in general) and everyone, employers included, know that it's one of most prestigious engineering programs. And there's no doubt it's the best among the Ivies</p>
<p>Cornell SEAS > Columbia, Penn, Harvard SEAS. The other ones just plain suck...</p>
<p>Edit:: Don't go to Penn if you want "name recognition". In general people will (erroneously) regard Cornell more prestigious than Penn simply cuz of the fact many ppl havent heard of Upenn and the other half doesn't know it's Ivy and thinks you go to PennState. Penn is an amazing school tho- just not the best choice for recognition.</p>
<p>In the grand scheme of things it doenst matter. Wharton may help you out a litte by allowing you to take business classes, but ChemE has so many requirements, I dont think you will have time for electives. Cornell would be considered much better and it probably is. The thing about Penn and Columbia engineering (because truazn mentioned it) is that lots of the kids go on to other carrers instead of engineering. If you want to be an engineer, go to Cornell because you may like your peers more because you will share a common goal. If you want better options for investment banking, consulting, etc, go to Penn because it is recruited more (recruiting matters more than people mixing it up with Penn State).</p>
<p>Cornell = best for engineering.</p>
<p>I'll agree that Cornell could be considered better for a career as an engineer. Honestly though, what most people don't realize is that there is very little difference between two engineering schools separated by 20 rank positions (10 for Cornell v 30 for Penn). Or even a school ranked at 50. That's because most of the engineering schools in, say, the top 100, are ABET accredited. They have the same curricula, supposedly similar grading standards... basically there's no huge difference in the quality of academics. It's no surprise that MIT graduates who pursue engineering careers may only make as little as $1000 more than graduates from Rutgers.</p>
<p>Instead, you should look at other factors when you are choosing between schools such as Penn and Cornell. Maybe you like Penn's location in a major city rather than in the middle of nowhere. Or maybe you want the opportunity to pursue a dual degree in the liberal arts or with Wharton. Maybe there's a specific department at Penn (such as Bioengineering) that you can't find at Cornell.</p>
<p>The real question you should ask yourself is if you want to become a practicing chemical engineer or do you want to use engineering as a stepping stone to another career (business, medicine, law)? Cornell has a better name-recognition with engineering employers, but at Penn there's a better on-campus recruiting from financial and consulting firms.</p>
<p>for chemical engineering alone, choose cornell.</p>
<p>penn's bioengineering department is its biggest engineering department and most well-known / highest ranked (6th or 7th nationally), which is why the majority of matriculating freshmen engineers are enrolled in, or ultimately choose, BE.</p>
<p>and we just got a shiny new building for all the bioengineering kids, too!</p>
<p>huzzah for skirkanich hall.</p>
<p>An interesting statistic is that Penn SEAS grads are some of the highest-paid engineering school grads in the country--not because of their engineering credentials, but because they have taken advantage of Penn's other schools and interdisciplinary emphasis to study and enter post-graduate fields more lucrative than entry-level engineering.</p>
<p>A Cornell ChemE major may be a better chemist, but he may find himself working for a Penn grad.</p>
<p>Penn 74 Cornell 56</p>
<p>Penn 74k and Cornell 56k in average salary for engineers? Wow, that's a big difference for engineers. Where did you get these numbers? I searched on google for the salaries of the two schools but only found the numbers for Cornell's. Where could you find the salary for Penn engineers?</p>
<p>Uh... i highly highly doubt Penn engineers are making more than Cornell's. Let's consider that Wharton Huntsman grads start with a base salary of 55k (go google on the wharton site). 75k is probably top 10-15% starting salary DEFINITLEY not average.</p>
<p>74K average? wow!
then there shouldn't be a need to get a grad degree. i would expect about 50K</p>
<p>hahah. Gold Duck was referring to the score of the latest Penn vs. Cornell basketball game, not the average starting salaries.</p>
<p>haha--now we know where everyone's minds are</p>