Picking The Right Ivy League School

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>Hello fellow CCers! </p>

<p>Please hear me out completely before making any comments. </p>

<p>Fortunately, the acceptance/rejection hype has (finally) settled. It has been a stressful four days for all of us, I'm sure.</p>

<p>However, for many people, the process is not over. I applied to many schools, and was very lucky/fortunate to have gotten into some great schools:</p>

<p>HARVARD (Single Choice Early Action)
PRINCETON
YALE
PENN
COLUMBIA
DARTMOUTH
CORNELL
BROWN
RICE (Interim Decision)</p>

<p>Currently, I am completely lost as to where I should begin to decide on a college... I hope I am not the only one in this predicament. I do not solely want to rely on USNews or Statistical Rankings to decide my undergraduate degree. I have not visited any of my schools, but am planning to visit four of them in the upcoming month of April. </p>

<p>Question: What else does one consider outside of financial aid and "campus likability"? What determines "fit"?</p>

<p>Is there an alumni who can provide some assistance in describing how his/her personal experience has been regarding the aforementioned undergrad program(s)?</p>

<p>Much thanks,
(A very confused and torn.) Tri</p>

2

<p>kid...Whats ur major!!!</p>

<p>i mean Cornell's best for Engineering and Hotel...Harvard's best for medical...Princeton's best for something...</p>

<p>you better mention ur major if you want some constructive feedback</p>

3

<p>my god. you got into all eight ivies.</p>

<p>i worship you.</p>

4

<p>congrats, did you recieve any news on financial aid</p>

5

<p>Man stress? What the hell do you know about stress you got into all 8 ivy's, be happy that the only thing you have to worry about is WHICH IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL TO GO TO.</p>

6

<p>did you get into wharton? if so, that's an opportunity you can't pass up</p>

7

<p>It depends on what's right for you. Each of those schools has its own strengths and weaknesse (mostly strengths) and some are especially strong in one area or another. I think that you have had about 17-19 years to decide on what you might want to do with your life, so you have have at least eliminated a few choices. However, if it's more of a personality conflict between schools, then really you should just pick from what you feel would be the right choice. I think that you will be happy wherever you choose to go, and keep in mind that you can always transfer. Hell, you could transfer for 4 years just to test out 4 different ivies.</p>

8

<p>this kid is full of it..nobody gets into all eight ivies...come on..i dont care how qualified</p>

9

<p>Even if he did, he obviously doesn't know what he wants in a school. Each IVY is COMPLETELY different from every other one. What are you looking for? Big school/small school, urban/rural/suburban, etc, etc. There's so much more to college than prestige. If you honestly got into all eight Ivys, why in the world did you apply to all of them in the first place?</p>

10

<p>What a fool.</p>

11

<p>I loathe elitists.</p>

12

<p>Okay. At first, when I saw this post, I thought that you must be lying about being admitted to all those fabulous colleges. But then, I realized that this must be for real after going to your personal page. So, I offer you my congratulations. </p>

<p>I guess picking colleges in terms of their academic rankings is a good way to determine where you want to go if you want a academically rigorous environment. But then, all those colleges you have listed are all academically rigorous. So, it is really up to you to decide where you most feel "home" at.</p>

<p>I mean, you must have been to the colleges for interviews haven't you? So you must know which colleges you like best in terms of feeling a sense of belonging? If you like city life, I suggest Columbia, for obvious reasons. Cornell is basically located in the country. This is what I LOVE about Cornell because I am tired to city life. I believe the people on the country side are more down to earth and friendly. But then, it's just me. If you don't like being a bit isolated from the busy world, then Cornell isn't for you.</p>

<p>Secondly, you should consider your major. What do you want to do ten years from now? What is your dream (come on, you must have one)? And what do you want to achieve in life? --> questions you should ask yourself when you consider what you want to major in, as you seem to be a little confused over this as well.</p>

<p>I suggest taking a online personality test to determine your career path.</p>

<p>Thirdly, you should consider financial aid. Personally, I would go to a school that offer me large amounts of aid or even give me a full-ride! (highly unlikely for me but if you are below the poverty line, this is highly possible)</p>

<p>You know, you really are amazing. When did you start all your planning for colleges? I started like at the summer of grade 10. I didn't start thinking about when I was in grade 8 and 9 so my EC's are kind of lame. </p>

<p>Anyway, best of luck to you.</p>

13

<p>Sounds like you have a lot of good options. </p>

<p>You can't go wrong with any of them. If you want to do anything with engineering or bio or you'd like a larger school then Cornell could be what you're looking for. I'd recommend coming to Cornell Days to really see what Cornell is like. Cornell has been great for me, and I can't imagine myself anywhere else. But everyone's different, and you have a lot of really nice choices.</p>

<p>It seems like you just applied to all types of really good schools without narrowing down what you're looking for. I think if you made a list of exactly what your preferences, and start eliminating schools that aren't ideal, I think you should be able to narrow your selection.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

14

<p>I agree with blackferrari2006. Details on what you look for in a school/major?</p>

15

<p>um...the choice should be simple</p>

<p>harvard</p>

<p>down deal</p>

16

<p>hmmm...bball87, isn't that being ...well... stupid, ignorant and downright naive!!!!
if the kid wants engineering and goes to hahvad, he'll make a mees of his already miserable life.</p>

<p>pshh...bball, why didn't u go to hahvad? :p</p>

17

<p>Actually, I agree with bball87. Even if you end up not liking Harvard and want to transfer out, you will be able to transfer out much easier than at any other school.</p>

18

<p>Arjun Shankar Prakash, instead of calling people's opinions, "stupid, ignorant and downright naive," why don't you stay in India and make fun of the cows or something.</p>

<p>ACornellA: I completely agree with you, as the OP will easily be able to transfer out of Haravrd than at any other school.</p>

19

<p>Mr Narth Dakota (i'm sure thats influenced by Digital Fortress)
If u hadn't realized bball is tranfering out of Cornell and has an extremely biased opinion...</p>

<p>
[quote]
make fun of the cows or something

[/quote]

aye...thats what i'm doing except that u happen to be more stupid than a cow :p</p>

<p>cmmn...ND, are you trying to say that Hahvad's engineering program comes an incy wincy bit close to Cornell's</p>

20

<p>Even though bball is transferring out, I would seriously doubt his advice and opinions are worthless. He did spend a year at Cornell and probably knows more about Cornell at the moment than you, Arjun. There's really no need to insult anyone either. Harvard's engineering program might be ranked lower than Cornell's, but Harvard offers a different experience that should be carefully looked into. Picking a college based purely on rankings is sheer idiocy.</p>