<p>Hello! I'm in the process of making the big decision. I got into Penn State, Cal Poly Tech @ San Luis Obisbo, Clemson, and Cornell.</p>
<p>I'm pretty much ruling out penn state for financial reasons, but I have no idea how I'm going to decide between the last three.</p>
<pre><code> I'm from upstate NY and I plan on majoring in Food Science.
</code></pre>
<p>Cornell-
Pro: Ivy League in the land grant school (so it's a fraction of the price). Ithaca is beautiful!
Con: Cold, very close to home, I'm not sure if I "fit".</p>
<p>Cal Poly-
Pro: Beautiful, nice weather, in California, hands on learning, Culinology (what I would like to focus on)
Con: Across country (have NO IDEA how I will manage this!), high price of living, I've never visited the campus or the west coast!</p>
<p>Clemson-
Pro: 4 hours from a family member, Culinology, great weather
Con: In the middle of nowhere, huge party school</p>
<p>For some reason I'm leaning to Cal Poly. I don't know how to:
a. Transport belongings
b. Find inexpensive air fare
c. Visit the campus</p>
<p>I'm waiting on the financial packages, but I'm guessing they're not going to be so stellar. Any advice is welcome. I'm a first generation college student and I can't discuss it with my parents without starting an enormous fight.</p>
<p>I have to be honest, Cornell is in a class by itself. Cal Poly is a nice university, but it is not even in the same class as most UC schools. This really is a no brainer.</p>
<p>If you believe financial packages will be similarly un-stellar for all these places, Cornell will be your best investment. Congratulations on getting in!</p>
<p>Honestly, I would avoid going to California if your funds are limited and you can get an education at Cornell. You can always go to live in California if that’s what you want later in your life. A Cornell degree will mean more, and the fact you can get it at a cheaper price than these faraway schools is fantastic. There are definitely benefits to being not too far from home–most schools have week-long breaks right in the middle of the semester, and unless you know someone nearby, you’re kind of screwed, for instance. Also, sometimes students get sick–you’re still at a young enough age to enjoy both independence and the security of having parents who can help you out if you need it. Furthermore, once you’re living on campus, it’s a whole different world, even if you live not that far away. I would definitely say Cornell for you!</p>
<p>Wait a minute here … you say, “Ivy League in the land grant school”. Are you talking about a Culinology (cooking and food science) program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences? A program in the School of Hotel Management? Or something else?</p>
<p>Although the whole university is a member of the Ivy League athletic conference, the College of Arts and Sciences is the division we generally mean when we talk about Cornell as an “Ivy League” college. The other schools also have terrific reputations, but when CC posters recommend Cornell as a no brainer, I suspect they are thinking about the CAS.</p>
<p>So if you have reason to believe Cal Poly has a good program that meets your needs, I would not let transportation issues get in the way. You can figure out a way to move your belongings and your stuff out there.</p>
<p>Cost is another thing altogether. What’s the out of pocket difference in total cost, in dollars, between the two? If you’d have to take on lots of debt to go to Cal Poly, then stick with Cornell. What do your parents think? What are you arguing about?</p>
<p>Clemson is on the border of the Deep South but not exactly. We have an amazing food science program here. Don’t worry about being in the middle of nowhere because there’s enough on campus to keep you busy. Definitely come down for a visit. I love it here and maybe you will too!</p>
<p>Cornell will probably cost you less per year. If so, I say Cornell.</p>
<p>Cornell Ag School website shows annual cost of attendance as $37,000, with no aid. Will you get aid? If you are concerned about inexpensive airfare, I am going to assume you WILL get many thousands in aid.</p>
<p>Cal Poly is about $28,000 for an out of state student (if I am assuming correctly that you will take 30 units per year @ $248 per unit non-resident fee). I don’t think you can get aid as a non-resident.</p>
<p>edit… per the collegedata.com website, Cost of Attendance for 2008 for Cal Poly was $30,700 for a non-resident. I would assume for 2010 when you matriculate the COA will be about $33,000.</p>
Not sure who you mean by “we” in this paragraph but as a Cornell alum I could not disagree with this thought more. CAS is a great school … the engineering and architecture schools are also world class … and the hotel school is the best in it’s field. Among the land grant schools all 3 are world class within their fields also. All the schools at Cornell are exceptional in their respective areas of focus.</p>
I very much agree with this. If the OP plans to study food science as a vocational field, it is an entirely different can of worms - resources, facilities, and links to internships are more important than the reputation of the school. </p>
<p>You’ll find, for example, that UC Davis grads have a virtual monopoly on enology and wine production in California and Washington, which is itself the epicenter of wine production in the US. </p>
<p>I’m not knowledgeable enough to be able to compare their offerings, but as 3togo pointed out, Cornell is quite strong in food science.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for the input, I really appreciate it! I just jot back form an overnight at Cornell and I loved it. I feel like it’s too close to home and by committing, I feel like the adventure part of me is losing. I think I’m going to try to get over it…</p>
<p>Still need Clemson’s package and hopefully that will help!! :)</p>
<p>I’m a grad of Cal Poly. They have a fantastic food sciences program, the weather and the setting are perfect, and the school is actually ranked up there w/ the UC’s in many majors, including food sciences. That being said, the cost of attendance for OOS is high and the transportation costs get very expensive. (I know- we are in Calif. and my D has been in Boston and will be in PA.) There are no inexpensive airfares right now, and Cal Poly is not close to any major airports (4 hour drive at least.) There are commuter flights but that gets really expensive, and they don’t even come into San Luis Obispo. You probably won’t be able to go home for holidays; spring break, Thanksgiving, etc. Cornell has a great reputation and if the cost is right it will save you a ton of money. I’d say move to CA after you graduate if you want to.</p>
<p>Also even tho Cornell might be close to home, it will be like a different world when you live there. You don’t have to go home if you don’t want to, but if you need to, it will be so much easier for you.</p>
<p>I live in CA and do love it. We are just north of San Francisco. I have one daughter at a LAC in Oregon and another at UCLA. Both are within a half hour of a major airport. This is very important when planning trips home… Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. I know many kids at Cal Poly and though it is a great school and they love it it is a bit isolated. They have about a 4-5 hour drive home. If you live in NY you would be looking at at least a 4-5 hour drive from Cal Poly to get to a major airport and then the 5 hour flight home. A very long day and not cheap. Cornell may be close to home but once you are there, trust me, it will be an adventure. You do not have to go home often and that way you can feel as if you are “away” at school. Why not plan to study abroad (Paris, Rome, Barcelona?) for all or part of your junior year and get your adventure that way. Cornell sounds like a great fit in many ways and you are lucky to have the opportunity to go there.</p>
<p>by the way just to let you know, if you don’t get a financial aid package from Clemson before May 1st, you probably won’t get a scholarship or significant financial aid. You’ll probably get federal loans like other schools have given you but you might not find that out until after May 1st. </p>
<p>Source: my experience last year (I just got federal stafford loans and the letter came May 20th)</p>