PLEASE HELP...I want to go to NU??

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
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<p>I posted here a while back and I'm STILL deciding between Cornell and NU. My dilemma is that Cornell, of course, is an Ivy... but for some reason when I visited NU it just felt like a better fit. Maybe because of its location, proximity to Chicago? The fact that you could double, triple or even quadruple major... that it has a lot more flexibility? Maybe that people there generally seemed more welcoming, and Cornell seems to take itself too seriously, possibly due to an inferiority complex? I've talked to several people who all seem to love NU and one girl from Cornell who didn't like it very much. My gut is telling me NU, but I'm reluctant to commit... giving up the opportunity to attend an Ivy haunts me.</p>

<p>Thanks for the help, everyone.</p>

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<p>I think you answered yourself pretty good there! Personally, I don’t like “gut” decisions - GWBush’s gut got us into Iraq, But I do like the Benjamin Franklin Method. You draw a line down the middle of a paper… 2 headins - Plus & Minus. List as many things as you can for each school. Count them when finishsed. there you go - no gut - just math!</p>

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<p>I sent you a pm</p>

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<p>Let me just say that I wouldn’t recommend choosing a school solely on a label like “Ivy.” It’s obviously up to you, but I think if you really think NU is a better fit, I think you should go there. And if it’s worth anything, I know several people at NU who turned down Cornell’s “Ivy League status” to come here. Good luck with your decision!</p>

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<p>I was deciding between duke cornell and NU and just committed to duke but if it came down to NU vs Cornell I would go to NU. </p>

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<p>I had the same decision, ended up choosing NU over Cornell. Many reasons. Label of an “Ivy” was not enough to get me to go, although in terms of prestige I’d say they are roughly equal. </p>

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<p>It is indeed hard to choose amongst the top schools; ultimately you have to decide based upon (to some extent) your gut! </p>

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<p>I get the appeal of an “Ivy” but Cornell is really considered a “lesser Ivy”. If you were deciding between Princeton and NU, the Ivy value would be there. Not really sure it is here. </p>

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<p>Hey, OP here… I ended up choosing Cornell because NU wouldn’t match Cornell’s financial aid package… it all came down to how much my education would cost. Anyway, Cornell should be fun too, with such a large and diverse student body… </p>

<p>and if it doesn’t turn out well, it seems that I have a spot reserved for NU next year in case I would like to transfer. Just yesterday I received an email from them informing me that my academic files would be saved for one calendar year and that if I end up wanting to transfer I should just contact them, and they will give me further instructions. Is this some sort of policy unique to NU, or am I a special case (which is of course what I would like to believe)?</p>

<p>And honestly one of my biggest fears wasn’t so much that I would be giving up an Ivy institution for NU but that I would be choosing Cornell for the wrong reasons. Rest assured I am not choosing Cornell because of its “ivy” name, which I think is utterly stupid. I even felt bad about choosing Cornell because I didn’t want to buy into that mentality–but what can I do; it seems they are more financially generous.</p>

<p>In any case I’m more than ready to have a great time! Thanks everyone, again, for your helpful feedback!</p>

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<p>Congrats and good luck! Cornell is a wonderful school. You will never look back. </p>

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<p>Thought this was relevant…<a href=“3 Reasons Not to Overthink Your Final College Choice”>3 Reasons Not to Overthink Your Final College Choice;

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<p>Good luck in your endeavors! </p>

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<p>"I get the appeal of an “Ivy” but Cornell is really considered a “lesser Ivy”. "</p>

<p>Really? Every time I hear this I feel funny. Either some people didn’t listen to their guidance counselors or their shools are not award winning high schools with good counselors; so they didn’t get correct information…</p>

<p>This is how award winning high school counselors rank them:
<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/high-school-counselor”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/high-school-counselor&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<h1>1 Cornell, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Yale (Alphabetical order)</h1>

<h1>7 Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, Penn</h1>

<h1>12 CalTech, Carnegie Mellon, Duke, Georgetown, UC Berkeley, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt</h1>

<h1>19 Northwestern, Chicago, William and Mary, Emory, Rice, Tuffs, UCLA, North Carolina – Chapel Hill, UVA, Washington U in St. Louis</h1>

<p>Even though #1 and #19 appear to be only 0.3 point out of 5 difference, if we convert this to a scale of 100, we have #1 at 98, #7 at 96, #12 at 94, and #19 at 92 … seem to be right about the A+ and A- difference. </p>

<p>I am really amazed with how much wrong information high shoolers could get from their ‘peers’.</p>

<p>I believe these counselors know their kids’ work and who have chances to get in where, how tough each schools are, and which schools accepted the best of their students - because they are trying to get kids in to top schools.</p>

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<p>Hey findmoreinfo, school’s already started, and he already decided on a school. Just wanted to point that out.</p>