<p>I've narrowed my college choices down to Cornell and Northwestern. Both are very great schools, of course, and I could really use some help deciding between the two. I think explaining some of my thinking would help.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure I want to be an engineer, but I'm not positive. I'm thinking of majoring in Mechanical Engineering, and I would really be interested in something relating to the development of wind and solar power after graduation. However, I worry because although I'm pretty good at math, I'm no math genius, and I worry about my success in engineering. To get an idea of my math ability, I got 760 on the SAT Math 1 and 2 tests, 730 on the SAT 1 math section, 34 on the ACT math section, and a 5 on the AP Stats test (although I think I've forgotten much of that AP material now). But I can't imagine myself doing anything other than engineering...</p>
<p>I liked Cornell more than Northwestern when I visited both of them, but the main thing I worry about is the curve in Cornell Engineering. I don't think Northwestern has this curve. From what I understand, you can score really well on a test, where you'd normally get an A. However, because of the curve, you might get a lower grade because it depends on the median grade. So this sounds to me like it would create a lot of competition among students and I worry about keeping up with the other engineering students at a great school like Cornell, in addition to what other students might do to get ahead of the others.</p>
<p>So these are my thoughts: I liked Cornell the most, but I have some apprehension because of the previously listed reasons. Another reason I like Cornell is since I am not certain yet what I want to do, I like the fact that Cornell is larger and thus has more opportunity.</p>
<p>If anyone could give me some advice about this, I would really, really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Classes at Cornell are rarely curved down. Curves are used to help the students. Otherwise, the 60% you score on a engineering or bio exam would equal a D-. With the curve, you can get a B+.</p>
<p>There are a few people who are very talented in math, many more people who are pretty good or decent at math but not great. I think your scores put you around the middle of Cornell engineering, so I don't think you'll find a huge problem in terms of your math ability. What I'm curious about is whether you've taken calculus. As long as you create a solid foundation of calc before coming here, you should be fine. </p>
<p>As for the grading and curves, my TAs tell me that it's not exactly the traditional rigid bell curve thing. They add up all of your test scores and section grades and stuff, and then they set cut offs for letter grades. For example, 470/500 might be an A, 400/500 a B, etc. These are totally random numbers but you get what I mean. So it's not nearly as unfair as if they literally placed grades on a curve... If you score well, they're not necessarily going to bump you down, etc. The median grades usually end up being somewhere around a B.</p>
<p>I like Northwestern a lot, particularly because of it's location on Lake Michigan and that it's near Chicago. And a couple of years ago, I was in the same boat as you are, having to decide between Northwestern and Cornell (as well as Notre Dame), but in economics, not engineering.</p>
<p>I wouldn't fret too much over the Engineering workload. Your SAT scores are strong, and as long as you have a solid work ethic, you should have no problem at Cornell. All of my engineering friends at Cornell had plenty of time to pursue club or varsity sports, research opportunities, etc., and to pursue ample social pursuits on the weekend.</p>
<p>In terms of sustainability, this is one of Cornell's strong suits. Cornell has been pouring a lot of time, money and energy into this field in recent years, and there are plenty of ways for Cornell students to get involved. A lot of students are really involved in things like the Solar Decathlon or the Solar Car competition.</p>
<p>It sounds like you made up your mind. There are some mild differences between the places in terms of student culture, but Northwestern and Cornell are more similar than not. The biggest difference is the trade-off between Ithaca and Chicago.</p>
<p>There will be a fair amount of work associated with any engineering program, Northwestern or Cornell, and as long as you have a fairly strong work ethic, Cornell shouldn't pose a problem for you. Every engineer I know was more than able to balance their workload with a whole bunch of extracurriculars -- club sports, a capella groups, research opportunities, etc. Cornell wouldn't accept you if they didn't think you could do the work.</p>
<p>One of the reasons why some engineering students choose Cornell over a place like CMU or MIT is because they like the fact that Cornell offers a much more well-rounded undergraduate experience.</p>