<p>So I am in a dilemma. Although I have not received a letter from Cornell yet, I feel I have a pretty good chance of getting in. For the past few years, Cornell has been my dream school.</p>
<p>Then I got my admission from Michigan State. Before you laugh, I'm not directly comparing the two schools. MSU offered me a professorial assitantship, allowing me to get one-on-one research with a faculty member from my first day as a freshman, possibly through the College of Veterinary Medicine (I'm pretty sure I want to be a vet). It's also a paid position of almost $2,500 a year. Because I got this offer, tuition has been equalized to in-state (I'm from Ohio). I'm admitted to the Honors College, and would live in an honors dorm. I also got a scholarship to use for study abroad, something I want to do at least once (maybe a semester and then one or two summer programs), and MSU has one of the top 3 study abroad programs in the country. I would probably get a higher GPA at MSU, which would probably make it easier to get into vet school (along with the hundreds of hours in a veterinary setting I would accumulate working on a research project with a veterinarian - required for admission). I would already stand out as a top student (which has its pros and cons).</p>
<p>So, my dilemma stands. Cornell has better academics, obviously a better name and higher prestige. It is a place where everyone is smart and intellectual, and most are motivated - the perfect atmosphere. However, I would be an average student, probably get a lower GPA, and not get paid a $2,500 salary annually for doing research with a veterinarian. Like I said, I have always dreamed of Cornell - but now MSU's offer has me confused and unsure where to turn.</p>
<p>So, any suggestions? Your input is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>If it really is your dream school then don't let some shiny proposals lead you away. There is nothing more important than that gut feeling. And don't forget that state schools do things like this with the exact intention of drawing students away from privates.</p>
<p>Call up a prof at the vet school (at Cornell) and ask if you can become a research assistant. You'll get paid and you'll be doing research with a professor. I was offered a job next semester as a RA (research assistant) in the organizational behavior department in ilr and it looks like a fantastic opportunity.</p>
<p>DUDE, I am a Presidential Research Scholar at Cornell, basically, i get the same benefits of ur progam at MSU, but I am at CORNELL man!</p>
<p>I get research funding, wages if i need it, if i needed, financial aid assistance up to 5,000 a year in grants (extra to finacial aid if you need it), but its ultraselecitive, only 40 of us in the whole freshman class.</p>
<p>so ur going to sacrifice an ivy league degree for 10,000? That is a terrible idea my man...if you get into Cornell, you should really go...don't you think most of the students at Cornell could have gotten full rides to schools of that caliber? The reason why we instead choose to go to Cornell is because of the name..in the end the Cornell will carry you a lot further than that 10,000.</p>
<p>wait and see what cornell offers you. one of the few places the schools are comparable is hockey. They have given you an awesome offer, but cornell has one of the best pre-vet settings in the country, and our own incredible vet school, as well as the obviously superior academics.</p>
<p>follow your gut, but make sure to put some logic behind that gut and know what your giving up depending on whichever school you choose in either case.</p>
<p>No matter what, wait and see what cornell offers. according to bball we have a comperable program, and obviously even if michigan S's offer ends up being a tad better financially, cornell would still be the better choice.</p>
<p>If even if you get no garunteed research position at cornell, you can still definitely get one, and doing research with cornell's vet school as an undergrad would be pretty sweet as you can undoubtedly imagine.</p>
<p>it's about what you want. surely cornell offers a great education but a lot of the 45k tuition goes to the name, reputation etc. your success in life really counts on what you do in life, not necessarily which college you end up in.</p>
<p>it's pretty hard to deny such a great offer. you're getting paid extra money and you're getting a really nice position in the university. 4 years is a lot and 4 years in cornell will build a lot of debt. umich is significantly cheaper than cornell, especially if you are from the state. do you want to have a lot of debt once you get out of college? or would you rather save it for grad school? if you start out with little money and have a lot of debt, it wouldn't be easy financially.</p>
<p>umich is a really good university too. Cornell has a lot of reputation but i think it really comes down to how good you are and what you do in life that will really count.</p>
<p>i think what you have to ask yourself is, will going to cornell make you a better vet than going to umich? is it worth paying 45k for four years when you have so many other good offers? </p>
<p>well how good is the matriculation into cornell's vet program from cas...that should be an important factor because if its very easy to get in...then you dont have to worry about it.</p>
<p>"is it worth paying 45k for four years when you have so many other good offers? " --- Hello. Most people who attend Cornell don't pay 45k per year. Why do some people always forget that Cornell is actually quite generous with aid? Wait and see how your aid package is, before you decide.</p>
<p>"umich is a really good university too" --- Like gomestar said, UMich and MSU are two very different schools. If the OP had received that kind of package at UM, then I would agree it is very attractive. In the USNWR, MSU is ranked 74th. You can't put that in leauge with Cornell, really.</p>
<p>theLarson
Let me just tell you that my son succumbed to Penn State's Honors program which offered something very similar to what MSU is offering you. We were led to believe that Schreyers offered a private high caliber academic experience at a reduced state school price. It was less than a week when my son called to say, "I made a mistake." Despite taking 2 'honors' classes and living in the honors dorm, he was still at a huge state school where many of the students would never have been his peers in high school.
Think carefully before you enroll at MSU. If you chose it over Cornell, make sure that you love the atmosphere of a state school. And by the way, my son transferred to Vanderbilt for his sophomore year and is much happier.</p>
<p>Okay - you are from Ohio. Ohio State vet school is one of the top 5 in the counbtry and the idiots in their admissions office value Ivies not much higher than they value state schools. My guess is you'll want to go to OSU vet school, and in that case MSU would be a better ticket.</p>
<p>My guess is Cornell is going to be a much better college experience and you'll be around much smarter people you relate to. It will shape your life, you will be a part of the Cornell community forever. Don't underestimate the value of this. If you do well a place like Penn vet will value Cornell MUCH more than MSU. Research isn't a big deal to find at any school, you can usually get paid for it. Study abroad "program" is a scam, you can do study abroad from anywhere. MSU is giving you false reasons. But Cornell will be harder to get a good GPA. </p>
<p>slipper1234 - You are right about the study abroad 'scam' and research opportunities. If finances are not driving this decision, then it really boils down to whether a lower GPA from Cornell (than what we assume he can get at MSU) will offset the advantages of graduating from an ivy league college.</p>
<p>At first I was tempted to respond in favor of MSU. Yea, it really does sound like a great deal. But you really must must must think about the atmosphere. True, I'm sure you'll be able to find your perfect intellectual niche at either school, but when it comes down to it, any large state school is going to have a lot of less intellectually-motivated students. Not that I'm saying this about every single person in a state school - of course there will be lots of intellectually curious people. But you really must think about the overall intellectual atmosphere. </p>
<p>MSU is offering you a wonderful deal, but as someone else posted, look into research and grant opportunities at Cornell. Cornell is known for being a great research school, and I'm sure that you'd be able to find awesome research positions there as well. Yes it will be tougher and harder on your GPA - but isn't that all a part of the challenge? That's what makes it fun! This may seem a bit presumptuous of me, but maybe you'll feel even more accomplished if you go in without anything offered to you, and get it all on your own anyway. </p>
<p>This is just what I think, but you have to do what's right for you. I'd personally choose Cornell in the end (maybe I'm biased because I absolutely love the school), but put some hard thought into it and good luck!</p>
<p>Yeah that abroad program stuff is ********. Having one of the top five abroad programs means nothing because it's basically all the same concept and I seriously doubt they're ahead of Cornell in study abroad opportunities in any tangible way.</p>
<p>Basically OSU Vet school won't accomodate for the difference, the higher GPA at MSU will likely be better.</p>
<p>If you can manage to do well at Cornell, it will be much easier to get into top programs like Penn. BUT I do have a friend at OSU vet school who had a 3.3 at Dartmouth vs. all the 4.0s from places like MSU, so I guess they do care a little. (not enough though - she's top 5% now at vet school...wonder if Ivy students are better...hmmm)</p>