<p>Do you think I'll be better off using an ED at Columbia (fu engineering) or Cornell (also engineering school). I like the fact that Columbia is in NYC, the campus, and the "core" thing's pretty cool too. But, I don't hate Cornell's campus either, i've heard it's a little easier to get into, and that its stronger in engineering. These are my only 2 real super-reaches and I don't want to not ED to either place cuz I'd rather be forced to go to one of them then hurt my chances at of getting into one at all. </p>
<p>(If you feel like reading more, the rest is stuff about me)</p>
<p>My plan is to major in mechancial engineering but also take pre-med classes in case I decide to be a doctor later. I live in Maryland, I am an over-represented minority, Male, not poor or rich and am a rising senior at a competitive public school.</p>
<p>Stats:</p>
<p>SAT: 2300 (760M, 740V, 800W(10E))
SAT II:
Chemistry: 800
Math 2c: 790
World History: 680
GPA: Unweighted 3.95/4.00 (Got a B in english this year)
Weighted: idk, more than unweighted...i took mostly G/T and AP classes.
Rank: top 10ish/435
AP: (10th grade) US gov and pol (5)
(11th grade) chem (5), calc ab (5), world history (4), and english language (4)
(12th grade) physics (both of the C ones), english literature, and calc bc
EC's: (Not great)
-National Honor Society (did my community service requirements for this)
-Maryland Technology Honor Society (didn't do much)
-Future Business Leaders of America (didn't do much)
-Piano (umm...yea)
-Tae kwon do (black belt, demo team)
-An internship at NASA last summer
-Volunteer a ton at a hospital this summer (like 132 hours)
-Enrolled in a tech-magnet program at my school where i go to an applications and research laboratory and have a 2-period class there (we built an electrathon vehicle, its like a battery-powered racer that we can drive around in); will do a different project next year, maybe a robot
Teacher Recs: Pretty average (i dont do anything special but i get good grades and good ap scores for them) not bad, but average
Essay: Will be okay, im not really great at writting, but i'll work hard on it (I'll probably talk about my experience building an electrathon car with my class)
Other: Perfect attendence throughout high school, (that's all i can think of now)</p>
<p>Personally, I would rather go to a school that has a better/safer environment, than a slightly better school. I reccomend you attend the school that you would be most comfortable in.</p>
<p>It's four important years of life. The memories with stay with you for ever, you want them to be good memories. So go to a place that you think is more enjoyable.</p>
<p>columbia and cornell are both highly ranked with excellent academics, so i don't quite understand what you're talking about--which one has worse academics? i'm pretty sure both of them are great schools with comparable academics...
picking one over the other in this case would not involve "compromising academic standards."</p>
<p>
[quote]
columbia and cornell are both highly ranked with excellent academics, so i don't quite understand what you're talking about--which one has worse academics? i'm pretty sure both of them are great schools with comparable academics...
picking one over the other in this case would not involve "compromising academic standards."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Cornell's supposedly better in engineering.</p>
<p>Nameless, that's just nonsense. Jimbob's perspective is the accurate one; Columbia and Cornell are two superior engineering programs. Saying one is "better" just isn't accurate.</p>
<p>If you're not POSITIVE which school you really want, why even apply for ED & just apply to all the schools that interest you & see what offers come your way? That is the advice my kids & their friends received & folks change a great deal in the months from the time they apply to college & the time they begin college--give yourself more options & time to make good choices.</p>
<p>How is this determined? Do Cornell grads have better job and grad school placement? Do they have a better understanding of the essentials of engineering? Where is the difference?</p>
<p>the national rankings which take into account job and grad school placement as well as quality of research and resources available to students...</p>
<p>O, all right i shouldn't have said better...how about "more recognized"?</p>
<p>And i don't feel like starting a new thread to ask this but do you think it's worth it to take another sat 2...like physics and try to get a 770-800 to replace the history score, or is it not worth the time.</p>
<p>Columbia's engineering program is closer to Cornell's than is MIT's (330 miles away from Ithaca) or Stanford's (3000 miles away).</p>
<p>But the important thing is that both are great schools and you should chose whichever you like better. At the undergraduate level, engineering rankings aren't that important. You'll have no trouble finding a job in NYC if you're at columbia.</p>
<p>Go to the school that you WANT to go to, not the one that you think you should go to, if that makes sense. If you like one better then then the other, then go with your gut. Cornell and Columbia are both outstanding, so who gives a ****?</p>
<p>If it was up to environment, personally I would choose Cornell.
Columbia- (not the best neighborhood), It's in one of the most crowded places in the world and most expensive (which reflects dorms) and I live in Queens (10 min away from Manhattan) so maybe it's because Manhattan isn't "special" or "exciting" to me as it would be for someone else- but Cornell would be more peaceful and isolated, something I would like.
If you want to be in the mix of things- choose Columbia. Personally, during my freshman year I did a report on the Fu Engineering School at Columbia and it is very good, but I really did not going to the campus.</p>
<p>more likely than not, you will have to work in a city after you graduate. </p>
<p>many people from the NYC area own vacation homes in the gorgeous area that is the Finger lakes and Ithaca. </p>
<p>why not spend you college years in "vacation land" while you can, then spend the rest of your life working in the city trying to afford a vacation home in the Finger Lakes area.</p>