Hey guys, I’m a rising senior in HS and I can’t choose between Cornell or northwestern as an ED. I visited both campuses and absolutely loved both of them. I am interested in studying human development at Cornell and at Northwestern, learning and organizational change. To be perfectly honest, I am not exactly sure what I am looking for in a college, but I know I would like a fairly big school with excellent academics and prestige, which both of these schools have. Please let me know your thoughts and the pros/cons of each of these schools!
SIDE NOTE: Does anyone know if the school of education and social policy (SESP) at NU is harder to get into than the college of arts and sciences?
What type of career or job would you like with those majors?
What is your cost situation…ie can you afford them or does the NPC show you with enough aid and what are your stats.
This is what I would do.
First: Can you afford to attend either of these universities with no financial aid at all and minimum or no debt?
If the answer is no, then have you run the NPC for both schools?
If the NPC shows both schools are likely to be affordable, then I would print out the NPC results (unless you are okay being full pay) and then ask the question: If accepted to both universities, which would you choose to attend? That is the one to ED.
If the NPC results show only one being affordable, that is the one to ED to.
If the NPC results show neither being affordable, then do not apply ED to either of them.
If the NPC results show a school being affordable, and the actually offer is not affordable, then you can show the school the NPC results and very politely ask “why”. Being unaffordable is the main legitimate reason to back out from an ED offer.
In general you should ignore “prestige”. However, in this case you should particularly ignore “prestige”. They are the same.
You also might want to look carefully at the actual courses that are required to complete your major at both schools. This would include general education requirements for both schools.
Then you need to start thinking carefully about what your two safeties will be. Neither of these schools are safeties.
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In some years, SESP has been more competitive than the college of arts & sciences. But, you are viewing the situation in an incorrect manner.
The issue is not whether you should direct your application to Northwestern toward the perceived higher rate of admission school / college, but that you have a fairly well-defined interest in one school that makes you more likely to be given serious consideration for admission based on relevant reasons. In short, based on your well-defined stated interests,apply to SESP at Northwestern University.
With respect to which school is the better ED option for you, I suspect that it is Northwestern as the ED admit rate is higher than the RD admit rate by a notable margin. (Not sure about Cornell’s ED versus RD admit rate.)
My D was an HD major at Cornell. She really enjoyed the experience and the school. Potential insight: HD is in the College of Human Ecology, which provides a bit of a small school experience within a larger university setting. CHE has its own personality - which fit my D really well. I would describe it as very outreach/community oriented with a strong research bent. The majors in CHE are very focused which means it is not one of those places where you “throw in an app” and are likely to get accepted. But, for those where the school is the right fit (which sounds like it could be you), the acceptance rates are higher than the general Cornell acceptance rates. I can’t compare with NW - not familiar with their major, etc - although I will agree both schools are absolutely beautiful. If you have specific questions, feel free to message me.
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Both great schools but completely different types of campuses. My daughter is at Cornell and loves it, but it’s hard to get to. It is a large campus and many classes are large, but there is always something fun to do. We live about 20 mins from Evanston and Northwestern is tiny, but beautiful being right on the lake, 20-30 mins from downtown Chicago so you’ll get the definite big city vibe, tons to do, great sports being in the Big 10 (which you definitely do not have at Cornell), and both are intense learning environments. Much easier to get to also and more centrall located.
I would try to find a student for what you’re interested in and reach out to them and they will give you some honest feedback. I would try to find a junior or older who has been on campus when covid wasn’t an issue and can tell you what the experience was like both before and after covid.
One other thing, Cornell is on the semester system while NU is on the quarter system. A lot of people like the quarter system, but for those who don’t, that may be a buzz kill right there as many don’t want to go to college until the second week of June especially as it may impact internships, although they can then work a little later in the summer at them.
Compared to 2300 acre Cornell University,Northwestern’s 231 acre Evanston campus may seem a bit small, but the location on the shore of Lake Michigan and the magnificent views of Chicago give one a feeling of a much more expansive campus. (Northwestern also has a Chicago campus for the law & medical schools located in a very upscale area.)
Lots of small classes at Northwestern University. SESP is an outstanding school.
If you want access to big time sports–both college & professional–as well as easy access to one of the best cities in the country, then Northwestern is the better choice.
Well, Northwestern compared to Cornell is small. You can’t change that fact. It’s the fact that it is not far from Chicago that gives it a larger feel. Undergrads don’t really go downtown to the Medical school campus (where Northwestern hospital) or the Law school are for those reasons, however, they do go down to the River North area for the pure fun of what that area entails, as well as Grant Park, and the other fun stuff.
To @thecannibalkid , NU also has a shuttle you can take downtown for events, however, during covid they probably didn’t run it. You can also walk to the EL and take that in with a group of friends. If you want the city life, Chicago is where it’s at. Note also that for ED, I believe the acceptance rate at NU is much lower than at Cornell, even though Cornell hasn’t released their data yet. The weather also is much more extreme in Ithaca than here, but Chicago is at least flat, so it’s easier to navigate the cold (and less snow). 
Cornell’s is pretty similar, pre-covid 24% for ED vs 10% for overall. Actual RD acceptance rate is typically lower than the overall published admit rate.
As others have posted, you should probably factor in their location, rural vs suburban, even though you loved both the campuses. Usually that’s enough to determine where to apply, given the majors and programs are pretty similar.
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