<p>OP -- my wife was accepted to Stanford but attended Cornell since she lived near Palo Alto and wanted a change.</p>
<p>Man, did she regret not doing her research (this was LONG before internet bulletin boards). Cornell to her (remember she was raised in laid back Nocal) was full of neurotic, overly competitive New Yorkers, and dreary, depressing winters.</p>
<p>Stanford would not admit you if Stanford does not think you can do the work.</p>
<p>Thanks again for the responses. I have an additional question, would it be equally easy to get paid (not like a lot of money, but enough to pay for campus housing and food) summer research/internship opportunities at each school?</p>
<p>Collegehelp,</p>
<p>According to you (post #18), a university without a graduate program should be the best. Because the faculty there can 100% focus on undergraduates. Is that right?</p>
<p>fredfred: I'm happy for you that Stanford is still in the running; I remember your thread when you thought you couldn't attend after being accepted and I felt that was sooo unfortunate....That being said, I have no idea WHO you are, but I happen to know what high school you attend......Here is my take on things:</p>
<p>1)If you want to make a change in lifestyle and the type of students you will be around, DEFINITELY go to Stanford...They accepted you (early, I might add)...and they think you can do the work....Great opportunity! In addition, you might want to contact your "neighbor" school at home (PM me if you have no clue where I'm talking about)....I think a couple of kids from last year went to Stanford....</p>
<p>2)You can't go wrong with either decision, but Cornell is going to basically "look" and "feel" like your high school in many ways, some of which have been mentioned above...If that works for you, that's great and you can save $$ on airfare etc....</p>
<p>PM me if you need help.....</p>
<p>p.s. As you can tell, I am NOT focusing on academics......Have no idea about the engineering departments in either school.....</p>
<p>datalook-
I have always maintained that there is an optimal ratio of grad to undergrad. Having a grad program provides opportunities for undergrads. I think 60%-80% undergrad is about right.</p>
<p>As far as the climate at Stanford is concerned, things can get very unpleasant on the Stanford campus when El Nino causes the Santa Anna winds to spread forest fires right up to the San Andreas fault that runs under the Stanford nuclear power plant. Last year, the fires drove thousands of scorpions onto campus. Many students were stung while they slept.</p>
<p>collegehelp,</p>
<p>I really don't know what you are talking about. To me, you literally call a school's weakness (relative) its strength with a weird logic. I went to NU and their material science is always considered a top-5 program in the country and it has a pretty big graduate component. But since mat sci isn't one of the hottest engineering fields for undergrads in just about any school, the department usually has about 10-20 new majors per year. Students get very <em>close</em> attention from the faculty. Over half of the sophomores and juniors are involved in PAID research. According to your 60-80% rule, the mat sci undergrad program must not be that great but check out the success of undergrad program:
<a href="http://www.matsci.northwestern.edu/Mat_Sci_Open_House_2007.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.matsci.northwestern.edu/Mat_Sci_Open_House_2007.pdf</a></p>
<p>Both engineering programs are great, obviously, but more students definitely find Stanford the more appealing, happier place. This is not to say that you are necessarily one of them. But if you are a sun person, it's pretty hard to beat Stanford. Stanford weather is gorgeous, and people love it there. I would choose Stanford, but try to visit and consider the colleges completely before making a final decision.</p>
<p>
[quote]
As far as the climate at Stanford is concerned, things can get very unpleasant on the Stanford campus when El Nino causes the Santa Anna winds to spread forest fires right up to the San Andreas fault that runs under the Stanford nuclear power plant. Last year, the fires drove thousands of scorpions onto campus. Many students were stung while they slept.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Stanford has a nuclear power plant? That's new to me. Never heard of any story about scorpions either. Can you provide the link? Santa Ana wind affects San Gabriel and San Bernadino Mountains in southern California, including the Los Angeles basin, not northern California. It's not caused by El Nino either and we don't have El Nino last year, do we?</p>
<p>^ I think it was a mild La Nina year.</p>
<p>Definitely Stanford.
=/
Cornell is freezing, they have way too many graduate students, its reputation deteriorates by the year, and even though that whole suicide thing may be a myth, why test it?
When I took a tour there the guy said "when you get here, you work. It is hard."</p>
<p>Not very welcoming and warm.</p>
<p>I would take a closer look at where you want to spend your time after college. You will make connections in the local areas around the college (NY and Northeast for Cornell, Cali and West Coast for Stanford) so that could factor in big in your decision. Where do you see yourself wanting to live and work?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Cornell is freezing, they have way too many graduate students, its reputation deteriorates by the year, and even though that whole suicide thing may be a myth, why test it?
When I took a tour there the guy said "when you get here, you work. It is hard."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>actually, stanford happens to have more grad students compared to cornell in proportion. but, imo, this shouldn' matter very much in choosing colleges anyway. and, how does its reputation 'deteriorate' by the year? Plus, many people at cornell overrate the difficulty of the school, when in actuality, it is no more difficult than any other top 20ish schools in the U.S.</p>
<p>" Plus, many people at cornell overrate the difficulty of the school, when in actuality, it is no more difficult than any other top 20ish schools in the U.S."</p>
<p>You've obviously never been an undergrad at Cornell or Stanford. :) My family has them both covered, and you could not be more misinformed.</p>
<p>I am surprised this even has gone this long. I really don't know what the issue is. Stanford has smaller students:faculty ratio and clearly ranked higher (4th vs 13th in the field the OP is interested. Just because Cornell is in Ivy doesn't mean all of a sudden, Stanford isn't STANFORD! If this were Princeton with a #4 ranking in chemE, I think most people would say Princeton hands down. It's kinda funny how this Ivy elitism works.</p>
<p>
[quote]
You've obviously never been an undergrad at Cornell or Stanford. My family has them both covered, and you could not be more misinformed.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>ah...i am a student here. some courses here are actually easier than my hs classes. actually, overall, i think that my freshman yr at cornell was much easier compared to my hs, in terms of the difficulty of the classes. yeah, the workload was more intense and i had more homeworks assigned, but the rigor and the difficulty of tests and getting the grades i wanted was acutually easier compared to my hs. but, i attended a vey rigorous and cometitive public hs. in most classes i took here at cornell, most people manage to pull off at least Bs in ideal situations.</p>