<p>Cornell is a private endowed university and the federal land-grant institution of New York State. It is a member of the Ivy League and a partner of the State University of New York.</p>
<p>It uses a private tuition system</p>
<p>Just to give everyone a good idea of what I would consider the "perfect" college, here's what I posted on the perfect college thread. Obviously, not all of these are as important as others.</p>
<p>5,000-15,000 students
Location: Small city (college town sized) in the Appalachians
Red Brick buildings with open lawns
Proximity to large metro area (for internship opportunities)
Nationally recognized in all academic departments
Strong study abroad program
Some amount of school spirit
Top-notch merit scholarship program - drawing in top students from all economic levels
Some reward dorm rooms like UVA's lawn rooms, but more of them (maybe 100-150)
Private, non-denominational
Honor Code</p>
<p>Closet fits to that on your list are Virginia, Cornell and Miami (Each with its inconsistencies)</p>
<p>Virginia is 12,000ish, College town, East of Appalachians, Some Red Brick, semi-close to D.C., Great academics and spirit. Not sure about scholarships, leans toward upperclass students, I dont know what you mean about reward dorms but apparently UVA has it. Public. Honor Code.</p>
<p>Cornell has under 10,000. Small City-Ithaca (beautiful) in Adirondacks Mountains I think. Little Red Brick, Nearest metro is probably Syracuse and I'm not sure how far it is (probly considerable cuz its upstate NY). Great academics and stud abroad. Low spirit. Excellent academics. Middle Class. Not sure about the rooms. Public-Private mix. Honor Code</p>
<p>Miami has 15,000. Oxford- College town. Just west of the appalachians. Red bricks and lawns. 30 min from Cinci. Good Academics. Strong abroad. Moderate spirit. Good scholarships, leans upper-middle class like Virginia. Not sure about those dorms. Public school that acts private. Honor Code</p>
<p>Reward dorms: what I mean by this term is certain rooms in the best location on campus reserved for upperclassmen who have become student leaders at the university. UVA does this with the rooms that line their lawn. This is not a major factor in my decision at all...just something I would include if I could design a perfect college.</p>
<p>When you say Miami "acts private," what do you mean? Is it just the aura of the campus?</p>
<p>I googled the distance between Ithaca & Syracuse...about 60 miles. UVA is a few hours outside of DC and I think about an hour from Richmond.</p>
<p>If you like hockey (NCAA Champs), school spirit, huge study abroad programs, great campus and strong academics throughout the university, Wisconsin deserves a look. The campus is not red brick but it has miles of lakefront and hills. It is in a lively mid-sized city and the business school is very good and adding a third new building to the two modern buildings it already has.</p>
<p>Yea, I skipped over Richmond... I don't consider it a big city. But I guess its probably comparable to Syracuse?</p>
<p>About the reward dorms---Miami doesn't have a similar program, but if you lived in honors you would eventually move to the upperclass honors dorms which are arguably the best on campus, and in the middle.</p>
<p>Miami acting private-- I say this because, the general misconception is that it is private. Miami also is the first/only public school in the nation to move to a tuition plan in which OOS and In State are the same. The In State students just get automatic scholarships that reduces the cost about $10,000. Finally, Miami is a big public school with a private feel because it yields a lot of money (nice facilities) and also follows a liberal arts education plan.</p>
<p>ditto on Wisconsin</p>
<p>I agree on wisconsin, it has excellent business and hockey programs.</p>
<p>It does, however, the campus isn't at all like what the student decripted their dream campus would be (Madison is a big town, it isn't in the Appalachians, isn't red-brick oriented, is much bigger than the student wanted, and isn't private. </p>
<p>Also, Wisconsin doesn't have adequate aid and scholarships (they filled 1.6% of my determined need in grants), as they were looking for a good value.</p>
<p>Sometimes college is like buying a house--you start out wanting a 1500 sf rambler close to work and you end up with a 3000 sf colonial in the country. Until you look at some you really don't know much.</p>
<p>barrons - what do you mean?</p>
<p>You might want to look at the five US service acdemies. Especially the US Merchant Marine Academy. <a href="http://www.usmma.edu%5B/url%5D">www.usmma.edu</a></p>
<p>Remember to factor in the quality of life into your choice. I turned down Miami of Ohio because I felt it was too greek orientated, rural, and superficial. That was my perception, maybe it will not be yours.</p>
<p>I mean you don't really know what you want until you start doing some serious shopping. A smaller school might sound good until you experience the vibrancy and feel the sense of energy at a larger more active school.</p>
<p>I think Barrons has a point that you shouldn't be too picky, but I also think you need to have some parameters to start somewhere, otherwise you're going to get nowhere. It's important to know what you want... or you'll end up applying to a ridiculous amount of schools. IMO, you should apply to under 10... doing otherwise shows that you really aren't passionate about your schools and don't have any idea what you like</p>
<p>I'm all for seeing lots of schools before you start applying.</p>
<p>barrons, I agree, seeing the schools helps you figure out what you want before you apply. That's why I've seen a variety of schools already, my favorites so far being UVa, SMU, and Colorado.</p>
<p>If you've seen those schools, you can evaluate your visits, and say to yourself "what did each of those schools offer that I liked". Then you can evaluate what type of school would fit you well, and make a list. It seems you've already done that. Don't settle for anything less than what YOU want in a school.</p>
<p>All of them offered:</p>
<p>1) Good business program
2) School spirit
3) Architectural beauty
4) Nice surroundings (natural beauty and college-area atmosphere)</p>
<p>Colorado might have been a little too large. But I loved how the school was located at the base of a mountain. UVa & SMU also had gorgeous campuses.</p>