<p>I went directly from Cornell OR to the sales and trading floor of a Wall Street firm. I don’t think there’s much that distinguishes one engineering discipline as “more real” or “better” than any other. An OR degree will not help in landing a job as a chemical engineer at Pfizer, just as a chemical engineering degree will not help somebody who wants to work in conceptual design at Mercedes. </p>
<p>To the OP: Congratulations on your acceptances. I agree with texaspg’s post that your list of cons are based off perceptions. I think that with the right perspective, you can make either school work well. Good luck with making your decision; personally, I think highly of both schools.</p>
<p>Just a side note, I will likely go off to get a grad degree in financial engineering once I graduate. That being said, would anybody say that one school has a huge academic advantage over the other? And I was under the impression that OR can be molded to be a path to financial engineering. Was that a wrong assumption?</p>
<p>Oh and honestly, I can probably deal with the core at uchicago. My biggest issue is that transportation is annoying and the people there seem way to into the philosophy stuff. What I like about Cornell is that I won’t be forced into a heavy liberal arts education. Both campuses are nice. The city/ rural thing doesn’t bother me. Ithaca is a little town with everything I need. My biggest issue is which school has superior academics at the undergrad level for my path. It seems like Chicago is a little better but will cornell be close?</p>
<p>Here are the prerequisites for an MFE program (others may vary). Various undergraduate majors could work, but if you are aiming for an MFE, include the course work that MFE programs like to see in your undergraduate study.</p>
<p>This says it all. Don’t go to UChicago. Really, the core will make you miserable and you’re probably taking the spot of someone who would LOVE to study the core. </p>