<p>Well, as the title suggests, I was accepted to UCLA and Cornell. I plan to major in Political Science/Pre-Law. I'm from southern California but I'm so confused on where to attend. I've been wanting to go to UCLA since I was 7 and it's so close to home, which is good. They are very popular and they have a lot of school pride. The only downside is that it's a huge university and with that, I might not be able to get the classes I want. Cornell is an Ivy, which is great but it's so far away and I'm not used to Ithaca, NY weather. Hmm... advice anyone?</p>
<p>Academically and reputationally, I would give the slight edge to Cornell, but it is not that significant a difference. Both schools have their own charm when it comes to on and off campus life. The real difference is cost. Will Cornell match UCLA’s offer of $30,000/year or will you attend at full cost (over $50,000/year).</p>
<p>i’m not to sure on my financial aid package, but I’m sure that I won’t have to pay 50k. UCLA is offering to pay more than half of my tuition this year, I would have to pay close to 6k but, according to them, that can be payed off by work-study.</p>
<p>If Cornell comes back with a good financial aid package, you would have a tough decision to make (I would recommend Cornell). If Cornell remains significantly more expensive than UCLA, I don’t think it is worth it.</p>
<p>thank you.</p>
<p>UCLA is roughly twice the size of Cornell, but they’re both big schools. I’ve attended Cornell and Berkeley, and Berkeley just didn’t feel that much bigger.</p>
<p>I agree with Greybeard. I attended Cornell and Michigan and I could not tell the difference in size. Once you’re talking about universities with over 15,000 students (undergrads and grads), it is hard to tell them apart.</p>
<p>I’m currently at UCLA, the only way you’re not going to get the classes you want are if you stray away from your plan to follow through with your major once you get into upper division level work. Even if you aren’t able to enroll in your desired class one quarter, there are other college requirements, such as taking upper division work outside your department, that you will need to fulfill before you graduate.</p>
<p>To be honest I think your choice should come down to finances. I wouldn’t get into significant debt for Cornell. I would consider significant debt to be over 25K in addition to what you would have been in debt had you attended UCLA, for a comparable school.Considering a possible interest of Law School, you will have to finance law school out of your pocket/loans, and being up in loans during undergrad for a school that isn’t substantially “better than” the cheaper option is not worth it.</p>
<p>It seems to me like you’re answering your own question, your argument for UCLA seems a heck of a lot more impassioned than your argument for Cornell.</p>
<p>As a parent, I liked it more when my kids were closer to home. And if you want to wind up in that area eventually you are likely to see more of your college friends.</p>
<p>Not sure shy Alexandre wrote that UCLA would be $30k. Tuition this year will be about $11,500 I think, after the big increase. Tuition at Cornell will be about $38,000. The delta is $26,500 per year. I don’t think room/board + books + misc. fees would be much different between the two, but transportation will be an extra $1,800 (4 round trips per year) about for Cornell, as OP lives near UCLA.</p>
<p>My wife attended both Cornell and UCLA, and did not find UCLA to be that different. It’s not like Cornell is LAC sized… it is quite large for a presitigious univeristy.</p>
<p>
Yep, JCLA is not that prestigious… ;)</p>
<p>Dunnin, when I said that UCLA costs $30k, I was referring to its total cost of attendance. Room and Board cost over $13,000 at UCLA. Books and miscelanious costs come up to another $3,000. Along with the its $11,500 tuition, the total cost comes close to $28,000.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.fao.ucla.edu/publications/2010-11%20UG%20&%20G%20Budgets%20for%20Web.pdf[/url]”>http://www.fao.ucla.edu/publications/2010-11%20UG%20&%20G%20Budgets%20for%20Web.pdf</a></p>
<p>I concur with UCBChemEGrad. UCLA isn’t that prestigious outside of Southern California and Asia. If you’re debating on living anywhere outside of LALA land, then you should definitely go to Cornell. Plus, the east cost doesn’t look to well on public schools, unfortunately. </p>
<p>In regards to cost. Yes, UCLA will cost 30k a year when one factors total cost of attendance. It should be published on their site. Just google UCLA cost of attendance. Cornell should cost around 50k±. One must note that California’s public higher education is struggling right now with budget cuts. The large school problems that seemed tolerable years ago, has now gotten out-of-control. One needs to only read the newspaper. California Public School systems, k-12 and higher education, have taken a stand by protesting for affordability, equal access, and quality education. These are the basic missions of the UC system and they no longer hold true. </p>
<p>I understand UCLA is your dream school, but consider that you fell in love with a different UCLA. I currently go to Berkeley and I already feel the shift in education quality within the past 2 years. However, I am optimistic that the UC system will solve their problems by becoming more self-efficient, possibly by privatization, but that won’t happen for a few years. Please read UCLA Chancellor’s message on budget cuts to understand the severity further. With that said, NYC is where it’s at for your major and Cornell is a great institution. Go to Cornell. Go to Cornell.</p>
<p>If you go to law school, certainly any possible difference in prestige is irrelevant - it’ll come down to your LSAT and GPA. UCLA is cheaper and the students are happier, more fun and more attractive, you’re in the nice part of LA, rather than a village in the tundra, and you’re close to home/friends/family. But up to you.</p>
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<p>Why is it always about what people on the east coast think? It is not everyone’s dream to live there. People are actually moving to the south and west. </p>
<p>I would go to UCLA in a heartbeat. I don’t think the quality is that much different, and would certainly rather live in Westwood than freaking Ithaca.</p>
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Just for eye-opening purposes alone, I would recommend going away from home for college. Although rural upstate NY might be a bit of a shock…</p>
<p>The “only downside” about UCLA isn’t just getting classes. Large publics are set up on a different model than many privates. Which gives it pluses and minuses. You need to think about class size, both frosh/soph year and then upper-division. You need to think about whether your classes are taught by tenured faculty or temporary lecturers. About the advising system – will you have a faculty advisor, will you see the same counselor in your college or just whoever is at the window when you wait in line? About who recruits on-campus for summer jobs and jobs after college. About the alumni network – almost everyone is proud of their college, but some colleges foster closer ties with get-togethers, alumni reunions where a sizeable percentage of grads come back for their 5th, 10th, etc. graduation anniversary. About what its like to live in the college community (or commute from home if you’re that close to UCLA). And about finances – the top privates tend to give better financial-aid packages tipped towards grants instead of loans.</p>
<p>My suggestion is to make a list of things that matter to you and build a pro/con list for each school you’re considering. Some answers you can find on your own, some you’ll want to talk to current students. You probably know some UCLA students, and if you contact Cornell Admissions they can put you in contact with either current students or recent grads in your area. Try to build a realistic picture in your mind of what it would be like to be a student at each, see which is a better fit.</p>
<p>BayBoi10 wrote: </p>
<h2>"NYC is where it’s at for your major "</h2>
<p>I’m not sure what that means. I would think Washington DC is “where it’s at”, but OP is not applying to Georgetown, GW, or AU. Therefore, OP is left with which school outside of the Beltway is good for PoliSci.</p>
<p>Political Science is a strong major at UCLA. Its NRC ranking is/was #8, vs. Cornell #15.</p>
<p>1 Harvard 4.88
2 Cal Berkeley 4.66
3 Yale 4.60
4 Michigan 4.60
5 Stanford 4.50
6 Chicago 4.41
7 Princeton 4.39
8 UCLA 4.25
9 Cal San Diego 4.13
10 Wisconsin 4.09
11 Rochester 4.01
12 MIT 3.96
13 Minnesota 3.95
14 Duke 3.94
15 Cornell 3.85</p>
<p>I don’t see that any of those schools are in NYC…</p>
<p>I think it’s an exageration (albeit a common one) to describe Cornell as being a “rural” school. Ithaca’s feel is more like a small but urbane city. The population density in Ithaca is quite high. You don’t have to drive from from there to be in a rural area. </p>
<p>My niece attended a small liberal arts college in a truly rural area. There was precisely one restaurant (a pizza place) within five miles of the campus. There’s a big difference in how that feels compared to how it in a place with 20,00 students, 25,000 other residents, and dozens of establishments serving food or drinks within walking distance of the campus.</p>
<p>The weather at any school in the northeast requires an adjustment for students coming from California.</p>
<p>UCLA is known all over the world. Considering price, location, weather, and your longtime love for UCLA, this is almost a no-brainer in favor of UCLA.</p>
<p>“UCLA is known all over the world”
so is Cornell :)</p>