UPENN vs. Cornell

<p>Meurtea - I hope we aren't being unduly harsh... and I ditto oldfort. Congratulations on all of your achievements. Penn (Wharton) was my ED choice and I was rejected, but I am extremely happy at Cornell (AEM). I know these are the best years of my life and I enjoy every minute of it. I do not resent Penn - I know college admissions are very competitive and that's the luck of the draw. Perhaps I'll be lucky enough to attend graduate school at Penn someday so I can experience both like Tahoe and Sallyawp. Certainly I might have to rethink my major with the state of the economy! I do find your online persona fascinating, so I apologize for the badgering - but I am curious again - why did you change from Newton > Brookline? Again, I'm just curious - no need to answer if you feel would compromise your anonymity. Regarding changing the information to be helpful to future students, that was very thoughtful of you. I think it would be even more helpful if you made a notation about admission as a transfer student after rejection - it will give potential transfers hope.</p>

<p>Good point about the transfer thing; I'll do that. Sorry to hear about the Wharton disappointment.</p>

<p>As for Newton to Brookline, that's where I actually live... I used Newton because it's on the border. It was for anonymity's sake. I figured most people here used fake backgrounds, but I suppose not.</p>

<p>I think there is a lot of "faking" on these boards! No need to open up your life in the Internet community! Do you live in an apartment or Penn housing? Are you interested in participating in their Greek life?</p>

<p>P.S. The Wharton disappointment was short-lived. In the end, I had great choices.</p>

<p>I live on-campus. And I am not at all interested in sororities, which seem kind of fake.</p>

<p>hmmm, I think that your mindset of Cornell being 'bad' even before you entered Cornell clouded your experiences at Cornell. Since you claim to be a nerouscience major, you should know a thing or two about psychology. Ever heard of self fulfilling prophecy? Also, there have been studies that prove how people tend to view certain objects more favorably, or less favarably, depending on their already-existing notions. An example is where the group of people who were being tested to drink beer said that the more expensive beer definitely tasted better, although it turned out that the two beers in the test were the same brand and the researchers lied to the participants that the beers were two different brands. </p>

<p>Also, your claim that Cornell is stupid or that students here don't even know how to spell is grossly exagerrated, you have to admit. What classes did you exactly take here? Freshmen seminars? You gotta take some advanced courses in History, Econ, Math, Bio, Physics, etc. I am a double major in History and Econ and believe me, I am impressed with my classmates' intellectual contribution to the classrooms by expressing their curiosity, enthusiasm for learning, and ambitions to succeed. For this reason, I maintain that Cornell is an excellent place to pursue studies as an undergrad because of the people here: diverse, interesting, smart. I am sure Penn is excellent too. But, I do feel that people like you, along with other hilarious folks such as evil asian dictator, tend to make such a laughbly big deal out of differences in small details, citing 20-30 SAT differences, etc. I did meet some people who were not that smart, too, but for most of my classes, the overwhelming atmosphere is very intellectual and I feel that I am surrounded by enough smart peers, creating a strong, vigrous academic environment.</p>

<p>It is true that Penn outranks Cornell in US News or other department rankings or whatever. But, to suggest that small differences of margial significance would make a difference in individual's academic experience is somewhat dumb. Also, I am getting sick of these bunches of misinformed people who claim that going to a slightly higher ranked school will provide better financial or academic rewards later on. For certain graduate programs, such as Ph.D, your undergrad matters a lot since you get the chance to know professors, etc. Going to H for undergrad will help you get into H for Ph.D. But, as far as immediate entry jobs or even other professional graudate schools, going to either Penn or Cornell or even a state flagship public school like Michigan won't matter much at all. It will come down to the individual's abilities, not the school name. Otherwise, I question why the average starting salary for Harvard undergrads is only around 50k. Let's get real.</p>

<p>Patlees, you are absolutely correct on every one of your statements.
1. The self-fulfilling prophecy. This was absolutely my case. I came to Cornell thinking I had been cheated - that wasn't going to change easily. And it didn't.
2. Minute ranking differences don't matter in the long (or even the short!) run. Again, absolutely true.</p>

<p>So, I suppose that I have two answers. The first is that, if my mindset was indeed set against Cornell, illogical or irrational though it may be, my mind did settle a great deal after getting into Penn. In that sense, my choice was completely rational, even if it did hinge on the a priori irrationality of the situation.
The second is that, although the outcome will be largely the same no matter if you go to Brandeis, U Mich, or Cornell/Penn/Harvard, people do so, for the same reason they buy an Acura instead of the Honda. </p>

<p>That's all.</p>

<p>"1. The self-fulfilling prophecy. This was absolutely my case. I came to Cornell thinking I had been cheated - that wasn't going to change easily. And it didn't"</p>

<p>That is life. My cousin graduated from Yale Econ 3 years ago and he says that he felt somewhat 'cheated' because he noticed that his coworkers did less than half the work that my cousin did to get to the same entry job. It caused him to go through some tough times, mentally, which I believe he got over with. </p>

<p>"So, I suppose that I have two answers. The first is that, if my mindset was indeed set against Cornell, illogical or irrational though it may be, my mind did settle a great deal after getting into Penn. In that sense, my choice was completely rational, even if it did hinge on the a priori irrationality of the situation."</p>

<p>Rational decision, I think, isn't possible with the irrationality of the situation. A consumer behavior in which a person may change a purse from Verace to Gucci because of that person's bias has to do with the perception and preference, not rationality associated with practicality. However, a person who bought a new purse because he had to get a new one is completely rational. One thing my Econ Prof said: "most consumer behaviors are irrational". </p>

<p>"The second is that, although the outcome will be largely the same no matter if you go to Brandeis, U Mich, or Cornell/Penn/Harvard, people do so, for the same reason they buy an Acura instead of the Honda."</p>

<p>Only for this analogy, most would argue that Penn would be a Porsche Boxter while Cornell would be a BMW 3 series sports coupe. Although the Porsche Boxter is slightly faster and a bit more expensive, BMW 3 series boosts other merits such as being more durable, better safety, etc. The difference between a Honda and Accura would be the difference between Penn and something like NYU.</p>

<p>Haha, I love how people are going into car metaphors and such, when the simple fact of the matter is that both Penn and Cornell are good schools - Penn is ranked higher overall and is more selective, Cornell is slightly less selective and has some programs (most sciences) which are stronger.</p>

<p>this thread isn't doing much for my self esteem...first the school I want to transfer into gets trashed, and then my current college gets referred to as the "Honda" of colleges...which makes sense, as we have a LOT of international students brought in from East Asia, and really a lot of Asians overall...:) Let me tell you the difference between NYU and a Honda: NYU might not be at the top, but it sure ain't cheap...</p>

<p>Patlees, Honda manufactures both Honda and Acura. A loaded Honda Pilot is actually only about $3,000 less than the MDX. Anyway, sorry for the misunderstanding.</p>

<p>I do like BMWs, though. Big fan of the new 3 series design. My cousin has an M3, which is pretty sweet.</p>

<p>"Let me tell you the difference between NYU and a Honda"</p>

<p>Is it lipstick?</p>

<p>:D</p>

<p>haha it's more like $180,000...</p>

<p>This thread has taken a rather pleasant turn. Perhaps we should put it to rest.</p>

<p>Muerteapablo (Death to Paul?? )-- Best of luck at Penn. Come up and visit Ithaca whenever you want to have some homemade ice cream or watch a hockey game. Maybe you can actually see the place for what it is for the first time.</p>

<p>Thanks, Cayuga.</p>

<p>I don't care what people say about Cornell.. For me I want to go to Cornell. My alumni say its a very beautiful place. But is an SAT score of 2020 good enough for Crnell Engineering ED? (CR+M=1410)</p>

<p>
[quote]
I don't care what people say about Cornell.. For me I want to go to Cornell. My alumni say its a very beautiful place. But is an SAT score of 2020 good enough for Crnell Engineering ED? (CR+M=1410)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It is a possibility, but you do know that Engineering at any college requires extremely high scores and GPA right?</p>

<p>2020 is kind of low. I have a 2130 and people tell me it's low. But I'm applying to CAS not Engineering.</p>

<p>What is a great way to meet seniors or upper classman as a junior transfer?</p>

<p>I know. But how if my GPA is 3.92 unweighted? Plus I'm an international student from Asian region..
Plus can somebody please chance me on the thread 'Cornell Engineering'?
Thank you so much!!!</p>

<p>dreamchaser - start a new thread. You are hijacking the thread.</p>

<p>hahah this thread has been hijacked like a dozen times now, oldfort.</p>