USC vs Cornell for Computer Science (URGENT!!)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
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<p>Hi everyone!</p>

<p>I am an international student and have been selected to some fine colleges. I scored 2270 ( SAT Reasoning), 32 ACT, 110 TOEFL, 4 AP's and have great extracurricular activities as a bronze medal at the International Chemistry Olympiad, volunteering in a pediatric cancer center, two websites ( one of them became a profitable company), etc.. As English is not my country's native language, 2270 was the best grade someone has ever scored. </p>

<p>When I applied for the class of 2017, I just had the bronze medal at the International Chemistry Olympiad and a bad 1790 SAT score. I took another SAT test in January 2013 and got 2040. However, understandably, I was denied by all the colleges I applied to. Then, I took a gap year, in which I traveled and got involved with many extracurricular activities and took more tests, both described earlier.
I applied again (class of 2018) to all the schools I had applied, and added some others as USC, Cornell, Duke, Amherst, and Dartmouth. I got denied by all the school I had already applied last year (class of 2017) and got accepted by all schools I applied for the first time this year ( class of 2018), except Duke ( waitlisted).
I am an entrepreneurial student and my dream is to study at Stanford. As you may guess, I was denied admission there :( I am considering applying as a transfer next year. But for now, I need to decide which school I will call my home.
So, my question is: CORNELL OR USC?</p>

<p>I am probably going to be a computer science major. After graduating from college, I want to work at Google, Microsoft, or Facebook, and after, I want to create my own company. I like to surf, snowboard and go to parties and I know LA is a perfect place for that (I visited the east and west coast in 2010 and I know that LA and San Francisco have the most beautiful women in the US), So, in terms of life town, USC is way better than Cornell right (I've never been at Ithaca)?
Although I want to have fun, you can see by my academic accomplishments that I am a very determined and committed student. So, I believe I can get good grades in any university.
I talked to some friends and they said I will be happier at USC than at Cornell, but I don't care so much about weather/life town when it comes to my future. I mean, if studying at Cornell will make me more successful and richer in the future than studying at USC, I would choose Cornell, regardless of the other circumstances. Another good point of Cornell is that it is highly ranked in CS, it is an Ivy League school (more job offers), and has a greater alumni networking compared to USC. But the point is that I will probably go to the Silicon Valley after college and I believe that the fact that USC is in California will give me more networking/opportunities of working at Google, Twitter, etc. There is also the fact that living in LA is better for people who wants networking with extremely wealthy (Beverly Hills is very close) people and is looking for investors. I believe there are so many events in LA related to startups/CS/business that this is for sure a great advantage USC has over Cornell. So, which one do you think will be a better college to study at: Cornell or USC? I need your advices because I will not visit them and this is a life-changing decision.</p>

<p>Thank your for your time and consideration.</p>

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<p>Well this is coming from someone who is biased toward USC because it was my dream school, but I was denied this year, so congrats to you for getting in ! Is there any other concerns such as finances? In my humble opinion I think you would be a good fit for USC while I understand that Cornell’s Ivy League status may be hard to “pass up” you have to understand that USC has a great Alumni Network, in Los Angeles and in general all over California. USC’s Alumni has very very rich people, as for years it was a rich kid school, now not so much, but it still has very wealthy students so you will be going to school with people who may subjectively be the children of those “wealthy bussines entrepreneurs” . USC also has a very well rounded student body, people study hard and when opportunity is given they party hard. As you can tell I loved USC haha, but it all depends on you. USC has a great reputation in California and if you want to stay in California and work with the big companies in silicone valley then USC is for you. Plus it’s usually always sunny and warm in so cal !Good luck in your choice ! </p>

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<p>MaeMae9, Thanks for your answer! ^^ </p>

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<p>Hi everyone!
I am still undecided. In terms of financial, I did not apply for financial aid at USC because I applied Jan 15 and Cornell didn’t give me financial aid because they don’t have so much money for internationals :confused:
So, If Cornell gave me a generous financial aid award, I would commit to it, as expenses would be greatly reduced. However, as I will have to pay whatever one I choose, USC came back to the stage as a strong candidate.
I just realized that USC is highly ranked ( top 5 and many times considered the 1st) when it comes to colleges with the hottest girls, which would undoubtedly made me believe that studying at USC would make me much happier than at Cornell. But the other point in this quest for taking the right decision is that Cornell has more brilliant students, has more opportunities for getting a job and transfering would be easier, and the rigor there is probably greater than at USC.
I welcome more advices from you guys! Need to take this decision in few days and I am still undecided ‘-’</p>

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<p>Computer Science is a difficult major at either choice. If you are interested in founding your own company in the future SC’s program in entrepreneurship is ranked #2 (#1 by Entrepreneur Magazine). You can choose to double major or minor in that subject, even if you are enrolled in the engineering school.</p>

<p>There are all sorts of rankings, but one world ranking listed SC’s engineering/CS together as #10th in the world. Also, the school has strong ties to industries in the metro area for great internships, The $50 million dollar engineering/bioscience building will begin construction soon. </p>

<p>What evidence do you have that it would be easier to transfer from Cornell or it would be easier to obtain a job? I suggest you visit Viterbi’s website and view the list of prominent alumni, faculty distinctions and student accomplishments.</p>

<p>Viterbi is highly selective. Are you aware there were over 10,000 applicants for the freshmen class of 410? </p>