UT vs. Cornell

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>These are the two engineering schools I'm giving the most consideration to.</p>

<p>I live in Austin, so UT is a half an hour away.</p>

<p>I have a fair chance at getting in both of them (well, a really good chance at UT, fair chance at Cornell). But I don't know which one I want to go to.</p>

<p>UT is a quarter of the price, which is probably the biggest advantage I see. Another advantage of UT is the social scene, which is probably quite a bit more interesting than Cornell's.</p>

<p>They're both ranked the same in US News, so it's not really an issue of how good of an education I'd be getting. Though Cornell is probably still considered a lot more prestigious.</p>

<p>Cornell has a much nicer campus, too.</p>

<p>What do you guys think? Comments about either school or both schools are welcome.</p>

2

<p>Well, someone posted and then deleted it =|</p>

3

<p>Where are the US News rankings for undergraduate engineering programs?</p>

<p>I'd say Cornell is better but you should go to UT.</p>

4

<p><a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/eng/brief/engrank_brief.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/eng/brief/engrank_brief.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Well, I suppose it's not UNDERGRADUATE specific, but I doubt they're talking specifically about the grad schools either. And even if they were, the quality of the undergrad engineering school in any given university probably reflects that of their engineering grad school.</p>

<p>Anyway, they're tied at 12th. </p>

<p>And any reason? Just the $$$?</p>

5

<p>a fair chance at cornell?
cocky kid</p>

<p>goodluck</p>

6

<p>I only say that cuz my dad went there =). Legacy >_></p>

7

<p>"<a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/gr...grank_brief.php"&gt;http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/gr...grank_brief.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Well, I suppose it's not UNDERGRADUATE specific, but I doubt they're talking specifically about the grad schools either. And even if they were, the quality of the undergrad engineering school in any given university probably reflects that of their engineering grad school.</p>

<p>Anyway, they're tied at 12th.</p>

<p>And any reason? Just the $$$?"</p>

<p>The link is for America's best graduate schools, so yes they're only talking graduate.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/engineering/phd/topprogs_withphd_brief.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/engineering/phd/topprogs_withphd_brief.php&lt;/a>
for undergrad, but you have to pay to get the full rankings. Maybe someone here will have the subscription and be willing to post the top 50 or so.</p>

8

<p>Fine, here:</p>

<p><a href="http://education.yahoo.com/college/essentials/school_rankings/college/college_rank_eng.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://education.yahoo.com/college/essentials/school_rankings/college/college_rank_eng.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Their source is US News, and UT and Cornell are again tied, except at 10th this time.</p>

9

<p>Anyone know how good UC San Diego, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, or Tufts undergraduate engineering programs are?</p>

10

<p>Carnegie rocks!</p>

<p><--biased supporter</p>

<p>I like it, but CMU does tend to punish you ruthlessly without stop for the duration of your engineering career...</p>

<p>unless you're on of those geniuses, I dislike them:)</p>

11

<p>SLORG, Tufts does not belong on your list. The remaining universities are all excellent in Engineering. It depends on what you want. For example, in Electrical Engineering, CMU is second to none. In Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins and UCSD are unbeatable. Northwestern is awesome in Civil and Materials. All 4 of those universities have well respected Engineering programs. Tufts on the other hand is average in Engineering.</p>

<p>qwertyuiopasdf, your situation is difficult. Clearly, Cornell is a better overall university than Texas, but not by much. Although Cornell and UT-Austin are tied in the Engineering rankings, I would have to say that Cornell has a slight advantage in Engineering too. </p>

<p>But it is not in terms of overall quality or Engineering rankings that you should make your decision. It is more in terms of environment ad finances. Those two universities could not be further apart. </p>

<p>Cornell is located in Ithaca. A small and simple, quiet and quaint college town with gorgeous surroundings and cold winters. </p>

<p>UT is located in the heart of Austin, one of the largest cities in America with a very strong industrial and corporate presence and warm weather 90% of the year. </p>

<p>Financially, can you justify the cost difference? Cornell will cost close to $200,000 over 4 years. UT-Austin will cost you $50,000 over 4 years, if that. We're talking about close to $150,000 savings over 4 years. Enough to pay for Law School or an MBA degree and then some! Do you have siblings. With that $150,000, your parents could send 3 other children to UT-Austin. If your folks are very wealthy, then no problem. But if your parents are middle-income, you will have to make a tough decision.</p>

12

<p>Slorg,</p>

<p>Do you know what engineering discipline you are most interested in? You may also want to look from that angle.</p>

<p>Below is a list of top-15 (2006 US News graduate ranking; undergrad dept ranking, if exists, doesn't differ much usually) programs your interested schools have:
UCSD: biomedical
JHU: biomedical, environmental, mechanical.
CMU: civil, computer, electrical, environmental, materials, mechanical
Northwestern: biomedical, chemical, civil, environmental, industrial, material, mechanical
Tufts: none</p>

13

<p>Just to clarify, I'm applying more schools than those - they were just the ones off the top ten list (except CMU, I now see). I don't even know if I want to pursue engineering as a career or even as an undergraduate major. Medicine is another option that I've considered. I want to keep my options open, but engineering seems to suit my strengths and also provide a good background for a number of careers and graduate programs. I think I'll probably select EECS or chemical or biomedical engineering, in that order.</p>

<p>Do you really think I shouldn't apply to Tufts? Its early assurance medical program was appealing to me in addition to its lower selectivity (compared to MIT, Stanford, or Caltech).</p>

14

<p>Thanks Alexandre. I'm definitely leaning towards UT, especially after what you posted.</p>

<p>Plus I could always transfer if I really hated UT or something, but I doubt I will.</p>

15

<p>^^Good idea. UT also has much better looking women.</p>

16

<p>Yeah, I've heard that.</p>

<p>I could also make that extrapolation based on numbers alone. 50,000+ student body means there has to be quite a few good looking people.</p>

17

<p>Anyone else?</p>

18

<p>Lots of good looking people isn't necessarily a good thing. You want the other gender to look good in general and your own to look ugly. Going to Supermodel U won't help you date good-looking people unless you're good-looking as well.</p>

<p>More seriously, I don't think college matters much. UT is cheaper, so if you feel that you will receive a good education, then go there. I would hazard a guess that your GPA will be higher there as well. However, if you're unsure, apply to both.</p>