I just got off the waitlist for Columbia and Cornell, and I was hoping someone could provide a deeper insight on the surrounding environment, academic opportunities, social culture, etc. of the schools.
Well, I’ll speak for Columbia Univ.
First, I will presume by Columbia Univ, you got accepted to Columbia College (I’m in Columbia SEAS but the experience is more or less very familiar except most SEAS students seem to not take CC and LitHum series though I, myself did)
Academic opportunities:
Columbia University is ranked #4 in the USNews. I think this is very self-explanatory.
Both Columbia and Cornell offer top notch academic opportunity in all areas both schools offer.
Don’t worry about which school is “more” academic over the other. Seriously, at this point, you are comparing apples and oranges. (Both great fruits and virtually everyone else in the world too believes both are great choices to have).
In other words: You are comparing two of some of the best schools in the WORLD that others would die for to be part of so don’t worry about this.
Surrounding Environment: (Bias here)
TL;DR: Columbia has better surrounding environment.
Yes, Cornell prides itself in the beautiful campus it has. In fact, Cornell constantly ranks as some of the most beautiful campus in the world with waterfalls, etc.
HOWEVER, this completely overlooks the location Columbia is in. Columbia is surrounded by 3 parks all in a walkable distance. Riverside Park, Morningside Park, and Central Park. In fact, Riverside Park and Morningside Park is so close that you can walk it in 2 minutes. Now, Central Park being a bit further takes like 11 minutes by walking.
And Central Park is the most visited urban park in the US if not the world.
This means that not only does Columbia have the advantage of New York City (unfortunately, Cornell is a bit too far out from the city to have the advantage of visiting the city anytime of the week), but also Columbia has arguably the better parks.
You worried of Columbia’s proximity to NYC? Well, don’t fret! You got 3 parks right next to you. Worried the parks would be small? Well, let me tell you something. It takes like 5 hours in your first time around Central Park to view its entire-ity. Oh wait, even with 5 hours, you might not have visited certain parts of it! (since the walkway within Central Park loops a lot)
So…
In terms of ability to go to the city: Columbia without a doubt. Columbia has NYC. What does Cornell have? 
In terms of ‘nature’: If you care about campus ranking, Cornell ofc. If you actually attend Columbia, then without a doubt, Columbia due to its proximity to 3 different parks. And trust me, those parks are B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.
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In fact, many Columbia students if asked about attending Cornell would say, 'Why would I attend in such a hell-hole?' (this is an exaggeration but if you know where Cornell is, you will recognize that it is pretty secluded from the outside world. Good luck leaving your campus... ever during school)
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Social culture:
No idea of Cornell here.
Columbia does not have an active football team (well the team exists but virtually non-existant). This makes Columbia VERY different from most other schools. In other words, academics seem to be more important than a petty sports team. Columbia gives the feeling of “you are part of the great classics” all throughout its campus so if that’s what you are into instead of football RAH RAH, then Columbia would be the better choice.
Other than that, I think both are pretty much similar though I don’t know anything about Cornell in this regard.
Basically, Columbia for social culture = most top colleges - football spirit.
the “Core”:
Columbia is unique in that it practices the “core curriculum”. In other words, it has arguably the most rigorous liberal arts education for undergraduates. You will come out being inspired many times by the great classics and enjoy an experience no other college students can ever obtain. Basically, the Core sets Columbia apart from every other universities in the US and although students complain about LitHum, etc., after the course is over, those very students are usually very thankful for the courses.
If the “Core” turns you off (I’m assuming you researched this since you got in), well then… you have your answer, Cornell I guess.
I personally think you should chose Columbia over the others BECAUSE of the core.
Why Columbia over others then (outside these reasons)?:
Proximity to NYC.
Pass to almost all museums in NY for free.
Discount to cool places like Broadway.
Subway to downtown is within 5 second walk. And the subway is fast enough to get you anymore in a few minutes. So… ya, you can visit pretty much all the cool parts of NY without worrying about distance
The students.
You can have classes on the LAWN. Hell ya! I mean how great is that? 17 people (including you) + your professor in the lawn learning about the great classics and conversing about it.
Engineers in Columbia are also very highly educated in the liberal arts.
Most nobel prizes in the world. You want to be an aspiring nobel prize winner? Well, number wise, what better place than the place that breeds nobel prizes?
Its unique history. Honestly, there’s an inside joke in Bwog that Columbia supports monarchy since it was first called King’s College and doesn’t celebrate President’s Day.
The rest of the world thinks more highly of Columbia than the rest of the choices you have given. Take this with a grain of salt though although I’m sure high schoolers are usually swayed by this, and since my goal is to convince you ^^.
Current president Barrack Obama is your alumni.
And… it was good enough for Einstein back in his day to give a few lectures AND it played a big part historically in helping China through its revolution. Basically, it actually impacts the rest of the world…
Plus, you have access to the World Science Festival every year! Wow.
thank you so much for responding! 
academics wise would you say that Columbia and Cornell are collaborative environments? i know this is one aspect that washu prides itself on
Columbia and Cornell are considerably more diverse than WashU. Economically and ethnically.
Majority of colleges, high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools in the world can claim vague ideas such as this.
So don’t worry about “which school is more collaborative”, etc.
And ya, Columbia is pretty collaborative. (Whatever that means).
A lot vague ideas spouted by colleges are mostly for marketing so don’t fall for it. Anyways, good luck with your college picking. Just know that if you ask here, you will only get heavily biased response since well… it’s the thread for Columbia Univ, ‘the best university in the best city in the world’ .
I would choose Columbia over Cornell for almost anything as a ugrad, including engineering if you wanna end up in business but wanna study engineering. The only reason I can think of choosing Cornell over Columbia other than personal preference, is if you wanna be a pure engineer and follow that as a career (and also that depends on what kind of engineering).