@monydad No, I most certainly am not a STEM person. But my sons are. I live in Illinois and I know, only from my son’s research, about the reputation that U of I has for CS. But the average person who doesn’t frequent CC or USNWR would not know that about U of I. Even most people I know in Illinois don’t know that U of I has that reputation. It is simply seen as good state school. They also conflate UChicago with U of I at Chicago. The larger point being, certain schools have a STEM perception that universally known – MIT, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, GA Tech – and others do not.
As for the financial aid, again, I am going by Cornell’s own article. If it were as simple as Cornell matching offers from peer schools, why are Cornell’s own coaches bemoaning the problem? It would seem to me that recruited athletes would be the ones most likely to get matching offers, right? And it would seem to me that coaches, more than most, would know to try to secure matching offers for their athletes.
Finally, I know this is personal to you as a Cornell person, but I mean no personal slight. I have no vested interest in any Ivy League school. I just brought Cornell up because it is one of the easiest Ivies to get into. Again, Cornell is certainly no slouch, just easier relatively speaking.