What's Cornell's reputation in California?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
101

<p>We in the US, being closer to these things, are more likely to distinguish differences in reputation between undergrad programs and grad programs, the latter of which are clearly more the basis for international reputation. </p>

<p>This is a nuance you likely had no need to focus on before you arrived in the United States for grad school.</p>

<p>But as for being on- topic to this thread, California is in the United States of America, not Singapore or England. I believe there are other threads pertaining to perceptions from abroad.</p>

102

<p>monydad, although I was bron in Chicago, I also have lived in California. Both my parents went to Stanford. I also spent several months there as an exhcange student in 2006, so I do have an idea of what I am talking about. </p>

<p>btw, which other university do you think where it has a global reputation because of its strong grad education but weak undergrad prestige?</p>

103

<p>So this is the basis for your credibility to contribute your observations to this thread?</p>

<p>That you were born in Chicago? But left when you were what, three?
That your parents went to Stanford? That gives you credence to this point? Where your parents went?
That you were an exchange student for several months?</p>

<p>I went to disney world a few times, that gives me just about as much basis to post about Cornell’s reputation in California as the above. Even better, my second cousin lives in California. See, I’m an expert.</p>

<p>But that’s all beside the point. since your post #100 didn’t even address its reputation in Calfornia, which is the topic of this thread.</p>

<p>I believe there are other threads to discuss reputations elsewhere.</p>

<p>Edit: I mean Disney Land.</p>

104

<p>monydad, I never claimed I’m an expert on this topic. I just posted in case the OP wants to get a bigger sampling. One does not have to be from California to be able to form an idea of what the OP was asking. So, if you think I’m not credible, then so should you and most of those who posted on this thread. </p>

<p>OP, based on my personal experience, Berkeley is more popular than Cornell in California. But in terms of prestige (respectability of the institutions) they are about equal. Cornell is slightly more prestigious than UCLA and USC though. Stanford is significantly mroe prestigious than Cornell. I could be wrong on this. But I am just one sample, so you shouldn’t take my words singlehandedly and form a conclusion based entirely on them.</p>

105

<p>Cornell’s got a pretty solid leg up on Berkeley in the prestige / reputation department, though probably not in all circles (I’ve found in California people perceive Berkeley to better simply because they know it). If you think of the top group as the HYPSM etc., the second group as the Cornells, Northwesterns, Browns, Hopkins, etc., then Berkeley would generally fall in that next group with the Michigans, Georgetowns, etc.</p>

106

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<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.stanfordrejects.com%5Dhttp://www.stanfordrejects.com%5B/url”>http://www.stanfordrejects.com]http://www.stanfordrejects.com[/url</a>]</p>

107

<p>^</p>

<p>Depends on which part of Stanford or Berkeley you’re referring to.</p>

<ul>
<li>Ph.D. Programs, all 41 in the aggregate from the NRC study: Berkeley > Stanford</li>
<li>Medicine/Law/Business: Stanford > Berkeley/UCSF</li>
<li>Undergraduate Engineering: Tie</li>
<li>Undergraduate non-Engineering: Stanford > Berkeley</li>
</ul>

<p>A particular discipline within the Ph.D. space: 41 different answers.</p>

108

<p>^ So true. The precise field can never be discounted. Job interviewers won’t care that your college is famous for film if it isn’t also famous in the field you are actually in.</p>

109

<p>For general across the board UNDERGRAD quality of education:
UCB > Cornell > USC > Stanford > UCLA</p>

<p>P.S. I lived in the Finger Lakes region and not from California but do agree with the provincial argument that most Californians never even lived outside of or even are aware of that a world exists outside California. Cornell is more considered an Alt Ivy than a reject Ivy but does have good cafeteria food and nice lawn to crap on after wards than most ivies and UC’s.</p>

110

<p>Even though Stanford has a nicer campus, the undergrad professors, academic rigor and education standards as well as the intellect, critical thinking, depth of knowledge and creative problem solving of (the majority of) Berkeley students is considerably higher on the undergrad level at Stanford. This is from years of direct experience and not biased based upon their silly rivalry which is more sports team oriented just like the one between USC and UCLA.</p>

111

<p>i just read this whole thread because of the interesting points and arguments made. first off, i’m a senior at a high school in california that sends a lot of students to the UCs. i know a few friends with great scores (2300+, 35+ act, all As or close, great ECs) who chose to go to berkeley this year. berkeley is, from what i’ve seen on rankings, the best public school in the country. one of my friends turned down cornell for berkeley. </p>

<p>i do agree, though, that it is relatively not that hard to get into. that doesn’t mean it’s not a great school! it’s because it’s public, i think, as to why admissions are more lax. that also means that classes are oversized, so take that into account.</p>

<p>berkeley is one of my top choices. if i don’t get into cornell, i’ll probably go to berkeley. (my stats are 2260 sat, 760 math 2, 750 bio, 4.4 GPA overall weighted, 4.0 unweighted) </p>

<p>and i do not think of cornell as the reject ivy!! whether or not it’s the lowest ranked ivy i could care less. i like the cold, and its programs aren’t bad either.</p>

112

<p>So much bias in this thread…</p>

<p>I am a high school senior in Los Angeles (lived here all my life) applying to both Berkeley and Cornell. There is NO doubt in my mind that Cornell is held in higher esteem. At my mediocre public school, Berkeley and UCLA are seen as the colleges that most A grade kids in honors and AP will be getting into and attending. Cornell, as an ivy league school, is seen as MUCH more prestigious, and the buzz is much bigger when someone gets in. This opinion is shared by everyone I know.</p>

<p>I think I am pretty much unbiased, seeing as I would like to go to either school… seems like most people in this thread are students or alumni at one school or another.</p>

<p>HYPSM> Cornell/lower ivies >>> Berkeley = UCLA = USC</p>

<p>Also, you can talk about weather and suicide rates all you want, but the OPs question was about reputation, and there is no doubt that Cornell’s is better.</p>

113

<p>^agreed</p>

<p>soooooooo many Berkeley ■■■■■■ here, please head back to wherever you guys came from. Even though Berkeley is the best state school its still a state school (in a bankrupt state).</p>

<p>HYPSM > Remaining Ivies > Berkeley > UCLA > USC > Remaining UC Schools</p>

114

<p>@hamburglar: i totally agree about the way people view the schools. sooo many people were excited for me when i got into cornell. so many people get into berkeley/ucla/lower UCs each year that it’s not as big a deal</p>

115

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<p>My intuition agrees with this stmt. Can you or someone provide a list of “employers’ good schools” , or at least make a stab at it? Is it simply the top 10,20,30, 40, 50 of USNR unis ; what about LACs?</p>

116

<p>There’s a paper ranking universities based on “revealed choice,” ie. at what universities cross-admits actually matriculate. It also breaks down rankings by regions of the school’s origin. </p>

<p>Avery et al. “A Revealed Preference Ranking of US Colleges & Universities”
[SSRN-A</a> Revealed Preference Ranking of U.S. Colleges and Universities by Christopher Avery, Mark Glickman, Caroline Hoxby, Andrew Metrick](<a href=“http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=601105]SSRN-A”>http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=601105)
See Page 46, “Region 9: CA, HI, OR, WA”</p>

<p>On the west coast, Cornell is the 14th most-preferred, and Berkeley is 25th. </p>

<p>Some caveats. </p>

<p>(i) Using this method, public universities (ie. Berkeley) may be expected to have a big advantage in their own region, since tuition will be much cheaper, prompting students to vote with their pockets. Results then might not be characteristic of “reputation,” but both “reputation” and “cost” (not to mention other factors, like weather, college experience, etc). </p>

<p>(ii) You asked what Cornell’s reputation is in California (presumably among the average person), and this simply indicates that cross-admits from the West Coast usually attend Cornell; cross-admits at Berkeley and Cornell are probably not similar to the “average Californian,” but their choices also might be influenced by what their belief of their respective prestige. </p>

<p>(iii) This ranking includes Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington, although restricting it to CA probably wouldn’t change the finding much (perhaps not at all). </p>

<p>Both Cornell and Berkeley provide outstanding opportunities; your education will undoubtedly be what you make of those opportunities, and succeeding at either one will being meaningful to employers and colleagues.</p>

117

<p>I live really close to Stanford so it’s usually pushed aside. In my high school the “elite” universities are HYPS. Most people don’t know or hear about CalTech, MIT, Dartmouth, UPenn, Cornell, Columbia, Brown, Rice, etc. though they are all excellent schools. </p>

<p>Once you tell people that it’s an Ivy League, they obviously think of it highly. However, it’s still not really popular or well-known from my impressions. It’s probably why less than 15 people at my school applied to Cornell last year. I suspect that those who did applied only because they heard that “it’s the easiest Ivy League to get into”, which may or may not be true.</p>

118

<p>^ easier by 1% compared to upenn including contract schools, lol.
in our school we have 400 people applying this year.
ED admit is truly easier though.</p>

119

<p>The people who go to Cornell in our area are not the top students. In fact, many people choose Berkeley over Cornell every year.</p>

120

<p>In fact, people also choose UCLA over Stanford or Yale from time to time. it happens for whatever reason, money or otherwise
Cornell does indeed attract the top students from around the country and has probably an international rep almost on par with HYPS. in the states, no doubt HYPS is at the top. but the ivys and likes of MIT, Columbia will always be considered amongst the best, although not at the very top like HYPS
there will always be kids who choose their state schools over the ivys
there will be those who go to UCLA over Stanford
Princeton looses some to Rutgers every year and Columbia even loses some to the CUNY system in NY. that does not mean that Columbia doe not get top students
the comment about Berkeley is obvious, but misses the point that is at issue.
Cornell’s rep on the west coast is excellent</p>