<p>West Coast Logic
Ivy League
Stanford/Berkeley
UCLA</p>
<p>Around where I live (SF Bay Area), Cornell is far above any of the UCs. Everyone gets into Berkeley and LA and the other UCs simply because every applies there. But not many people apply to privates because the UC instate tuition is such a better deal. But for the few people going to privates in my school like Emory or Stanford, they’re regarded much higher. It’d have to be</p>
<p>Stanford
Any Ivy
Cal
Most top tier privates (Emory, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, etc)
Rest of the UCs.</p>
<p>emory…?</p>
<p>I believe making the whole Ivy involved to back up Cornell is as hilarious as getting Stanford involved to back up Berkeley…</p>
<p>After reading through all 10 pages of this topic, I’m a bit surprised that people viewed Cal higher than Cornell. I’m from CA and I chose Cornell over numerous CA schools. One of the main reasons was my desire to step out of my comfort zone, seeing how I’ve spent my whole life in CA. </p>
<p>From my experience, the buzz was definitely more apparent when people heard that I was accepted to Cornell, as compared to the buzz generated from my USC, Cal, UCLA, and etc. acceptances. To be honest, the UC’s schools aren’t too hard to get into if you’re in-state as compared to out-of-states. Though we’re not the most competitive high school, we still sent about 20 to Cal, 20 to UCLA, and approx. 5 to USC this year. As for other prestigious schools, we only have 1 to John Hopkins, and 1 to Cornell. Interpret it however you want. The adults in my area are so accustomed to hearing so-and-so getting into Cal and UCLA, that it doesn’t seem to surprise them anymore. </p>
<p>Anyway, all the schools mentioned in this topic are all great schools and I doubt employers would really nitpick too much. I can’t offer too much insight because I haven’t graduated, but I agree with a few posters in the previous pages. Whatever your school may be (USC, Cal, UCLA, Cornell, HYPS, yadayada), it should get your foot in the door. In my opinion, the rest is up to you to win over your employers. Just because someone graduated from HYPS, they’re still not guaranteed the highest position in the shortest amount of time. Factors like likability, social skills, work ethics, and a perhaps some connections (doesn’t exactly have to be alumni–family friends seem to work just fine) would probably get you farther than just the brand of your school.</p>
<p>It’s quite simple: Cornell is more selective than any University of California school as well as USC; additionally, Cornell is less selective than Stanford. There is ample quantitative data to support all of these claims.</p>
<p>I believe making the claim that “The Ivy League” is more selective than Stanford is erroneous. Stanford is more selective than Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth and Penn without question.</p>
<p>I’m from California and I applied to both Berkeley and Cornell. I didn’t get into Berkeley but I got into Cornell. I applied to engineering, and I’d say in terms of engineering I would have gone to Berkeley or Stanford over Cornell had I been accepted to either.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, I really like Cornell’s engineering program and it’s obviously a top school. Some people back in California haven’t heard of it and some don’t know it’s an Ivy League but honestly, who gives a ****. Most of those people are uneducated and I don’t think you should care about their opinion on the reputation of your school.</p>
<p>Among the educated community and employers, Cornell is definitely respected. As far as the west coast goes, I know many seniors who are graduating this year who have jobs for next year in California, particularly the Bay Area. Two of them are working for Apple. Sure, Berkeley has a higher ranked engineering program, but Cornell definitely holds weight and as long as you work hard and do well, I’m sure you’ll have a competitive edge.</p>
<p>I on the other hand am an International student from london and India. in addition, did 2 years of high school in LA and another 2 years in miami Florida. my father is a finance expert who did his undergraduate studies in yale, ( eastern studies and economics), did graduate at the london school of economics…now the reason i talk about my fathers academic standing is because of the high level standing of his job…he works and has worked at prominent international as well as domestic companies. And what he has comprised is that an ivy league name tag far accedes any other in the long run. he has worked with people from georgetown to ucberk…from harvard to university of arizona…especially lucrative international regions…only the people with ivy name tags are seen milking the beautiful alumni network…sure UCberk would get you a job her and there but its no where near the Ivy name …even Dartmouth, which a lot of people have not heard off…bow before if when told of its IVY tag. SURE ivy is just a sports league but with its 200 year old radical history its much more…the usa is know for the ivy education…and cornell is high up there…trust me i will go there eventually…and people who hate on cornell are just serious loosers</p>
<p>and sometimes people prefer IVY more then MIT AND STANFORD just cause the ivy tag is missing…even though MIT and stanford out run most ivy’s…berkley has nothing over cornell…and the reason berkley has a higher ranking is because of sports and how many idiots get a job…even if its like a 40 to 50 K job… trust me…i am international yo!</p>
<p>Cornell’s reputation far exceeds any of the UCs in undergraduate program.</p>
<p>It is also because of this that undergrads get a plenty of research opportunities at Cornell (because professors acknowledge that these undergraduate kids are worth hiring) which is not true for most UCs. (I know because I transferred out of UC to cornell after my freshmen year).</p>
<p>The study is also much more rigorous than UCs. This is due to the weather, competitive atmosphere, and on the average, hard working and smart kids who won’t let you have your A so easy. (not true all the time… but true at least in the engineering classes from what I saw).</p>
<p>Look at the suicides. I don’t expect you to understand why these kids would throw themselves off the bridge unless you were actually here and experienced ithaca’s winter.</p>
<p>Having said that, california is much place to live… which is why I am moving to california to continue my graduate education there. I don’t regret spending my time at Cornell, but I’ve had enough of east coast…</p>
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I hate to do this, but do you have solid understanding as to why exactly the suicides happened? If not, please refrain yourself from making such an argument that doesn’t really tell the world the truth. No, I don’t know the exact reasons; so, I would just close my lips.</p>
<p>I would be inclined to say ‘study hard wherever you are and be happy’.</p>
<p>I’ve lived all over the US, but I’m currently on the East Coast right now. Honestly, I thought I wouldn’t consider Cornell because of the weather and the lack of any nearby big city. I just got back from Ithaca today after attending an ILR info session, though, and you know what? There could not exist a more perfect program for me! Forget selectivity; once you start comparing great schools like Cornell and Stanford, most of the students who apply are capable of handling the calibre of schoolwork they’d be given, and that’s all that really matters. If all the kids accepted are good students, does it really matter if some scored a little higher on whatever?</p>
<p>I’d like to direct your attention to a wonderful TED talk I came across recently: [Dan</a> Gilbert: Why are we happy? Why aren’t we happy? - YouTube](<a href=“Why are we happy? Why aren't we happy? | Dan Gilbert - YouTube”>Why are we happy? Why aren't we happy? | Dan Gilbert - YouTube) . People are very capable of being happy. You are probably one of the most fortunate people on this planet and you have the amazing opportunity to study at Cornell (really, think again about how stupid this debate is, all you lucky children: my friend in Popayan, Colombia, cannot become a veterinarian, which is his lifelong dream, because he cannot afford it. He’s lucky, many people in his country are barely literate.) There are many wise teachers at this school, many opportunities to play and meet fascinating people from all over the world, all while you are being handed money to study! If you can’t think of something fun to do while it snows, that just shows how lame you are, not Cornell.</p>
<p>I hate winter too. If I’m accepted to Cornell, I will just buy myself some beautiful winter clothes and several boxes of hot cocoa. I will grow as a person and be happy. And you know what? I’ll never tell anyone my what I got on my SAT, AP, ACT, GPA, ABCDEFG ever again.</p>
<p>
I realize you’ve been indoctrinated to believe that winter is a horrible experience (many Californians seem to hold this as a self-evident truth, despite the fact that the cultures rated happiest in the world are overwhelmingly in cold climates). </p>
<p>Nevertheless, there is absolutely no known correlation between the suicides and the pretty average 4 seasons Ithaca experiences. If there were, there would be a broader correlation beyond Cornell into all communities that experience 4 seasons. However, “the National Center for Health Statistics found that suicides drop during the winter months, and peak during spring and early summer” (wikipedia). </p>
<p>It has far more to do with academic pressure, cultural expectations, or depression due to extenuating personal circumstances. The rate is on par with peer schools in various climates, so… you’re wrong and should refrain from such erroneous correlations in the future just to reinforce your cultural myth.</p>
<p>I was raised in upstate New York, and attended Cornell for two years before transferring to Stanford. I went to Berkeley for law school, and have been practicing law in California for more than a quarter of a century, mostly in-house.</p>
<p>When we have openings in my department, we’re much more focused on job experience than school pedigree. (School pedigree probably matters more at places that hire people straight out of school, which my department rarely does.)</p>
<p>I’m always amused by people who write that “given a choice between someone who went to X and someone who went to Y, I’d choose the person who went to Y.” I’ve never seen it work that way. Typically, we interview both candidates, and choose between them based upon some combination of experience and likeability. The question usually come down to “who will make life easier for me the next three years?” Whether someone went to Cornell or UCLA really doesn’t enter into it.</p>
<p>That said, my wife (a law school classmate at Berkeley who did her undergraduate at Berkeley) once told me that people from California usually don’t have much of an impression of Cornell.</p>
<p>By the way - in my very first conversation with my wife, as first year law students, when everyone asked everyone else where they did their undergraduate work, when I mentioned Stanford, she replied, “Boo.” First impressions can be overrrated.</p>
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<p>Ok. I think by now a good number of folks would realize that school choice is mostly irrelevant in employment in certain fields. In others, it’s not so irrelevant, though. There are organizations that select “target schools” for recruitment after all…</p>
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<p>In some fields, where you go/went to school matters for entry-level positions. (Investment banking, law, management consulting) For experienced hires/ lateral hires, regardless of what field/industry it is, an applicant’s job experience/resume, connections, people/interviewing skills, and skill set are far more important than the school pedigree. Although, one notable exception seems to be management consulting like Mck, BCG, or Bain, who put much emphasis on applicants’ pedigree and intellectual horsepower over their job experience/ skill set. </p>
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<p>It is important to keep in mind that for certain fields such as law or investment banking, it may be near impossible to break into that industry in the first place unless the applicant went to the ‘target’ school. As a result, I think that school pedigree matters a lot. (for these fields)</p>
<p>For instance, if someone wants to break into investment banking, you are much better served to attend a ‘target’ school in east coast, as opposed to attending UCLA or USC. Unless you go to the target school, you will have much difficulty in getting interviews in the first place. And, for law, school pedigree matters a lot in getting that first BigLaw job. And, in law, landing that first corporate law firm job is monumentally important for one’s career.</p>
<p>However, for certain fields such as pharmacy, accounting, or medicine, it seems that school pedigree doesn’t mean much at all. My mom is an accountant and at her firm, practically not a single person went to an elite private undergrad. 99% of people she worked with over her career come from local regional no-name schools that have accounting programs, or big state universities.</p>