UMich, UT-Austin, Cornell, UC-Berkeley... How do they compare?

anonamous · 03-07-2006, 06:31 AM

UMich, UT-Austin, Cornell, UC-Berkeley... how do they compare...

I noticed that UT-Austin is rather low in most rankings.... but so far that ive heard... UT-Austin is a very good school, as prestigious as any ive listed above.. please comment.

thx for replies in advance

Alexandre · 03-07-2006, 06:54 AM

Well, all four of those schools are major research universities. I'd say all four are excellent, but I'd say Cal is probably the best, closely followed by either Cornell or Michigan. UTA would probably fall in fourth place in most people's books. However, UT-Austin is an excellent university.

anonamous · 03-07-2006, 07:03 AM

Also, i am curious about how private univ generally different from public school... and for that matter.... wut is the real difference between cornell and umich?

hoedown · 03-07-2006, 10:07 AM

One thing that may "hurt" UT's regard nationally is that they have a very tight lid on the number of nonresidents they admit. If UT admitted more, like Michigan does, UT might hit more people's radar screens. It's a fine school, though.

garrr! · 03-07-2006, 11:20 AM

UT's plan II is supposed to be very good. Don't know much else about it/them.

chibearsfan17 · 03-07-2006, 03:17 PM

Academically, these 4 universities are so close that I really can't distinguish. Your planned field of study, social atmosphere, and cost should determine this mostly. The main difference between the publics and privates is size (the publics will usually be bigger) and the students. In the case of Cornell and the 3 others you listed, sports are also a big difference. Cornell sucks at sports compared to these schools, though this is not true for all private schools (Duke and Notre Dame for example). Students at Cornell will probably be wealthier (perhaps more snobbish as well) than students at state universities. Cornell and Michigan also offer a good deal more geographic diversity than UT and Berkeley. There is usually a more vibrant social atmosphere at publics as well. If you visit the schools, you will probably be able to tell a big difference between them. I'm not sure about Austin or Berkeley, but Ann Arbor is pretty lively whereas Ithaca is quite boring I hear.

Wharf Rat · 03-07-2006, 04:10 PM

Ithaca is very lively...

ACornellA · 03-07-2006, 04:42 PM

The Cornell campus is a city in and of itself; there are activities taking place constantly. It is definately not boring there. It also has one of the most beautiful campuses around. Students are not generally classified as "snobbish" or generally "wealthier" than most college students. You should really research a college more instead of posting derisive comments regarding a great university that you obviously have no idea about.

bandit_TX · 03-07-2006, 04:47 PM

Austin is extremely vibrant. It's music scene is very active. 6th Street is always hopping. The state capital is a few blocks away, several universities nearby, San Antonio is an hour away. Austin itself offers considerable geographic diversity with several major semiconductor and computer industries bringing in people.

anonamous · 03-07-2006, 09:50 PM

chibearsfan17... by saying that public is "usually bigger" by this do you mean the whole student body or the class size... All i am relli interested in is the size of the class... I believe that interaction with professors is really important

Alexandre · 03-07-2006, 09:54 PM

None of those 4 schools you mention is known for having small classes. Michigan and Cornell are slightly better off than Texas and Cal, but none of those 4 universities are very undergraduate focused. Neither are schools like Harvard, MIT and Stanford mind you, so its not like those 4 schools are different from other top research universities.

anonamous · 03-07-2006, 09:57 PM

Can you maybe give me some good universities that focuses on undergrads (apart from harveymudd, i already know it)

anonamous · 03-07-2006, 09:59 PM

And also, cornell being a private institute... does this make the class size differ from umich... ??

Alexandre · 03-07-2006, 10:11 PM

Classes at Cornell and Michigan are about the same in terms of size. As far as universities that focus on undergrads, I am not sure there are many that do...at least not many top Engineering programs. Rose Hulman is similar to Harvey Mudd, but that's about it.

anonamous · 03-07-2006, 11:00 PM

Ok thx alot alexandre... ure always a great help