iX3demosthenes

the 1 month after acceptances were sent out, I thought i would have more than enough time to make a decision...and i have something like four days left and i still lack the conviction to choose a college.

so i have narrowed down my choices to two schools: Chicago and Cornell
I will be a Biology major at both, but each school only seems to satisfy only a part my academic desires.

no, I'm not a prestige whore (for the lack of a better word), and yes I have always understood "Ivy" as being a sports league, so as I see it, the academic reputation of Cornell and Chicago seems to be comparable. I am also pretty set on going to grad school, so the prestige each school has in the mainstream is not really a top concern of mine. if i am wrong feel free to correct my ignorance. anyway, i also feel the same way about the strength of the biology programs of both; however, the family friends I talked to from each school aren't bio majors, so it would be nice if someone could comment on the relative strengths of their programs. as for the performance of the respective student bodies in grad school admissions, I'd imagine that the difference isnt too significant to sway my decision one way to another. I also recognize that being a potential premed is going to be competitive and difficult no matter where I go; thus I don't think i want to reopen the "fun comes to die" debate again.

with that said, Chicago's edge in economics makes it pretty enticing (it's an area of study that's in the back of my mind, but i am considering it should bio not pan out as intended). Engineering is something I am also interested in, ergo the attachment to cornell. the 5 year masters they offer is admittedly very enticing.

I visited both schools and while I really liked the intellectual nature of the students at chicago, I was able to meet some pretty similar people at cornell as well; thus, I really have no preference in this regard.

so what worries me is that the core might be limiting to science majors. I recall a couple math, physics and chem majors I met during one of those overnight events telling me that they often feel inhibited by taking so many humanities courses; nonetheless all the things I have heard about the quality of a chicago education has made me sway back at forth.

as for cost, I think I'll graduate from chicago with 24k more debt that i would at cornell. i still feel i can live with the difference in price. i guess what i really would like to know is if 1) the core is limiting? 2) how important is the "intellectualness" of the students in the context of the undergraduate experience 3) how do students would who like to explore engineering someday (bio, chem, possibly ee for me) deal with the lack of such an option at chicago?

and if anyone had to pick between cornell and chicago, how did you choose and why?

mavman100

Pt it this way i got in to Cornell wl UOC. I am working my ass of to get in to UOC. So i suggest yo go to Cornell so i can go to UOC.

chicagoboy12

I know lots of people have made this decision this year. Personally, I chose Chicago. It felt like theres more of a community feel, and Cornell felt like "every man for themself." The main push was the access to the city. I didnt want to live separate from the world for 4 years. Admittedly, I worry that the core will be very consuming. However, some of it is classes you would take anyway (calc, bio) and cornell arts & sciences requirements are actually quite similar. You need foreign language for both, and you have writing seminars at cornell which is somewhat like the humanities requirement at chicago. Plus, have you ever thought about picking classes? I thought about what electives I would like and its so hard to make a decision when you dont have some restriction, or requirement, pushing you towards something. You wont have the 500 student intro classes at chicago that you have at cornell. Med schools like well-rounded students. They know chicago students come out well rounded from the core. Trust that UChicago knows whats best for your life long education experience.

greennblue

Your reservations about the core, interest in engineering, and savings of $24k at Cornell suggest to me that Cornell is the place for you, even though I believe UChicago provides a better intellectual environment.

beefs

24k is a reasonable amount of debt to graduate with if the environment at Chicago is really what you prefer.

unalove

OP, I think you've done a great job in outlining the reasons you would choose each school, and you will like either school because you've thought both of them through.

1. I didn't find core limiting, but somebody who comes into the school knowing they want one major and only that one major might find core tiresome. I'm interested in almost everything, so I really saw core as more of an asset to me than anything else.

2. The intellectual-ness was an important aspect of my coming here. It's not quite as storybook (or as intense) as I think it's made out to be. Still, there's something about my friends and I pre-gaming a party and on the way over, talking (in a loud, slurred manner) about Tocqueville's "Democracy in America," which we had all read for Core.

3. I don't know exactly how you would fare out engineering-wise, but I imagine a key would be getting related employment or summer internships. I wish I knew more about engineering and how blendable the majors are to various fields of study (as in, can a math or physics major pick up engineering easily?)

I can't make your choice for you, but I wish you the best of luck wherever you end up!

UCLA, Ph.D.

Chicago is wonderful but it is not 24K more wonderful than Cornell. Go to Cornell.

JHS

I just want to underline something from demosthenes' excellent post: there are plenty of smart, intellectual students at Cornell (and lots of other colleges). The University of Chicago is a wonderful institution, and unique in its way, but it doesn't have a monopoly on Chicago-type students, and its uniqueness involves fairly subtle differences, not absolute ones.

To the OP: Objectively, Chicago is not $24K more wonderful than Cornell, but to an individual student it might well be. I don't think that's enough money to make your decision for you.

I agree with unalove's response to your question about the Core, but I note that if you want a well-rounded education with a science major, you can do that at a place like Cornell, too, by taking humanities and social science electives. The Core at Chicago will force you to do that, and will give you a broad, cross-disciplinary overview, but it's not the only way to educate yourself.

As I posted in another thread, lots of people would really prefer living and going to school in Ithaca vs. Chicago. If that's the kind of person you are, that's a perfectly good reason to choose Cornell. If that's the kind of person you aren't . . . it works the other way around, too.

Finally, one of the negative things one hears from time to time about Cornell is that the premed classes can be very competitive in a nasty way, something that I don't think is true at Chicago. A biology major is going to spend a lot of time taking those classes.

unalove

1) A lot of my smart, intellectual friends at Cornell refused to consider Chicago/Columbia, with the reasoning that they would always have time to live in a city and that college was for something different. I would argue that Cornell's Collegetown and the city of Ithaca have more college-student oriented activities than the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. When I've been in the city of Ithaca or in Collegetown, I've never felt that Cornell was rural-- I felt it was its own utopian city, filled with smart and beautiful 18-25 year-olds. But when you look out to the west over the Arts and Sciences quad to see rolling hills that look like they are straight out of the Sound of Music...that's when you know you're in the country.

2) Pre-med classes are probably competitive anywhere, as you are concentrating a group of people with a shared goal (getting into med school) that can't be offered to anyone. It's the same reason my high school was competitive-- everybody in the honors classes wanted to get into one of eight schools.

Pre-Med classes might be crunchy, but I can tell you that Cornell (or any college, taken as a whole) will not feel competitive, as you'll be around different people with different life plans, including plans like hotel administration and the NHL.

3) Part of the reason I avoided Cornell was that it was wayyyyy too familiar to me. But it doesn't mean I wouldn't have loved it or that it's not a wonderful school.

cottonwood513

When comparing the financial aid packages, there may be ontheground expenses not listed. A for this that and the other thing fee, like printing copies for one. Not 24K of copies, but end of the day, you may not be 24K ahead at Cornell after all.