Yep, these are two entirely different schools, but I’ve been to both and I think they each have their pros and cons.
Firstly, BU is way less expensive. Cornell didn’t give me anything, so it would be about $20,000 more than BU.
I also applied for very different majors, but both interest me. At BU I applied for journalism, while at Cornell I applied for development sociology (in CALS)- I’m thinking I’d like to try to double major or at least minor AEM. Eventually I’d like to go to grad school for international relations. I feel like it would be beneficial for me to have an ag background as my niche.
I also feel like journalism really isn’t employable right now.
I think a big issue I’m having is the difference in the colleges I was accepted into. At BU I was accepted into COM and also the Kirchland Honors College. At Cornell, I was accepted into CALS. I feel like COM and KHC have much better reputation at BU than CALS does at Cornell.
I like the idea of going to a school with such strong academics as Cornell. I know quite a few Cornell grads that say even though its the easiest Ivy, Cornell’s name recognition is still pretty significant with employers. I also want to go where I will have the best opportunities for grad school.
Would Cornell be worth the higher cost?
Not for $20k per year, no – not if you intend on pursuing grad school.
Journalism is a dying field. This question comes down to what you end up studying, because studying something like economics and then getting a job in IB, consulting, or other jobs in finance could very well blow $80k out of the water in the long run. Studying at Cornell will get your foot in the door better than BU if you want to go into finance, but I am not sure if studying sociology will be worth the money to be frank. Also if you want to go to grad school, it might be better to consider a different major and going to BU.
One thing they teach you right off the bat in COM at BU is that journalism, is in fact, not a dying field and to ignore anyone who tells you so. The idea that journalism is dying is a misconception, it’s just evolving. But besides that, BU has a really great IR program if you ended up changing your mind about journalism. It is extremely easy to switch schools within BU so if that is a concern then don’t worry about it.