<p>Least selective ivy - Not an important factor.
Lower test scores than duke - Same as above. The community of the campus is much more important than the campus’s test scores.
Lower ranked overall than Duke - Not an important factor.
I’ve heard its very liberal and I lean slightly conservatively - Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.
Large/state school feel - This is a much more important consideration factor. The advantage is that there will be an ENORMOUS amount of opportunities and events going on at Cornell. The disadvantage is that you will be required to take more initiative to find them, and also that there is less of a ‘community’ feel here.
Class sizes - The intro classes are 100-200 students per class. The advanced classes are usually 10-40 students per class.
Less financial aid than duke (30k+loans, but sending in appeal to get them to try to match Duke, will probably give me even less when my sister graduates from college next year) - Definitely an important consideration.
Heard it is hard to get a high GPA (bad for grad school) - I can’t compare Cornell to Duke. However, it is definitely challenging to maintain a high GPA (3.7+) at Cornell, especially in engineering. However, it is extremely doable if you work hard and learn how to play your cards right. See this thread for more details: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/1478721-pre-med-cornell.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/1478721-pre-med-cornell.html</a>
High stress/difficult work - Wherever you go, engineering is going to be a demanding major, and Cornell is no exception.</p>
<p>I recently finished interviewing / applying for graduate school, and I was able to get into several top-notch programs in my field. While Cornell’s somewhat harsher grading-policy was a disadvantage, it is perfectly conquerable if you are hardworking and learn to play your cards right. Moreover, Cornell offers so many extracurricular and research opportunities, which will certainly be a plus for graduate admissions. </p>
<p>Best of luck with your decision!</p>