Cornell vs. VT vs. Notre Dame

ChrisTKD
Tue, 23 Apr 2013 08:51:05 +0000

@boondocks “Cornell and Notre Dame both will have far more options beyond engineering and other STEM majors than VPI.”

I assume you mean more “prestigious” options? I’m not going to bother counting different majors at each university because I’m sure Va Tech has a comparable amount and probably a few that the others do not.

@boondocks “Being a state school, VPI will have less money to spend than the other two, (IPEDS Data indicates that VPI’s average spending on instruction per student is $9,117; Notre Dame’s is $27,444 and Cornell’s is $20,159). the differences are great enough to indicate that VPI is spending less than either of the other two.”

Va Tech is the 6th largest producer of engineers in the U.S. The statistic you quoted does not take into account economies of scale. It’s possible that Va Tech has more state of the art laboratories than much smaller engineering programs even though the per-unit spending is lower.

To the OP - were you able to visit each of the three schools? Since you are in-state at VaTech I’m assuming that the price is substantially lower than ND and Cornell unless they provided substantial grants/aid. Even if your parents can afford all three don’t assume that cost is not an issue. If you like all three then consider asking your parents to write you a check for the cost difference upon graduation from Va Tech. :)