<p>I keep hearing different things, some people say Vandy, others Cornell. Is there something that one looks for more than the other? What are the main criteria for both?</p>
<p>p.s. I have legacy at Cornell</p>
<p>Vanderbilt has hotter girls. Cornell is huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge as in campus huge. </p>
<p>Both have excellent academics, but personally I would go with Cornell, because I like everything about it more then Vanderbilt. Plus you can brag you got into an Ivy, while you can’t in Vanderbilt. </p>
<p>Also, the buildings in Cornell look better then Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>But to answer your question, it is harder to get into Cornell. Look at the admission statistics on both website. Although the percentage difference is negligible.</p>
<p>Cornell Admissions: 19.1% accepted</p>
<p>Vanderbilt Admissions: 20.1% Accepted</p>
<p>I was just wondering because I’ve heard that Cornell is a crapshoot no matter what, but with Vandy if you have the right stats then you have really good chances. Maybe because a lot of people apply to Vandy but with not so good stats? and with Cornell all the applicants are good? I don’t know if I’m right or not so tell me what you think.</p>
<p>Well I was accepted at Vanderbilt and waitlisted at Cornell, so that may give you an indication. I did apply for engineering though, and engineering at Cornell is more selective than the general school (as far as I know).</p>
<p>The “crapshoot” reputation seems to come with all the ivies, but it is muuuch less true with Cornell than with other schools in the Ivy League. Someone not cut out for a Yale or Brown or Columbia still has a shot at Cornell. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t go straight off those admission stats. Cornell may appear slightly more selective with that 1% advantage, but Vandy’s student body also has higher average SAT/ACT scores.</p>
<p>
and lower GPA… by .4
I don’t know how to interpret that, maybe Vandy students are good test takers and naturally smart but don’t study as hard/ try as hard in school? or maybe most Vandy students come from areas with grade deflation.</p>
<p>The average SAT score was higher in Vanderbilt probably because the Writing section is included.</p>
<p>I think it is becasue Vandy seems to be more “stat” driven whereas Cornell appears to take a more holistic view of admissions.</p>
<p>Cornell is unique in this regard. SAT scores aren’t a salient indicator of selectivity when you consider Cornell’s specialized colleges. You can literally have a 2400 and EASILY get rejected from HumEc, Hotel, or Arch if you show no experience or demonstrable interest in the unique program.</p>
<p>So, for Vandy if I have that stats say above their 50th percentile and I apply ED and everything else is pretty good I’ll most likely get in, where at Cornell my stats really don’t mean much, unless they’re below par in which case I’d get rejected?</p>
<p>Yes I think you’ve got the right idea.</p>
<p>
Source, please. It’s something easy to claim but difficult to prove.</p>
<p>Cornell CAS and Eng. admitted 17.7% of applicants last year. Vanderbilt admitted 17.9%. The difference is negligible, particularly when one remembers that 20% of those Vanderbilt students are in Peabody (education) and Blair (music). Test scores at Vanderbilt are higher, but I accept the likelihood that test scores for Cornell arts/sciences and engineering are on par with Vanderbilt’s. In short, the two seem completely identical in terms of selectivity. </p>
<p>Apply ED to the university you like more – attempting to game the system when two schools are so close in selectivity but radically different in most other respects is absolutely idiotic. It is worth noting, however, that students typically forfeit their legacy advantage if they do not apply ED.</p>
<p>We have a friend whose two D’s go to Harvard & Cornell. They claim that Harvard was harder to get into, but Cornell is much, much tougher school-wise.</p>
<p>My nephew just graduated Vandy this past May and said it was tough, but not as tough as kids have it at Cornell…</p>
<p>Where would you like to spend your next 4 years? How hard do you want to work for your degree? Cornell is huge, but in the middle of nowhere, Vandy is smaller & closer to a city…</p>
<p>Only you can decide. Both schools have excellent reputations.</p>
<p>“Source, please. It’s something easy to claim but difficult to prove.”</p>
<p>…you are correct, I was generalizing from my experience when D was applying to Cornell & other schools, however Vandy wasn’t one of these schools. I think an interesting (and perhaps more telling) stat would be the average SAT score of REJECTED students. </p>
<p>"</p>
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That’s why I’m having a hard time deciding, I would LOVE to go to either of them, if I applied ED and got into either I would feel no regret. I think I like Vandy a little better because of the nicer weather, the fact that it’s more “southern”, and from what I’m hearing has an easier grading system which is comforting for a pre-med who gets really stressed out worrying about whether he’ll make it to Med school or not. The worst thing that could happen is I apply Vandy ED, get rejected, apply Cornell RD and get rejected too, then I will always be wondering if I could have made Cornell had I done ED.</p>
<p>Here’s is some interesting info that you may be interested in:</p>
<p>[Early</a> Decision Quiz | The Vandy Admissions Blog | Vanderbilt University](<a href=“http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2010/08/early-decision-quiz/]Early”>Early Decision Quiz | The Vandy Admissions Blog | Vanderbilt University)</p>
<p>Quote:
Originally Posted by csdad
I think it is becasue Vandy seems to be more “stat” driven whereas Cornell appears to take a more holistic view of admissions.</p>
<p>“Apply ED to the university you like more – attempting to game the system when two schools are so close in selectivity but radically different in most other respects is absolutely idiotic. It is worth noting, however, that students typically forfeit their legacy advantage if they do not apply ED.”</p>
<p>This. Read it and internalize it. </p>
<p>And if you apply Cornell ED, get rejected and apply Vandy RD and get rejected, you’ll have the same “what if” scenario. You can second guess yourself to death. Don’t.</p>
<p>You could do Cornell ED…if that doesn’t work out, try Vanderbilt ED 2. I personally think that some of Vanderbilt’s application appeal is the fact that there is no additional essay. That’s why they are so stat’s-driven. No one gets to express why they chose Vanderbilt over anything else. I do think it’s contributed to the number of applications they get. When there’s no essay, why not??? Cornell is all about fit and I truly agree with that. My son wrote a stellar essay on “why Cornell?” and was admitted. He was in range with all the stat’s, but I think they picked him ED because of his thoughtful essay.</p>
<p>A high school alumni applied to Cornell ED which is binding, with amazing stats and got rejected. He’s at stanford now so he said it’s lucky cornell didn’t accept him.</p>