I was accepted into Vanderbilt University for Environmental Engineering, including the crescere aude scholarship. The cost is currently 15.5k, excluding indirect cost. I was also accepted into Cornell University for Environmental Engineering in the CALS school, including the Cornell Tradition & work study. The cost is roughly 17.5k, excluding indirect. Price is essentially a non factor in the decision.
My career goal is to become a water resources consultant/engineer and eventually own my own consultancy firm. I’d like to live either in Raleigh or maybe somewhere close to the Appalachians.
I’ve been juggling between these schools and just can’t seem to arrive at an answer. Cornell’s environmental engineering program seems much more equipped to prepare me for my future career in comparison to Vanderbilt’s program. AguaClara, coffee chats, and the plethora of relevant courses are something that is simply not offered at Vanderbilt. Both schools offer the chance to explore how I’d end up operating my own firm through Cornell’s business for engineering minor and Vandy’s NYC engineering management minor opportunity. I prefer Nashville to Ithaca, but it isn’t like I disliked Ithaca and the surrounding area on my visit. I think I prefer Vandy’s social opportunities more than Cornell’s, given Vandy’s sports are a big deal and Nashville has a lot of stuff to do. I’m slightly worried about Cornell’s extreme rigor, but I’m not scared to rise up to it. Engineering will be difficult at either school. I like the idea of Vanderbilt providing opportunities for balance as a work hard play hard school, and I applied ED, was deferred, and accepted RD there as I had always wanted to go. I wasn’t expecting to get in to Cornell, nor Vandy to be honest. I also can tolerate Cornell’s dreary winters, but I hope it won’t be a toll on mental health.
If there is anything that I should be including in my consideration of each college, please let me know.
Presumably, you matriculated to Vanderbilt as you agreed to when you applied and were admitted ED.
You were also supposed to have withdrawn other applications when you matriculated to Vanderbilt under ED, although it is possible that some schools did not recognize the withdrawal and gave you a decision anyway. Even if Cornell were such a school, you are still committed to Vanderbilt under ED, so what else is there to consider?
To me, this matters most. I assume you did not get into Vandy ED - or we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
There’s unlikely a wrong answer. Cornell is leaps and bounds above Vandy in engineering. I live in Nashville. UTK is considered stronger. That said, you want to do your own thing. So…you can choose whomever and be fine.
Cornell is ABET accredited in environmental. Vandy just started its program two years ago.
But if you rather be in Nashville - that matters too. And if Vandy was your top choice and you got in …
Cornell shows 53% did more schooling 47% working. They don’t show average salary but here’s who hired grads. Below that is Vandy Civil. They don’t have Environmental in the search bar. Honestly - on paper at least - Cornell and it’s not close. But you have to be somewhere four years, day after day so - in the end it’s up to you.
If you liked Vandy enough to apply early, then you should trust your gut and go there. IMHO, Vandy and the city are both on the way up, while Cornell and Ithaca have remained pretty much the same over the past decade. Vandy comes with a diverse, vibrant and fun-loving student body, strong heritage and resources, and a certified arboretum campus. It also has a highly ranked hospital on campus, should you ever need one.
To boil it down, it sounds to me like the basic issue is Cornell is considered “better” for engineering, but you suspect you may be happier at Vanderbilt.
I think if you were really excited about going to a big powerhouse engineering program like Cornell’s, this wouldn’t be so much of a conundrum. Cornell’s undergraduate engineering program overall is like 2.5 times the size of Vandy’s. It is one of the best-resourced undergrad engineering programs in the US, or anywhere for that matter. Kids who are really passionate about engineering, who are looking forward to spending a lot of time studying engineering, being in engineering clubs, and so on, might think they would just be happier at Cornell anyway. Problem solved.
But, you seem more focused on just a specific outcome, as opposed to being generally really passionate about engineering. I do think that might change, lots of people change their minds about career paths in college. But that includes possibly changing out of engineering entirely.
So for now, I would suggest to you the question is not so much whether Cornell is better for your current academic goals, but whether Vanderbilt is good enough. If Vanderbilt is good enough, then I think you can, and indeed likely should, choose it if you are also more excited about the overall four-year experience there.
IMO, it sounds like your heart is with Vandy. I wouldn’t hesitate for a second if that is true.
FWIW, Cornell’s graduation requirements are very lengthy. Since you are in CALS, you need to meet all their 4 year graduation requirements which include lots of out of college/major requirements: Degree Requirements | Environmental Engineering Major
That appeals to some students, and is a turn off to others. I always recommend that students do a side by side comparison of their degree program and all the graduation requirements of their final contenders. IME, that can be helpful as most students have a preference for one model over the other.
That is where I am struggling to come to an answer. The courses I found associated with water resources engineering were hydrology, groundwater hydrology, physical hydrology, and water resources engineering. It looks like the sample course regime includes 2 env eng program electives and 2 env eng design electives. I can’t find out what type of courses the 3 hydrology courses are in that respect. On top of this, is 4 courses associated with my career competent enough in your eyes, or does it not cut it?
Vandy is not - and has only had a program two years. It is ABET is Civil Engineering and you can ask - they may cover EnvE - because many jobs want ABET accredidation.
If you want to end up employed, I can see Vandy with a much bigger risk. Honestly, I’m surprised it made an initial list. Cornell has a ton of hydrology courses/resources and a leading atmospheric sciences major. It has multiple professors interested in water. Perhaps you can reach out to them to find out how true that interest is?
If you said Cornell vs. Purdue or Cornell vs. Arizona or Cornell vs. Texas A&M or even Cornell vs. Alabama, given each strength in water, I would still lean Cornell but one could argue the others may have advantages.
But Vandy - especially given your desires - I’m just not seeing it…at least on paper.
What is the allure given your interests? There are 7 profs on this page that you might reach out to - to learn more.
On my anchor day visit, Vandy mentioned they were in the process of accreditation of the program and expected it to be accredited come graduation. The reason I applied ED was for a few reasons:
My family and I looked on college NPV and saw Vanderbilt had a decent civil engineering ROI and assumed that env eng would possibly have a similar ROI given they are often lumped together. That may have been a hasty generalization.
I had visited prior to deciding to do ED and envisioned myself thriving there, despite it being a general info sesh and campus tour, which might’ve been a premature conclusion.
I really like Nashville
I like the idea that balance is offered, which is what I try to practice. That could be a misread of the culture, but from what I’ve seen, I think it is a fair estimate.
It is fair to say I might’ve poorly arrived at the conclusion that I wanted to ED there, but I’m the first child of the family, and we were new to the whole process. At this point, my only reservation about Cornell is the mental health stipulation. That may be a stereotypical assumption I’m arriving at, and please let me know if that is the case.
From what I’ve seen on the comparison you suggested, the courses I’d take at Cornell would be a lot more interesting to me, which may in turn lead to better performance due to passionate involvement. Do you think that doing the business for engineers minor would make meeting the grad requirements more difficult for me? In my opinion, Cornell’s model is superior, but I would have a better student experience at Vandy. However, I can imagine myself succeeding at either place.
In the end, you have to be happy. I live just South of Nashville and I’m prejudiced by local reputation of the engineering program - few are excited about it. Kids that get into Vandy choose UTK and Bama and even Auburn although it costs more - but that could be just as much about $$ (they heavily discount) as the programs strength. Cornell is surrounded by water - waterfalls, lakes, rivers. Yeah, we have the Harpeth and some lakes - but it’s different. Their resources are just - best I can tell - vastly superior given the atmospheric sciences focus as well.
What balance are you talking about? You said you like balance is offered. What does that mean exactly?
If you prefer Nashville, that’s all that matters. I’m a fan of established programs. THey can say they expect accreditation and I’m sure Vandy would likely ensure it - but are companies recruiting there? Environmental is generally a lower paid discipline. To give an example, I’m looking at Ga Tech’s results - Env Eng has a $73K median, the lowest of their 11 disciplines.
Cornell doesn’t show salaries for EnvE - but shows the same ($76K) as Ga Tech for Civil. I don’t see any for Vandy but you can ask the school.
One last thing - you went Anchor Day. If you can, go back and visit on a regular day. I’ve been to five admitted student days or all in one days - and while they give great features, they are sales jobs - marketing events. Did you see the school on a regular day, with a regular flow of students, and stop kids on campus, talk to them, especially from the engineering school. The admitted days can be great, especially student panels, but I’m not sure they’re reflective of the day to day. Rather, they’re reflective, in some ways of how good the sales department, I mean admission, is on putting on a production. I’m just saying, from that day, you may not have gotten a true sense of the school.
If you truly want Vandy and you applied there ED, then go for it. Not everyone chooses the “on paper” stronger school - so if you bust tail, you should be fine, frankly at most any school.
So of course ideally you would speak with some water resources engineers.
But my understanding is water resources engineers for undergrad might have done environmental engineering, but they may also have done civil, or possibly agricultural. They might have done some specific electives, but if they want to do a lot of specialized course work, they will likely get a masters. And really, a lot of their specific expertise will come from on the job training, including possibly internships and then entry level positions.
As a general observation, I think a lot of HS kids don’t necessarily understand how much of your education and training as a professional is likely to happen after college, or even after graduate and professional programs. College in most professions is about laying a solid foundation of certain skills and knowledge relevant to your profession, but there is a lot more to come.
Hi, I graduated from the Biological & Environmental Engineering program at Cornell. My Cornell degree has opened a lot of doors for me. It is a highly respected engineering school, and the department has some great professors if you attend office hours and get to know them in your upper level courses. Yes, the larger intro first and 2nd year courses can be a bit of a grind but if you are a good student, you can handle it. I would not call it “extreme rigor” like you did, but it is far from the grade deflation atmosphere at other Ivy schools (I don’t know what it’s like at Vanderbilt).
The weather in Ithaca can be cold and dreary in the winter, but the fall and spring have its full share of beautiful days. It is one of the prettiest campuses in the country when the weather is nice. There are plenty of opportunities to be social and make friends, but you have to go out there and be proactive. Go to clubs, introduce yourself to people, find people in your major and work together, ask people if they want to meet for lunch. If you hole up in the library and don’t talk to anyone, it will be dreary at Vandy or anywhere, too. I had a terrific time at Cornell and think fondly of the friends I made and the fun I had there.
If you are a determined student and you are passionate about environmental engineering and you have ambitions to have your own consultancy firm someday, then I would 100% recommend Cornell. I am biased, but I don’t think Vanderbilt is close in terms of reputation and the career opportunities it will unlock in this field.
On the other hand, if you are not as career driven and just want to live in Nashville, root for Vandy sports and just enjoy college life, there is nothing wrong with that. Vandy is still a great school and you will still go far in life. Good luck!
My old D went to a school similar as Vandy (ranking and vibe similar) with strong pre-med vibe. I think US news skewed with all the medical research schools to misguide the kids with other interests. She fortunately transferred out of it to Cornell. Cornell is much better school with all different directions (engineering, finance and other types of world class research).
I know Cornell has a challenging reputation re: the grind and mental health. But I have only known people who are happy and proud to be there. I’d pick it unless you truly suffer from seasonal affective disorder and it would indeed affect your mental health.
