money vs. prestige?

melonbread91
Sun, 16 May 2010 22:28:23 +0000

yeah, i figured all three schools have excellent bio departments. i’ve crossed penn off my list, because i wouldn’t get the ny TAP award for nys residents. i’m now choosing between cornell and columbia, with a list of pros and cons:

Cornell:
Pros-
1)Cheap tuition–only 23K a year for me
Accepted 60 credits, giving me junior standing
Good food
Cheap transportation around ithaca
lots of stuff to do on campus

cons-
I have to stop the research i’m doing here, and that means i might lose my authorship, which i need for grad school resume
I need to come into the city about once/twice a month on the weekend for a program, which is an 8 hour roundtrip-blech
less internship opportunities
lots of undergrads, kind of like my current largeish public school
gloomy weather
not feeling cornell like i feel columbia

Columbia:
Pros-
know a lot of students/faculty there
do research there
lots of internship opportunities
can commute to school from home
lots to do on campus and off
one of my dream schools

Cons-
very expensive–up to 35K more than cornell
competing with barnard students for some core classes
morningside heights is kind of dangerous?

can anyone weigh in on more pros/cons for either of these schools?