money vs. prestige?

monydad
Mon, 17 May 2010 10:08:59 +0000

Have you been to Cornell?

I guess there’s a “cup half full, cup half empty” kind of thing going on, the weather may be dreary there at times, but the predominant feeling I was left with in the end is the natural beauty one is surrounded by there. I frequently felt inspired just by breathing the fresh air and walking to class on a brisk Fall day. Someone who has been there, and can only write “dreary weather” as their one pro-con point for the environment there, should definitely consider going elsewhere, as they are on the “cup half empty” part of the spectrum there.

I think it would be really disruptive, and expensive, to spend that many weekends in NYC, and would inhibit your ability to establish roots and relationships at Cornell.

The predominant mode of transportation is very cheap there indeed, because it’s your feet.

D2 transferred from across Broadway to Cornell, much prefers the campus-centered experience there to the reality of living in “the concrete jungle” as a student, and finds extracurriculars and expenses in Ithaca to be much more affordable. Coming in as a transfer she has made a great group of friends and likes it there a lot. On the other hand there is a cc poster who transferred to Cornell from columbia as an engineer and preferred Columbia.; did not like walking long distances outside, etc. Nothing about physical beauty, “cup half empty”. choose what you want. Also noted large class sizes, however D2 has not had this complaint.

Comments of someone who transferred to columbia are here
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1062547335-post340.html
Another former columbia transfer student posted comments on student snobbishness there and expense of the city, but also had problems with weather and intensity for which Cornell would not likely be her solution.

Cornell has huge # offerings across seven undergraduate colleges, perhaps some of these may appeal to you. Relating to Biology there are offerings in CAS, CALS and Hum Ec.

At Columbia a significant porportion of your remaining classes will be filled up by The Core, hopefully this will not be a burden to you and you avidly want that program of studies, if you are entertaining going there. In which case, Cornell does not have The Core.

Anyway, since you clearly prefer Columbia, I think you should try your best to get them to give you more money. Failing that, if the money is a make or break issue for you then you should see if there is a way you can continue your research at Cornell. If it is not, in the end, a make or break issue then you should go to Columbia, there are people who are “feeling Cornell” who might better occupy your spot there. You should be taking this next step excited about the opportunities that await you, and you are likely to do better, and be more of an asset to the community, with this mindset than without it.