Congratulations on two wonderful offers.
As a NYS resident whose HS sends several students each year to Cornell, whose local CC has an articulation agreement with Cornell, and who personally knows two kids who transferred there from four year SUNY schools, I feel like I know at least a little bit about Cornell. It is a wonderful school…don’t kid yourself…but you are not comparing it to some unknown state school. And…going to Cornell will not guarantee suceess. That is up to you. I ran into an acquaintance two summers ago whose son is now graduating from Cornell…he could not get an internship. Again…success is up to you.
Berkeley is no shrinking violet and it is not your typical state school. Where I live it is much harder to gain acceptance to Berkeley than it is to Cornell. You will have large classes at both schools. As noted above, you will not receive that small, private school experience at either.
My daughter loved Cornell but chose a different school. After speaking to her friend who was there she got scared of the intensity ( whether it’s real or perceived). She needed a different type of environment.
I would sit down with your parents and decide if the cost of Cornell would be difficult to sustain for 4 years. If the answer is yes, I would choose Berkeley.
Once again congratulations on two wonderful acceptances. And for the record…Cornell is not the flagship school for NYS. We don’t have one, but we do have a group of 4 larger SUNY universities. Cornell is not part of that group.