<p>Since I received multiple messages and someone suggested I post publicly anyway, I will do so. Keep in mind that my experiences with Cornell are as a grad student, so it may not be a perfect representation of what it would be like as an undergrad. It’s mostly based on my own observations (I have taken a few courses at Cornell which are cross-listed as senior-level so many of my classes have undergraduates) and various things my classmates (those who did undergrad at Cornell) have told me. And like someone else said above, people generally have more loyalty to where they did undergrad, and I fall under that category. I’ll try to be as unbiased as possible though. I hope I don’t horribly offend anyone with my opinions.</p>
<p>Location: Berkeley is located in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is next to Oakland, and just 15-20 minutes away from San Francisco by car, bus, or subway. About an hour south is San Jose and the Silicon Valley, the major tech center of the country. Cornell is in Ithaca in upstate New York. It’s a very scenic city, particularly in summer and fall because the city has so much natural beauty. The closest “major” cities are Syracuse and Buffalo, both about an hour away. Contrary to popular belief, Cornell is not close to New York City at all. A bus will take five hours to reach Manhattan. If you prefer being surrounded by urban areas, Berkeley is the way to go. If you want a more rural/secluded town experience, Ithaca may be a better bet.
ADVANTAGE: depends on what you prefer- urban or rural.</p>
<p>Weather: Berkeley weather is pretty tame. You might experience a few hot days (90+) at various points throughout the year but it’s rare to have consecutive days of it. It does not snow in the bay area so you won’t experience anything lower than mid 30s in the winter. Cornell is in upstate New York, and the weather there falls in a bigger range. Ithaca can get pretty hot in the summer (90+) like Berkeley, but it’ll probably snow from October through April, with lows in January and February around -10 Fahrenheit.
ADVANTAGE: Berkeley</p>
<p>Dorm food: Berkeley’s dorm food is pretty terrible, but I learned to live with it for a year. You should only expect decent food when there is some sort of special event which the dining halls are catering, like when admits are visiting, or when there is a conference in town. I have not tried Cornell’s dorm food at all but it is considered some of the best in the country.
ADVANTAGE: Cornell</p>
<p>Off-campus food: Berkeley may suck at providing dorm food but it completely dominates Ithaca in off-campus food options. Around campus you will find hundreds of places to eat, and some of them are even quite famous. Because of the bay area’s diversity, you’ll find cuisines from lots of different cultures. And if you can’t find something you want in Berkeley, chances are you’ll find something to meet your cravings in one of the nearby cities. Ithaca, on the other hand, has TERRIBLE off-campus food. You’ll find the staple college town food options like pizza and burgers, and a lot of sub-standard Asian restaurants. Anything decent is probably gonna cost you at least $15 per meal and aren’t close to campus. There are some exceptions, but not enough for it to measure up to what Berkeley and the bay area offer.
ADVANTAGE: Berkeley</p>
<p>Dorms: Berkeley dorms are ridiculously expensive, even compared to local apartments. Berkeley students tend to just live in the dorms for freshman year in order to meet other freshmen, which I say is a worthwhile experience. Very few live in them during their sophomore year. It’s almost unheard of for juniors or seniors to live in them, other than RAs. I do not know anything about dorms at Cornell other than that most of the freshmen live in dorms on the far north side of campus which is far from the engineering buildings. A friend of mine helped her sister move into her Cornell dorm and said they are comparable to Berkeley dorms. You’ll need to ask some Cornell undergrads about quality of life there.
ADVANTAGE: I would guess Cornell unless I hear something negative about Cornell dorms.</p>
<p>Off-campus housing: Berkeley off-campus housing is expensive. Not only is it in the expensive bay area, but there is insanely high demand for it with students constantly moving in and out. If you want a single bedroom within short walking distance to campus (10-15 minutes), expect to pay at least $800 for a small/crappy unit. Many student tend to split bedrooms or convert living rooms into bedrooms to bring down costs for each person. Some students will live in Oakland and take a bus to campus in order to save money but they say it’s very troublesome sometimes. Ithaca has cheaper apartments than Berkeley by several hundred dollars, and they’re generally better and more spacious.
ADVANTAGE: Cornell</p>
<p>Sports: Berkeley’s biggest sports are football and basketball. Students have a lot of spirit for teams despite the many shortcomings. Football is currently at a historic low, but is rebuilding under a new head coach. For the past decade, the program has been an NFL pipeline. Men’s basketball has recently seen some success within the Pac-12 conference. Women’s basketball reached the Final Four last year. Berkeley also excels at swimming and has a recent history with Olympic gold medalists. Berkeley students are very spirited about the rivalry with Stanford in all sports, in academics, and everything in life, pretty much. Cornell competes in the Ivy League, which is not a league which recieves much national attention, and I personally don’t pay much attention to because of the lack of spotlight and success. It’s sad to say but Cornell football is a joke (they’re like a medicore high school team), and what makes it sadder is that Ivy League football overall is nothing compared to FBS-level football. Cornell is most proud of its hockey team and students are very spirited about it. Lacrosse is supposed to be very good too.
ADVANTAGE: Berkeley (but Cornell if all you care about is hockey)</p>