Hi! I was in the EXACT same position two years ago (CV for Vandy, 0 aid for Cornell). While my reasons for choosing Vandy were mostly financial, I have come to appreciate its other aspects. Of course, what I know about Cornell isn’t first hand knowledge, but here are some reasons:
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Location: Vandy is located right in the middle of Nashville, just a few minutes away from downtown, major music/sports arenas like the Ryman, Bridgestone. We’re in a very vibrant part of a very vibrant town. Nashville is a major upcoming city with world class music, art, and culture to offer, just a few miles from campus. The airport is also 20 minutes away. Ithaca seems more rural, and while it may have that college town charm which some people may like, it’s not exciting for 18-22 year olds (or rather for me personally).
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The nature of the student body/academics: I may not be 100% right here because I haven’t studied at Cornell. but the general idea is that Cornell is much more stressful than Vanderbilt, and the students aren’t as collaborative. Again, these are just stereotypes, but my high school friends who are in the computer engineering program at Cornell say it is stressful for them. At Vanderbilt, while courses can be challenging, we have a culture of helping each other out, and I have NEVER experienced unhealthy competition on campus. We’re also the happiest students according to Princeton Review for the second year in a row. That does not reflect every student’s happiness level of course, but the general trend is clear.
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Weather: I was one of those students who thought weather wouldn’t matter as much, but boy was I wrong. Nashville’s weather can get erratic sometimes, but for 90% of the year, our weather is very mild and beautiful. It does snow, but nothing too crazy, and at Vandy they just cancel class if it goes slightly above normal (which I wouldn’t expect at Cornell). As for Ithaca’s weather, the less said the better. Your daughter might think the weather isn’t an issue right now, but when you have to walk to class (and some buildings can be very far), get groceries, or run around for meetings/events in freezing temperatures, it’s a different story.
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Financial Aid: The CV scholarship is basically full tuition ($43,620 times 4 = $ 174,480) AND a $6000 stipend for research/study abroad = $180,480, from a school ranked the same as Cornell (15 on the US News). We may not have an Ivy League tag, but $180,480 more than makes up for it. I could have insisted on going to Cornell and made my parents shell out that much money, but in the end we decided Cornell wasn’t worth it. Had it been Harvard vs Vanderbilt, it would have been a different story though.
As for the engineering program, Cornell’s engineering program is highly ranked, but if your daughter is good enough to be a CV scholar/get into Cornell, she won’t have an issue standing out and making use of the opportunities at either school. Vandy grads get hired at top places too! My RA freshman year now works at Facebook. Others go work for Microsoft and Google. Here are the placement reports.
http://engineering.vanderbilt.edu/docs/VUSE-Class-of-2015-Placement-Summary.pdf
http://engineering.vanderbilt.edu/docs/VUSE-Class-of-2014-Placement-Summary.pdf
I may be very biased towards Vanderbilt (anchor down!), but I can appreciate the position you’re in. Even if your daughter picks Cornell, it’s a great choice. Congratulations!
PS: I would highly encourage her to visit both campuses and talk to current students (or request to talk to CV scholars for Vandy’s case). Sometimes, that helps you decide which college may be a better fit.