#Brown vs. Cornell

14 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

stable lantern
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Schools: Brown vs. Cornell Engineering
Intended major: mechanical engineering, but I'm also interested in exploring cs/math/physics

I don't have specific career goals & am not yet sure if I want to become an industry engineer or go into tech/finance/grad school!

Brown
Pros:

  • academic flexibility
  • strong CS/applied math departments if I end up doing that (+ has very good good tech/finance outcomes)
  • better quality of life, students are more chill & happier
  • undergraduate focus, opportunities are easier to obtain
  • smaller engineering cohort/class sizes (makes it easier to form connections with peers + faculty)
  • loved providence
  • slightly closer to home

Cons:

  • facilities (food, dorms, etc) are kinda mid
  • weaker engineering prtoogram
  • they don't have any research labs focused on robotics, my main academic interest in HS (although this isn't a dealbreaker as I don't know if robotics engineering is what I'm actually going pursue)
  • the student body gave off a more rich/preppy vibe

Cornell
Pros:

  • very strong engineering school, best out of the ivies (+ has very good industry outcomes, feeder to top engineering companies)
  • I was awarded the rawlings presidential research scholarship, which makes finding research opportunities easier
  • more diverse student body, easier to find people I click with
  • amazing food & dorms

cons:

  • the rigor/stress culture/grade deflation...
  • less academic flexibility
  • easy to get "lost" in how big the school is (especially as someone coming from an extremely small private hs)
  • research/project team/internship opportunities are more competitive (although this is partially negated by Rawlings)
  • not a fan of ithaca

my heart is leaning towards brown, although I know that cornell is definitely the stronger engineering school on paper (I also applied to brown ED while I applied to cornell last minute, so getting into cornell was a bit of a surprise). I'd love to hear any thoughts!

quick meadow
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given u aren't sure where you will end up/not sure what you will study i would recommend brown for a well rounded academic experience but cornell if you are positive you want to go into STEM

jade ingot
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the student body gave off a more rich/preppy vibe
cornell is large so it is easier to find ppl who dont have this vibe id say but there are still many ppl w this vibe

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easy to get "lost" in how big the school is (especially as someone coming from an extremely small private hs)
i came from an extremely small private hs and i feel this but some parts of the way classes are formatted make it a bit better

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office hours are amazing; not many ppl go to it because ego and habit, but its a small environemtn with the prof or TA and u can literally sit there and study or do work and ask anything

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most courses in addition to the huge lecture sections have smaller discussion sectiosn of like 15-40 ppl with a TA where u do psets or labs in that environemnt to ask questions n stuff

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that def helps with the transition but i do admit its huge and i feel so disconnected from profs

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but as u get into more advanced coursework its much much better

stable lantern
stable lantern
stable lantern
jade ingot
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Idk i havent taken cs

quick meadow