Cornell vs Dartmouth vs UPenn

[still nova]

Intended Major: Comp Sci, likely a minor at least in math or statistics to go with it

Cornell (17k/year):
-Probably the best CS program out of the three
-Closest to home
-Campus is beautiful in warmer months
-Known for super brutal STEM classes with insane workloads
-High depression rates amongst students with limited social scene

UPenn (17k/year):
-Most prestigious out of the three
-Known for super good internship opportunities
-Great social scene
-Would not be able to take comp sci without transferring to engineering college
-Have heard varying opinions on how stressful the workload is

Dartmouth (12k/year):
-Small student/faculty ratio
-Less competition for internships
-Great student life
-Best undergrad teaching out of the 3
-Great social scene
-Really far from home
-Not as recognizable as the other 2 and the lowest ranked CS program (still easily top 20 in the country though)

[peak hearth]

Do you want to be close to or far from home?

Since internal transfer is competitive I strongly advise against UPenn

If you are okay with a bit more cost I'd go for Cornell, it's the best vs the worst CS program of the entire ivy 🤣

[still nova]

yeah this was my logic, would be rlly risky committing to a college based on the gamble that I might be able to transfer

[peak hearth]

Yeah so it's really just Cornell v. Dartmouth, there's no point putting yourself to that risk

Also pls grab some #810227815260618772

Also Cornell matches financial aid from the remaining ivies

Let me look up their policy

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2010/12/cornell-matches-financial-aid-offered-peer-schools#:~:text=Cornell has announced it will,of Technology and Stanford University.

Cornell has announced it will match the need-based financial aid for admitted students who are also accepted to other Ivy League schools and will strive to match the need-based financial aid from Duke University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University.

Since they're equal cost, I'll vote Cornell in a heartbeat

[still nova]

yeah Cornell definitely beats Dartmouth in terms of rankings but I'm just not sure if it's enough to offset a lot of the downsides related to Cornell (20k more to graduate, really dreary most of the year, getting ripped for going to the worst Ivy for the rest of your life, super stressful, ect)

[peak hearth]

Concerns about student life are valid but whoever person telling you that you are

going to the worst Ivy for the rest of your life
are not your friends and can f--k off

Also as I'd like to reiterate, you can appeal your Cornell aid with your Dartmouth aid and they WILL match it so you will not pay 20k more to graduate

[still nova]

I'm not sure, Cornell offered me placement in their Tradition Fellowship which is like a glorified work study to my knowledge, which does take the tuition around to where Dartmouth is. Only issue is that for how difficult the STEM courses are, I'm not sure I can keep up with the necessary work study to remain in the program

like technically they're both 12k but if you take out workstudy Cornell is 17k

Dartmouth was all grants, no work study

[peak hearth]

hmmmmmmm that's weird, you can still appeal and see if they'll match the grant, they won't take back aid you already have without substantial financial changes

As for the rigor of STEM classes, it's definitely a thing, my Cornell interviewer ended the interview by telling me that Cornell is arguably the most academically challenging ivy

I'd recommend that you talk to a current student since I am not one of them

[still nova]

yeah I've tried asking around but since they only have 500 undergrads in the program in any given year I haven't been able to find another person with it

[peak hearth]

Em... have you tried r/Cornell or patio or that sort of resources

[still nova]

yeah

[peak hearth]

Or you can always ask the admissions office to connect you to someone in the program

Idk if Cornell does that, but no harm to try

[still nova]

I can always try calling financial aid directly and explaining tbh

but yeah the worst ivy thing is a joke although it does get under my skin since literally everyone makes the joke, even adults who aren't going through the admission process lol

student life is definitely a legitimate concern I'm trying to find more about

[peak hearth]

Yes, that is best answered by a current student

I'd say, try to connect with current students from both schools before you make a call

Congrats on these options btw

[still nova]

yeah I just wish it was easier to pick, and in spending so much time narrowing it down all I can think about is the downsides of the schools, im forgetting that they're actually amazing schools

[peak hearth]

😔 it do be like that

[tawny pond]

idk your financial situation but my personal preference is Dartmouth if you have to take out 20k in loans

you would miss out on the networking in cornell compared to dartmouth's in stem

also you should figure out how easy/hard it is to declare cs at upenn

[still nova]

I'm looking into it, although unless it's close to 100% I'll probably avoid the risk