How to pick between Columbia, Cornell or Princeton?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who go to Princeton seem to love Princeton more than the other two.

I chatted with Michelle Obama once and she disagreed. And my ex always regretted that her parents made her choose Princeton over Cornell. The eating club things seems awful to me, so I'm on team not-Princeton unless your kid is sure it's his first choice.

The experience of current students is rather different - at Princeton, Cornell, and Columbia - than those of students at those schools in the early 80s when Michelle Obama was there. Certainly at least in terms of raw numbers there are far more minority students and students from lower-income families on campus.

In any event, I doubt that she weighed in on Princeton compared to Cornell or Columbia. The Obama and Robinson families appear not to have soured entirely on the Ivies: Malia went off to Harvard and Craig's daughter (Michelle's niece) just graduated from Princeton in 2018.

[Anonymous]

How well and quickly will NYC recover from Covid-19? That would be a big consideration for me.

[Anonymous]

You really have no chance of a bad decision. Pick the favored campus/social fit.

While Cornell has the strongest CS program, you might remember that many CS careers lead to tech management careers later on, and a Princeton network might help a tiny bit more with contacts in business and finance...

But again congrats on an accomplished kid and know that whatever he chooses it will be fantastic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People who go to Princeton seem to love Princeton more than the other two.

I don't know. We Columbians are pretty proud.

That said, Princeton does a great job with its undergrads. Seriously great job.

I think it all comes down to the specific feel of each for your kid. No one else can answer this.

I can say this about Columbia - there are a ton of opportunities provided by being in a big city. There is also more potential for isolation (because you don't run into kids off campus there like you will at the other two).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who go to Princeton seem to love Princeton more than the other two.

I chatted with Michelle Obama once and she disagreed. And my ex always regretted that her parents made her choose Princeton over Cornell. The eating club things seems awful to me, so I'm on team not-Princeton unless your kid is sure it's his first choice.

The experience of current students is rather different - at Princeton, Cornell, and Columbia - than those of students at those schools in the early 80s when Michelle Obama was there. Certainly at least in terms of raw numbers there are far more minority students and students from lower-income families on campus.

In any event, I doubt that she weighed in on Princeton compared to Cornell or Columbia. The Obama and Robinson families appear not to have soured entirely on the Ivies: Malia went off to Harvard and Craig's daughter (Michelle's niece) just graduated from Princeton in 2018.

None of us fully get over our youth.

The eating club scene is nothing like it was in the 80s. So don't listen to those of us in our 50s. I had a Black friend in grad school at Princeton around the time Mrs. Obama was in college. I went to visit him. My takeaway: I would never have wanted to be Black there. My friend ended up moving to NYC and commuting down twice a week for class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who go to Princeton seem to love Princeton more than the other two.

I don't know. We Columbians are pretty proud.

That said, Princeton does a great job with its undergrads. Seriously great job.

I think it all comes down to the specific feel of each for your kid. No one else can answer this.

I can say this about Columbia - there are a ton of opportunities provided by being in a big city. There is also more potential for isolation (because you don't run into kids off campus there like you will at the other two).

I agree with this. There are pros and cons to being in a big city. For me, I liked being at a school where undergrad life really focused on campus and other students. But, others may prefer having all that a city offers, even if it spreads people out.

I was happy to do grad school in a city, but didn’t regret not having it for undergrad.

[Anonymous]

I was in grad school at Columbia in the 80s and the undergraduates at the time seemed a not especially happy lot. Many were vocal about only going to CC because they'd been shut out of HYP. And the university was a large, impersonal research university with a heavy focus on the graduate and professional programs.

But when I went back to interview there later it seemed like they'd made major strides in improving the undergraduate experience. And the continued gentrification of NYC attracted far more applicants and people who really wanted to be in the city. Morningside Heights is actually a pretty good student neighborhood in terms of restaurants, bars and the like.

[Anonymous]

I doubt there is any CS recruiting difference out of college between Columbia, Cornell or Princeton.
However, Princeton will have recruiting from finance/private equity/consulting companies that is better than Columbia, and the same for Columbia versus Cornell.

CS at Princeton is top notch but very theoretical. Their math department is among the best. The class sizes are probably the best.

Cornell is very large by comparison and engineering-focused, which definitely has its advantages in a major like CS.
Columbia is in the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who go to Princeton seem to love Princeton more than the other two.

I chatted with Michelle Obama once and she disagreed. And my ex always regretted that her parents made her choose Princeton over Cornell. The eating club things seems awful to me, so I'm on team not-Princeton unless your kid is sure it's his first choice.

My DH went there and definitely is not in the rah rah love Princeton club. But the majority of his friends are for sure.

[Anonymous]

They are all great, obvs, so maybe choose based on the feel of the campus. I couldn't get into Cornell - so gray and cold and farther from DC. And between Princeton/Columbia - it's a suburbs/city choice.

OP - come back and tell us what your kid chose. And congrats to them for their hard work and success! What choices!

[Anonymous]

Former ‘softie.

There is some inherent arrogance in Tech so pedigree matters.

On the East Coast for private school CS:

MIT
CMU
Princeton
Columbia
Cornell

[Anonymous]

What is CMU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is CMU

Carnegie Mellon

[Anonymous]

Thanks for flexing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who go to Princeton seem to love Princeton more than the other two.

I don't know. We Columbians are pretty proud.

That said, Princeton does a great job with its undergrads. Seriously great job.

I think it all comes down to the specific feel of each for your kid. No one else can answer this.

I can say this about Columbia - there are a ton of opportunities provided by being in a big city. There is also more potential for isolation (because you don't run into kids off campus there like you will at the other two).

I did my undergrad at Columbia and grad school at Princeton and was happy with both. Columbia has the school of engineering and applied science and Princeton has a good albeit more theoretical program too. Both schools are targeted by top companies and have strong alumni networks...I would say it depends on whether your kid is happier in a city or a suburban environment. Cornell is more off the beaten path and I’m obviously not so familiar with it...