How to pick between Columbia, Cornell or Princeton?

[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.

I don’t think that Princeton loves her back very much, either. On the other hand, her older brother Craig is a very loyal alum.

At least one of Craig’s kids also went to Princeton.

[Anonymous]

I would favor Princeton, in part because Cornell is so large. It was like a city to me, in a bad way. Impersonal, with tons of hassles. The campus is hilly and freezing most of the school year (beautiful part of the country, at other times, I'll admit).

Princeton is rarified, let's face it. Beautiful campus, brilliant people. I once new a math major from there. She was a genius.

As far as Columbia goes, I would be frightened to send my kid there TBH. Because of the part of Manhattan it is in . And I am from NY.

[Anonymous]

Wait what exactly is wrong with the part of Manhattan that Columbia is in? It's literally right next to the Upper West Side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would favor Princeton, in part because Cornell is so large. It was like a city to me, in a bad way. Impersonal, with tons of hassles. The campus is hilly and freezing most of the school year (beautiful part of the country, at other times, I'll admit).

Princeton is rarified, let's face it. Beautiful campus, brilliant people. I once new a math major from there. She was a genius.

As far as Columbia goes, I would be frightened to send my kid there TBH. Because of the part of Manhattan it is in . And I am from NY.

I know the stabbing of the Barnard student in Morningside Park near Columbia’s campus got a lot of publicity but I never felt unsafe when living in Morningside Heights. There were always a lot of people on Broadway and the other streets near campus at all hours of the day and night.

On the other hand, there is not a lot of hand-holding at Columbia. It is part of a big university with large graduate programs, professional schools, and a separate teacher’s college. In some ways it’s probably more like a college in Europe than most American universities. The students are treated more like young adults responsible for their own well-being. In comparison, Princeton is focused on its undergraduates and making sure they pretty much have all the resources they need to succeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait what exactly is wrong with the part of Manhattan that Columbia is in? It's literally right next to the Upper West Side.

It’s an ok area. But next to UWS is pretty meaningless. As in most cities, the tenure of neighborhoods can change dramatically just a few blocks over.

[Anonymous]

As a Penn grad, I hate to say it, but Princeton is the easy choice here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS recently graduated from Princeton. One of his main gripes was that he wanted to get to know other college students besides those at his school and he wished that he would've went to Penn instead. So keep in mind that Cornell and Princeton are kind of in their own island so to speak. He did visit NYC often as it's a train ride away, but it's not the same as knowing kids in a closer area. He liked Cornell also, but it's a bit more rural than he was looking for

I'm not sure why your son thinks he would have met kids from other colleges if he'd gone to Penn instead. Most kids at most colleges stick to themselves and Penn is no different. It's also a bigger school. They're not hanging out with Drexel or Temple students.

[Anonymous]

Princeton. It shouldn't even be a question. All three are great but Princeton is a step above the other two and it shows in the recruitment and post collegiate opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Princeton for sure. It's my 7th grader's dream school. She goes on and on about it. We have no idea where she got the idea but she won't shut up and it's going on 2 years So in my house Princeton would be a dream come true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS recently graduated from Princeton. One of his main gripes was that he wanted to get to know other college students besides those at his school and he wished that he would've went to Penn instead. So keep in mind that Cornell and Princeton are kind of in their own island so to speak. He did visit NYC often as it's a train ride away, but it's not the same as knowing kids in a closer area. He liked Cornell also, but it's a bit more rural than he was looking for

I'm not sure why your son thinks he would have met kids from other colleges if he'd gone to Penn instead. Most kids at most colleges stick to themselves and Penn is no different. It's also a bigger school. They're not hanging out with Drexel or Temple students.

Colleges isolated in rural/suburban areas can get extremely monotonous and being stuck around the same crowd and culture for 4 years sucks.

Boston has 8+ colleges in the city and right next door. I can certainly understand the want to be around other colleges and city life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have degrees from both Princeton and Columbia and the undergrad experience at Princeton is better, unless you want to be in (and can afford) a big city and are prepared to be more independent.

Same here. The Princeton undergrads really receive a wealth of resources from the university and are pampered in so many ways. Columbia is good too, but definitely for someone who likes the city life and independence. I wouldn’t pick Cornell. It’s not in the same tier of schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS recently graduated from Princeton. One of his main gripes was that he wanted to get to know other college students besides those at his school and he wished that he would've went to Penn instead. So keep in mind that Cornell and Princeton are kind of in their own island so to speak. He did visit NYC often as it's a train ride away, but it's not the same as knowing kids in a closer area. He liked Cornell also, but it's a bit more rural than he was looking for

I'm not sure why your son thinks he would have met kids from other colleges if he'd gone to Penn instead. Most kids at most colleges stick to themselves and Penn is no different. It's also a bigger school. They're not hanging out with Drexel or Temple students.

Not sure about Philly but my kid’s in Boston and he had friends from lots of different schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS recently graduated from Princeton. One of his main gripes was that he wanted to get to know other college students besides those at his school and he wished that he would've went to Penn instead. So keep in mind that Cornell and Princeton are kind of in their own island so to speak. He did visit NYC often as it's a train ride away, but it's not the same as knowing kids in a closer area. He liked Cornell also, but it's a bit more rural than he was looking for

I'm not sure why your son thinks he would have met kids from other colleges if he'd gone to Penn instead. Most kids at most colleges stick to themselves and Penn is no different. It's also a bigger school. They're not hanging out with Drexel or Temple students.

Not sure about Philly but my kid’s in Boston and he had friends from lots of different schools.

That wasn’t really my experience. I had some high school friends at other schools in Boston and would occasionally get together with them and their friends, but otherwise I mostly hung out with folks from my own school. Once in a blue moon there would be someone from elsewhere at a party, but it wasn’t wildly common.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS recently graduated from Princeton. One of his main gripes was that he wanted to get to know other college students besides those at his school and he wished that he would've went to Penn instead. So keep in mind that Cornell and Princeton are kind of in their own island so to speak. He did visit NYC often as it's a train ride away, but it's not the same as knowing kids in a closer area. He liked Cornell also, but it's a bit more rural than he was looking for

I'm not sure why your son thinks he would have met kids from other colleges if he'd gone to Penn instead. Most kids at most colleges stick to themselves and Penn is no different. It's also a bigger school. They're not hanging out with Drexel or Temple students.

Not sure about Philly but my kid’s in Boston and he had friends from lots of different schools.

That wasn’t really my experience. I had some high school friends at other schools in Boston and would occasionally get together with them and their friends, but otherwise I mostly hung out with folks from my own school. Once in a blue moon there would be someone from elsewhere at a party, but it wasn’t wildly common.

Everyone has different experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS recently graduated from Princeton. One of his main gripes was that he wanted to get to know other college students besides those at his school and he wished that he would've went to Penn instead. So keep in mind that Cornell and Princeton are kind of in their own island so to speak. He did visit NYC often as it's a train ride away, but it's not the same as knowing kids in a closer area. He liked Cornell also, but it's a bit more rural than he was looking for

I'm not sure why your son thinks he would have met kids from other colleges if he'd gone to Penn instead. Most kids at most colleges stick to themselves and Penn is no different. It's also a bigger school. They're not hanging out with Drexel or Temple students.

Colleges isolated in rural/suburban areas can get extremely monotonous and being stuck around the same crowd and culture for 4 years sucks.

Boston has 8+ colleges in the city and right next door. I can certainly understand the want to be around other colleges and city life.

The Ivies really have a tremendous amount going on at their own campuses and most of the kids are busy enough working that they aren’t regretting not meeting kids from other schools. Even the smallest - Dartmouth - has almost 4500 undergraduates.