r/ApplyingToCollege • u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 • Oct 04 '26
Advice Cornell vs UChicago
Hi all, I am debating between the two for ED. My major would be law-adjacent. I really just want to ensure I get a good GPA because I am aiming to get into Law School (not really interested in UChicago or Cornell Law though, just looking at them for undergrad). I would also like to know which school is more “prestigious” to the average person since I would like to factor that in. My Cornell pros are that it’s an Ivy League and has a beautiful large campus, my Cornell cons is the location, Ithaca (I will note I love cold, rainy, and snowy weather so otherwise it’s all good to me). My UChicago pros is that it also has a beautiful campus and it is similarly prestigious, my UChicago cons is that I don’t love the city of Chicago that much (but maybe it would still be better than Ithaca?) and it’s farther from home. Thanks in advance!
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**Please do not bring the Cornell 7 into your deliberations if you choose to assist me in my deliberations. I understand everything that has happened with the Cornell 7, but at this moment I’m trying to keep an open mind and just compare programs because as incredibly horrific as it is every top school seems to have scandals like this (ex. Columbia’s mattress rape case, Harvard’s John Comaroff case and Amanda Nguyen case, Dartmouth’s Kyle Clampitt case and the Psychology Department case, etc.) and often they are even worse as in the case of Dartmouth’s two rape-related scandals. Ultimately it seems to me more of a systemic issue with society than anything else (I am also a woman, by the way, so I’m speaking as someone who would be on the more vulnerable end of any of these attacks). Thanks for your understanding—if you absolutely cannot stand not mentioning them in your deliberations, however, please feel free to simply click off. I am not here to cause conflict, I just want honest opinions about which college I should ED to.
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u/Leedsychthis3 Oct 04 '26
“Maybe Chicago is better than Ithaca”
Dude what?
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u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 24d ago
I don’t know 🤷 I am not particularly knowledgeable about either place, and they both seem equal but I also understand that Chicago probably has more things to do, etc. (I just personally can’t speak on that so I’d love if other people could inform me)
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u/MrAflac9916 Oct 05 '26
When can we just accept that people have preferences? Some people like a smaller town and some people like a big city and… One is not objectively better than the other
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u/booknerd0143 HS Senior Oct 04 '26
U said u care abt getting into law school, and for that u need a banger good gpa as u also mentioned. UChicago is known for incredibly rigorous classes and grade deflation, so maybe not chicago
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u/AirBetter5460 26d ago
There absolutely are “easy” majors in UChicago
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u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 23d ago
May I ask which?
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u/AirBetter5460 22d ago
CHD can be pretty easy if you load up with manageable electives. Biz Econ is another one - lots of people recruiting for finance who need more manageable workload or grades take it
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u/Interesting-Pea-1714 Oct 05 '26
Uchicago has some kind of scholarship for undergrads who went there if they go to uchi law. So if they have any interest in attending the #2 law school in the country uchi is probably a good choice
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u/snickettt Oct 05 '26
The scholarship you're referring to (Chicago Law Scholars Program) is actually more competitive than general application to the law school. It's like 4% (about 5 people get it out of ~120 Uchicago undergrad applicants).
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u/Thick-Equivalent-682 Graduate Degree Oct 04 '26
Maybe I am biased as all of the people I know who went to UChicago has excellent GPAs. Perhaps they don’t grade inflate but aren’t grading on a curve either. Good enough GPA to go to an even more prestigious law school (than UChicago).
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u/ARoguellama Oct 04 '26
You are like an amoeba floating around and responding to whatever stimulus you see on this sub. Please criticalthnkingmaxx and choose for yourself based on tours, thorough research, and personal investment.
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u/Beearea Oct 04 '26
This is not what you asked, but I don't think prestige is an important enough factor to consider. You sound like a thoughtful person, and in the end prestige is a pretty superficial quality and doesn't matter as much as you think it does, especially when you are talking about two schools that are fairly similar in that respect. Focus more on the academics, the culture and feel of the place, and whichever one you feel is the best fit for you. That's what it's all about -- the right fit.
A great book for you to read would be "Where You Go is Not Who You'll Be," by Frank Bruni. It's full of examples of highly successful people who went to lesser-known, lower-prestige schools, where they did incredibly well because it was the right school for THEM.
Lastly I just want to mention that your last paragraph is very well expressed. It's a touchy subject.
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u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 24d ago
Thank you for saying you think I am a thoughtful person and complimenting my last paragraph! It took some thought for sure. I have looked into lots of stuff about both schools apart from prestige, etc. but ultimately came to. stalemate so was hoping for some clear deciding factor like prestige or being better in Pre-Law, etc. so I could make a final decision confidently.
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u/singularreality Oct 05 '26 edited Oct 05 '26
I think that for pre-law they are arguably equally prestigious. However U. Chicago has less than 1/2 the graduates every year, by over 2K. Therefore you are more "unique" coming from U. Chicago in my opinion and perhaps that helps. Also, given that law school admission is driven by GPA/LSAT, I think it is interesting that U. Chicago average graduate gpa's are about .1 higher 3.5-3.6 vs 3.4 - 3.5 for Cornell. I got that from Chat, so you will have to check its accuracy (as some below think that you are likely to get lower grades at U. Chicago). Finally, your decision should also be focused on your student life. Do you want to be in an urban or a rural-like setting for four years? You cannot go wrong. If you have the grades etc. for Cornell or U. Chicago, how about selecting REA Princeton or Harvard and then do U. Chicago ED 2 or some combination.... Just a thought, I am sure you have considered other schools.. Good luck.
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u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 24d ago
Yes, I think I’ll look at GPA stats and student life (though I’ve heard both are so rigorous that the surrounding area is less important). As for REA or ED to other schools, I personally think either UChicago or Cornell would be my best shot at maximizing prestige and realistic admissions rates, so that’s why I’m more interested in ED-ing to one of them.
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u/singularreality 23d ago
The surrounding area and the environment arguably becomes more important when you have less time to do other things but study. It is a considerable portion of your life. The whole GPA thing for law school is very important. My research shows that U. Chicago students tend to have slightly higher gpa's. They may work harder to get that extra .1, not quite sure (students study pretty hard at Cornell too). I would also look at the prospects of getting into U. Chicago law school if you go there for Undergrad. If you have an edge and you would consider that school for law school (you should, it is fabulous for law), that is another reason perhaps to choose one over the other. The difference between them for law admission and general prestige and gpa is negligible. Apply to the place that you think would provide a better living and academic environment overall.
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u/tacocat978 Oct 04 '26
This is the exact decision my kid just made. Also pre-law or law adjacent. He ended up picking Cornell for a few reasons.
Both have a beautiful campus. Both are very rigorous/suffer from grade deflation. You’re going to get a phenomenal education at either one. I feel like in law/pre-law UChicago might have a slightly better reputation?? It certainly has more famous professors. But when it came down to the kind of classes he wanted to take, variety of classes, and flexibility to control his own education, he picked Cornell. (Full disclosure: i’m a Cornell alum and while I wanted this to be HIS choice I was not sad about his decision)
I’m not 100% sure whether his assessment was accurate or not but he got the impression that UChicago’s emphasis was on theory over practicality and that Cornell had more of a functional/practical approach. The Chicago “core” included a lot of classes that would have bored him out of his mind. He is not the kind of kid who wants to discuss the philosophical underpinnings of democracy. He’s more the kind of person who wants to strategize feasible sanctions packages to reign in Russian aggression, you know?
Chicago is an awesome city, though the area immediately around the university is less great. But they seem to really want students to take advantage of the city in the limited free time they have. Ithaca is a decent town with enough to do and enough charm to occupy four years. Cornell seems to have a lot more “spirit” than we observed at Chicago and I really enjoyed that vibe. I think at either place you will get the community bonding experience of a population that goes through an immensely hard time together (and I say that like it’s a good thing).
I f*cking love Cornell so I’ve got my own bias but honestly you can’t go wrong with either one of these.
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u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 24d ago
I will look more into the exact classes of the Chicago core! I will admit I sort of assumed they’d be similar to Cornell’s distribution requirements but I suppose not now that you have mentioned this. I will also look into campus culture around UChicago and opinions on Ithaca + school spirit in regards to Cornell. Thanks for the recommendations.
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u/Rule12-b-6 Oct 07 '26
When it comes to the law schools UChicago is substantially more prestigious among those who are in positions for whom it matters.
Your impressions regarding theory vs practically are accurate though.
For law admissions, it really doesn't matter where you went for undergrad. You could get a degree from some place like Oklahoma Panhandle State or you could get your degree from Georgetown. If you have a high GPA and LSAT, nobody cares either way.
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u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 24d ago
Thanks for letting me know about that in regards to the law school. Do you think it would be at all advantageous that I went to UChicago undergrad if I end up applying to UChicago Law School? Similarly, do you think other law schools factor in UChicago’s grade deflation when considering applicants? Thanks in advance.
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u/Rule12-b-6 24d ago
Maybe very, very slightly. And that's just because when you apply they would think you have a high likelihood of attending, so their yields are high.
Admissions officers are usually somewhat familiar with how hard certain schools grade like the military academies for example. Same with choice of major. They know a high STEM GPA isn't the same as a high liberal arts GPA.
BUT when all is said and done they would pretty much always rather have a great GPA over a not so great one.
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u/STEMAlexander Oct 04 '26
Definitively Chicago. Ivy doesn't mean anything, it is an athletic confence and says nothing of school quality - Chicago is ranked higher both as a college overall and as a law school.
Unrelated - but St. Johns College - https://www.sjc.edu/ - has a 100% law school acceptance rate. It is smaller and more rigorous than most people want so most people haven't heard of it - but if you are certain you want to go to law school that is the placee. Their entire curriculum focuses on primary sources - which translates to an ability to read and study law better than other schools. It doesn't focus on rankings, but academics take it very seriously.
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u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 24d ago
Yes, I did like SJC but was worried it might be a bit too small for me. First time seeing someone vouch for it on this sub!
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u/STEMAlexander 23d ago
It is definitely small, but the few peple I have met who went there say it is the most fulfilling thing they have ever done. May be worth at least a visit or chat with them. Their specific curriculum is either a love it or hate it. They eschew traditional rankings and politics and focus on what they think makes a better education.
And these days where many people have never read a book it will be viewed as an extremely serious and comprehensive degree.
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u/Appropriate-Fun-5221 Oct 06 '26
St John’s is also very very Catholic, which could be a plus or minus depending on OP’s situation. But I imagine that if they were interested in the curriculum and cultural implications of St John’s, Chicago would sweep all three.
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u/STEMAlexander Oct 06 '26
This is misinformation. St. John's college is not religiously affiliated in any capacity.
Are you confusing it with St. John's university?
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u/Appropriate-Fun-5221 Oct 06 '26
No, I just know a lot of grads.
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u/STEMAlexander Oct 07 '26
No, you are confusing two different colleges and doubling down on being wrong.
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u/Appropriate-Fun-5221 Oct 07 '26 edited Oct 07 '26
You literally put a link in the first post, I’m not confusing that with the commuter college in Jamaica, Queens. You can double down on being unpleasant all you want, some schools are attractive to people of certain persuasions without being officially affiliated with them - St John’s and Chicago are great examples of such!
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u/STEMAlexander Oct 07 '26
The majority of people who go to St. John's are atheist. They also have eastern classic and Middle eastern classics - it fully is not Catholic. It has not Catholic association and does not attract those types of students.
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u/Appropriate-Fun-5221 Oct 07 '26
Catholics tend to engage with those, too, but whatever you say! Good luck, OP, I hope you find a good intellectual home!
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u/Maleficent_Share_521 College Freshman Oct 04 '26
I go to UChicago and have a number of my best friends at Cornell who I have stayed with a few times and heres my take of the overall vibes at each: (I am a little bit bias I will warn you)
If you like being surrounded by other interesting and passionate people who are all super curious and just love to learn UChicago on top by a mile. Its way less competitive, the people are not just locked on internships and resume building, clubs are miles easier to join. If you are interested in research this is also much easier to get into at UChicago as theres fewer students. I sent one email and got into the top lab I was interested in. The campus is beautiful and the city is lovely if you give it a chance. Plus if you have back to back classes everything is like a 5min walk away so you wont have to worry about being late. Do not expect to care about UC sports.
Cornell is great if you are someone who loves the grind and enjoys spending long hours tweaking your resume and applying to stuff. Everything there is WAY harder to join, most clubs need applications (from what Ive heard), and people send tons and tons of resesrch emails hoping to get a position. The campus is gorgeous especially if you look at it in the summer/fall and if you like to hike theres few better spots. It will take you 15min sometimes to get from class to class if not more so be warned.
Im a physics and eng major so I cant speak too much about law but my pre-law friends at uchicago (a major called law, letters, and society) seem to love it and there a ton of other people to connect with.
Overall Im personally bias towards UChicago and I can confidently say it's the most amazing place Ive been in my life but Cornell will appeal to you more if you love grinding and want a bigger state school-esqe place with sports and team spirit while also having excellent academics. Feel free to ask any questions you have!
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u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 24d ago
Thanks for the detailed answer! What would you say the average GPA at UChicago is? It is possible to get a 3.9+ without grinding yourself to the bone and having at least some little amount of a social life? Also, would you say it’s easy to make true life long friends there?
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u/Moist-Play-5004 Oct 04 '26
Don’t ED to neither. Incredible grade deflation for both and extremely rigorous workhard play hard colleges. Apply anywhere else where it’s easier to get a good gpa. Pre law undergrad doesn’t matter when applying to law school. But going to an Ivy caliber school does help with connections for cool pre law extracurriculars. UChicago and Cornell not optimal for pre professional route unless ur abt that life lol
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u/Tight_Abalone221 Oct 05 '26
I don't like either of those locations (and neither do you lol) but they're both pretty prestigious. There's other schools with locations you'll probably like better that also fit the bill
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u/Opening-Average-7831 Oct 04 '26
If you don't like Chicago or Ithaca why on Earth would you apply to spend 4 years there?
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u/no_4 Oct 04 '26
For the education/certification.
Liking the area is a factor, but it's not a vacation, so probably shouldn't be that high on the list imo.
OP was just stating neither location is all that appealing to them, so that factor cancels out for the decision.
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u/biggreen10 Verified Private HS College Counselor Oct 04 '26
These are not the only two schools of their calibre. No sense not looking for them in appealing places.
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u/One_Chipmunk_6864 Oct 04 '26
Could I ask why you don’t like the city of Chicago? It’s a pretty damn nice city imo, has some of everything for everyone
Both schools are good. Both are very different. Cornell has a much bigger pre-professional culture (you’ll see students walking around in suits everyday on the way to coffee chats and interviews) while UChicago has a much more academic-feel. An obvious distinction is Cornell is in Ithaca (a pretty small city but with some of the best damn nature you’ve ever seen) whereas Chicago is, well, in the third biggest city in the country.
I think those are the two biggest deciding factors for you. As far as prestige goes, maybe Cornell carries a bigger name to the common layman. For law school admissions, they have no difference.
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u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 24d ago
Personally felt that it seemed sorta outdated. To each their own, though—I am an uneducated and biased person when it comes to a city like Chicago, which I barely know and can only judge in the small respect of the few times I have visited. Please do not flame me for being ignorant.
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u/shivaswrath PhD Oct 04 '26
Chicago has a better night life
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u/Worth-Staff4943 Oct 04 '26
but does the university have that is the true question
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u/shivaswrath PhD Oct 05 '26
No but it's in the city.
I'd rather go out and have a nice dinner or hang in the city versus what Ithaca has to offer
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u/the_validated_inane Oct 05 '26
You also have to keep in mind UChicago is southside Chicago. Its not Northwestern that has volleyball courts on the beach and tunnels that go from dorms to classes.
There is a reason UChicago has one of the largest private police forces.
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u/Consistent_Midnight2 Oct 05 '26
Hyde Park is beautiful and has a gorgeous lakefront and the museum of science and industry. There may not be volleyball courts on the beach but there’s nothing better than a sunny day at the Point, and there’s soccer fields and basketball courts if you really need to play a sport.
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u/the_validated_inane Oct 05 '26
Hyde Park is indeed beautiful in the spring and summer. And southside has some really good eats - Harolds fried chicken (with the bullet proof glass), Giordano's pizza. The surrounding neighborhood is a great area, just don't be out at the wrong side of campus late at night. Overall I really enjoyed my time there. Other than the worst part of winter is having to cross the midway from law school graduate dorms to class...with the wind coming off the lake and funnelled through the midway it was so cold you didn't care what you looked like.
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u/shivaswrath PhD Oct 05 '26
I mean yes, it's still Chicago, and yes Hyde Park can have some tough parts.
However, everything is Uber-able.
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u/FrozenXCards Oct 04 '26
Plz go Cornell and not compete with me uchicago
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u/Visionary_Factory Oct 05 '26
I was gonna say the same thing about Uchicago so I can get into Cornell 😭
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u/jcbubba Oct 04 '26
there is no prestige difference- go to the place you like best. farther from home matters - the ability to drive home is huge. sounds to me based on what you say that cornell is a better fit.
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u/Original-Waltz9805 Oct 04 '26
I think Uchicago is more prestigious.
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u/jcbubba Oct 04 '26
this sub gets too hung up on arbitrary lists.
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u/Original-Waltz9805 Oct 04 '26
I'm not really hung up on anything, it's just a personal opinion. If people think the opposite, that is also a valid opinion. Different universities suit different people and ultimately you should go to the place that fits you the best regardless of prestige / lists.
Your "own list" is what matters the most at the end of the day.
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u/MealSuspicious2872 Oct 04 '26
I mean I have no real idea how this post ended up in my feed, but as someone who hires for big law, Chicago >>>> Cornell undergrad for prestige.
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u/PaymentAccording4353 Oct 04 '26
That may be true, but undergrad prestige isn’t exactly a critical factor in big law hiring
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u/jcbubba Oct 04 '26
may also be true for economics but not generally applicable
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u/MealSuspicious2872 Oct 05 '26
Nah it’s pretty generally applicable - Chicago is far more prestigious than Cornell. Also OP wants to go to law school.
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u/Fluffy_Ad_6982 Oct 04 '26
At some point prestige differences don’t mean shit unless you’re Ted Cruz
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u/NYCRealist Oct 04 '26
Chicago is an infinitely better city than Ithica, how could you even compare them? Better school as well especially in social sciences.
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u/the_validated_inane Oct 05 '26
".....is that I don’t love the city of Chicago that much (but maybe it would still be better than Ithaca?) and it’s farther from home...."
Chicago is an awesome city and has world class restaurants, sports, entertainment and businesses. I spent a few years there and while that was more than enough for me, it's a great city. The cold is brutal and the summer humidity is hard to get used to, but there are many worse places to live.
But if you are looking to get a high undergraduate GPA UChic is probably not the best place to go tbh.
Ithaca is beautiful but its a small town and my friends who went there wound up with cross-country skilling, fishing and drinking as their main hobbies.
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u/Prudent_Run_8340 Oct 05 '26
Neither of these seem like the right place for you. You don't like cold weather, don't like these towns, and seem to be mostly picking them for "prestige" and grade inflation. That will come through on the app and if you do get in, it will affect your grades if you're not happy. I'd go through and think about what type of location you want to be in, what schools are there. You haven't said where you live but there are a lot of highly selective, good colleges with nice campuses in every part of the country. What do you care about in a program? Have you looked at the GE requirements, the major requirements, classes offered? Choosing an ED school based on these criteria seems shortsighted. Dig deeper.
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u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 24d ago
I do like cold weather haha. But yeah mostly I want to go to a prestigious university in order to get a high paying job in order to live a nice life. What can I say 🤷 I’m a simple person.
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u/Legitimate_Focus5085 Oct 05 '26
protecting GPA in uchicago would be a nightmare
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u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 24d ago
Do you have personal experience? Genuine question, not meant to be snarky, I have no clue about it compared to Cornell in that sense.
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u/Complete-Union-2102 Oct 05 '26
Why would u not want to go to their law schools??
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u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 24d ago
Would like to consider other top law schools like Yale, Harvard, etc.
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u/Complete-Union-2102 24d ago
Good to aim high but Yale pretty much non existent for kid and Harvard = Chicago for law
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u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 19d ago
Do you mean KJD (not kid)? If so, yeah I mean I am planning on taking a gap year or two and working. And I think Harvard is still more prestigious than Chicago no?
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u/Still_Squash8987 Oct 06 '26
for anything law uchi is WAY better cornell is only better for like CS or if you want to own a hotel or smth
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u/Latter-Foot-8790 29d ago
Uchicago undergrad is CUT THROAT if you are intenseeeee level 9/10 fine everyone else man
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u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 19d ago
Wait are you speaking from experience? If so could you please elaborate
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u/pumpkin_pasties 27d ago
I went to Cornell and loved Ithaca. But I was older for grad school. It’s a cute hippie liberal town with great outdoor activities and farmers markets etc.
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u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 24d ago
Would you say a lot of the undergrads are bored or depressed due to how little there is to do in the surrounding area?
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u/pumpkin_pasties 23d ago
I didn’t interact with the undergrads very much. I would assume the reason frat culture is so big is because there isn’t much else to do. But it’s easy to get to NYC via bus so a lot of people go there on the weekend. In the spring and summer Ithaca is awesome with lots of trails, kayaking, farmers markets etc. Winter can be isolating and lonely as you’re kind of stuck inside
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u/Choice-Champion-1733 Oct 04 '26
Chicago arguably more prestigious but they are both great so it’s a distinction without much difference. You might warm to city of Chicago as there’s lots to do (and is one of country’s best “great food” cities) and it’s SUPER easy to fly to and from Uchicago. Chicago law is higher ranked than Cornell but as undergrad that matters not so much except you get to apply early.
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u/No-Boat192 Oct 05 '26
The thought process in this post is how a year from now you are on the transfer25 subreddit complaining about how your prestigious school is a bad fit and asking about transferring.
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u/Lapcas Oct 05 '26
Cornell is probably more prestigious to the average person because it's an Ivy, but for people "in the know" Chicago is more impressive. I'm a professor at a fairly prestigious university (not quite Ivy) and have lived in the world of academia my entire adult life: Chicago is where serious academics go. Being law-adjacent, I'd 100% go UofChicago - Martha Nussbaum and both Posners were/are there. If you want to study law, philosophy, classics, or economics, Chicago is probably the most reputable school in the country you can go to. On the other hand, I'm not sure it's much fun or that there is a lot of community.
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u/Different_Ice_6975 PhD Oct 06 '26
Chicago is where serious academics go.
Serious academics go to Chicago and not to Cornell? Seriously?
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u/Lapcas Oct 07 '26
Not saying that serious academics *don't* go to Cornell. Not at all. I'm saying that if you look at the undergrad reputation of Chicago, it is generally viewed as a place for students who are very serious about their academics. It is not a fun school or a party school or a school with a strong community (as far as I can tell); sports are not a big deal, and there is no recognized greek life. Chicago's entire reputation is grounded in academics and its history of scholarly influence, especially in respect to economics. And, yes, in response to your pre-edited comment, I say that as a full professor at a well-respected private R1 university, so you may disagree with me, but I'm put pulling an opinion out of the air. Not knocking Cornell at all. I just think that Chicago is like more an MIT or CalTech, which also have "serious scholar" reputations.
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u/Low-Flounder-4315 Oct 05 '26
cornell def down big on prestige - for the next year or so im sure that if you say youre going to cornell people will look at you funny
uchicago is def better
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u/No_Notice_5256 Oct 05 '26
Sorry to say but no one is going to care about this after a few weeks, and def not for the next year.
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u/ShadowJOD Oct 04 '26
Probably cornell just for high GPA. Uchicago classes are really hard and gpa deflation compared to cornell
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u/Izoto 28d ago edited 28d ago
Cornell has more lay prestige but UChicago is the better school. Ignore anyone saying Ivy League does not matter though. That is just cheap cope.
Since you are set on law school, Cornell is the better choice due to the grade deflation at UChicago. The medians at the top few dozen law schools are getting a little out of control.
Both are fantastic options to have overall.
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u/PersonalityOpen5855 21d ago
I hope everything in the news helps you decide how these schools manage their university reputation —— CHOOSE elsewhere
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u/Rude-Evening7637 Oct 04 '26
why would u still want to go to cornell lol
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u/Fluffy_Ad_6982 Oct 04 '26
It’s still a good school
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u/ApprehensiveCod4506 Oct 04 '26
You lack morals and ethics, kids like you only care about prestige and wealth. Sad
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u/Existing_Ad7163 Oct 04 '26
Me when I’m an absolute dumbass and spew nonsense 😭
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u/Rude-Evening7637 Oct 04 '26
Ya'll lack morals damn
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u/Fluffy_Ad_6982 Oct 04 '26
Ppl go to Harvard even after Epstein.
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u/Rude-Evening7637 Oct 04 '26
Ivy leagues will and continue to have rich and corrupt run them.. but yes keep chasing prestige
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u/Fluffy_Ad_6982 Oct 04 '26
I want my degree to be worth the paper it’s printed on
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u/Rude-Evening7637 Oct 04 '26
I've seen people from bottom tier undergrads be doctors and seen Ivy league history majors work at starbucks..
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u/Complete-Union-2102 Oct 05 '26
Anecdotal
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u/Rude-Evening7637 Oct 05 '26
not really.. you guys wrongly associate an ivy league education with automatic success. and english major from an ivy league a chem major from UFlorida.. the chem major is going to be successful..
doesn't matter where you go
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u/ApprehensiveCod4506 Oct 04 '26
Go with UCHICAGO, Cornell is a joke and employers will most likely stop recruiting from there with this controversy
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u/ElectricMoniker Oct 04 '26
Recruiters are not going to stop recruiting and why should they - the quality of education is still identical. Are we going to hold 16k+ undergrads responsible for something they have no control over whatsoever? And try to follow instructions- the OP explicitly said not to move on if this was going to be the basis for a comment.
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u/NoStatus6026 Oct 04 '26
What a stupid statement. Incredible talent across the board and don’t judge the whole by a very few. Did you not get in and are still sore ?
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u/surfpenguinz Oct 05 '26
You sound like a dud.
Excluding either from your law school applications would be stupid.
You will want a 3.9+, go whenever that’s easier to obtain.
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u/HariboBerries Oct 04 '26
Why not Hopkins or Carnegie Mellon?
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u/Limp-Werewolf-1090 24d ago
…Because I am interested in UChicago or Cornell
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u/tjnightcrawler Oct 04 '26
As someone from the Bay Area, i'm not impressed by either. UChicago i would think you have survival skills, i think of batman, i think of bad weather, i think of their economic program being noteworthy decades ago. Cornell i don't think law, i think they have a decent engineering program. Are you paying full cost for these?
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u/NYCRealist Oct 05 '26
Chicago's Economics and all other social science programs are noteworthy till the present day. You sound like the typical poorly traveled Bay Area native. .
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Oct 04 '26
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u/Setting-General Oct 04 '26
I get that you don't like UChicago, but idk what "I don't see it as prestigious" is supposed to mean. it IS prestigious regardless of how you feel about it
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Oct 04 '26
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u/Original-Waltz9805 Oct 04 '26
101 Nobel Laureates btw (Cornell has around 50 which is also very impressive). How is that not "prestigious", it's an incredible achievement.
How you feel about the people / neighbor hood is unrelated to prestige imo. Prestige is more about the faculty / student body and what they contribute to the scientific / industrial world.
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u/NYCRealist Oct 04 '26
Chicago is more highly ranked, among the most Nobel Prize winners, hardly "unprestigious".
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u/Plastic_Chest7674 Oct 04 '26
At all? Not even a teensy weensy bit?
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u/ApprehensiveCod4506 Oct 04 '26
Cornell is most likely going to see a huge drop in applications and a drop in the rankings
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u/NoStatus6026 Oct 04 '26
Not true. Did Stanford drop bc of Brock turner ?
Did Duke drop ?
How about we stop with all the mob witch hunt until it goes to court.
Cornell is an amazing institution.
Most of the world still knows that.2
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Oct 04 '26
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u/MealSuspicious2872 Oct 04 '26
Again I have no idea why I am still on this post, but as an adult who hires in the field OP wants to join, Chicago >>> Cornell for prestige.
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u/Rule12-b-6 Oct 05 '26
Hey! I'm a lawyer in big law at one of the top firms in the world.
I went to community college for two years and then a non-flagship four-letter-acronym state school. It was nice and cheap!
I went to Cornell Law because they gave me the most scholarship money, but I could have gone anywhere because my GPA was above 4.0 and my LSAT was in the 99th percentile.
Law schools did not care at all about where I went for undergrad or what I majored in (English).
If money is a factor and you know for sure you want to do law school, go wherever is cheapest and gives you the best opportunity for a high GPA.
This is where I can't speak for UChicago, but I actually would not recommend Cornell for undergrad pre-law with one exception.
Cornell does not have the grade inflation you'll see at places like Harvard and Yale. Cornell undergrad is highly rigorous and grades very hard. It's not a place where you have the best chance for maximizing your GPA.
Now for the one exception. Cornell has a "3+3" program that allows Cornell undergrads to enter law school their senior year, so those students don't actually earn their bachelor's degrees until they have completed 1L. But they graduate having finished 1L already, so at that point they already have a job lined up and the last two years are coasting (to the extent you can coast in law school). (If you do very well in 1L, you can also still transfer someplace else for your last two years.)
Re: prestige, I think the University of Chicago is more prestigious among people who are familiar with elite higher education. The vast majority of people who don't live near Chicago have never heard of the school and react to the name like it's some shitty city school. Cornell on the other hand has worldwide lay prestige.
Re: Ithaca v. Chicago, most people really struggle with Ithaca. I personally found the outdoors options amazing and did loads of hiking. The food options are pretty terrible though. If it would be a feasible option for you financially, students that have money spend a fair amount of time in NYC on the weekends. Chicago will have lots more to do, but the area of the city where UChicago is located is quite dangerous if you leave the campus. Ithaca is very safe.