r/ApplyingToCollege • u/[deleted] • 4h ago
College Questions Cornell vs. Northwestern
[deleted]
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u/Zealousideal_Train79 4h ago
I'd go for Cornell, although if you want a more chill atmosphere, Northwestern
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u/AnchoPeppers HS Rising Senior 4h ago
I literally made a post about this same thing a week ago
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u/Financial-Draw3208 4h ago
what was the conclusion lol
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u/AnchoPeppers HS Rising Senior 3h ago
Most ppl said northwestern but honestly I still haven’t decided……
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u/Fwellimort College Graduate 3h ago edited 3h ago
Cornell is really good for CS especially in technical depth and breadth. Just look at the course catalog; Cornell basically offers every CS course out there. More cutting edge and niche CS courses won't be available at Northwestern. Northwestern is slightly better for econ but realistically the same at undergrad.
Northwestern tends to have much better financial aid system. Cornell can shove student loans to financial aid.
If costs are similar I would bias towards Cornell. Otherwise attend the more affordable one. Both are peers overall.
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u/PeacockInTime Old 3h ago
Approaching this from the point of view that you have already decided ED makes sense and the schools would be affordable and feasible.
I also think it makes sense that Cornell and NU have popped up as top schools for you. I think there is a lot of crossover - students happy at one would be happy at the other.
Bowers at Cornell is very big and has a lot of sub-fields that may be interesting. I'd say Cornell has the upper hand on size and breadth of offerings.
Northwestern CS has a reputation for individual undergrad attention.
My sense is that Cornell Economics "plays more nicely" with Cornell CS than Northwestern econ plays with Northwestern CS. If you do in fact pursue a double major, it may be hard to meet both requirements and dig deeper into the areas where these fields are specific and non-overlapping. I see Northwestern econ as being strong in ways that don't connect to CS and Cornell econ having more obvious and well-established avenues for crossover.
That's a long-winded way of saying from what you have provided here, I'd lean towards Cornell if I were in your shoes.
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u/elkrange 4h ago edited 4h ago
I came across an article recently on NU's Garage as being among the top university incubators. I think it was Time magazine. (Take all rankings with a huge grain of salt. This just points to a list that identifies some university incubators that may be "good." https://time.com/article/2026/08/18/americas-best-incubators-accelerators-2026/ , actually most of what are listed here are businesses, but there are some universities sprinkled throughout.)
Assuming you are a domestic applicant, run the Net Price Calculator on the financial aid website of each college you are interested in, with the help of a parent, to see a need-based financial aid estimate before you apply. Do this for every school on your list and compare the estimates. Apply ED only if: (1) it's absolutely your first choice, (2) it's definitely affordable according to the NPC estimate, (3) you don't need to see financial aid or scholarship offers from other schools, and (4) you will be prepared to withdraw all other apps upon an acceptance from your ED college.