Hi

I'm a practising attorney in Australia (IP litigator)

I've been offered places at UT and Cornell (and a couple of others which I've turned down). I'm finding the decision really difficult. I've been to Austin before and love it. I also love NYC but haven't been to Ithaca (which I know is quite different).

Any thoughts on which school I should choose? I'm trying to base the decision on something other than cost - there's about a $20,000 difference between tuition.

Cheers

Cornell

Well, subject to affordability, undoubtedly Cornell admission will give you a leverage for all times to come.

Are you joking?
Cornell is the right choice!

Cornell, of course!

It would appear that Cornell is the popular choice around here, but I must say that Austin is quite possibly one of the most pleasant places on Earth to live. Friendly people, lots of parks/lakes/etc., great live music scene, the UT campus is great, etc.

If you wanna go to Cornell because of IVY things all that of coures Cornell
If you don't like gloomy weather....I vote for UTexas

But actually you gotta have some special plan or particular professor for your own plan.
Make plan or find professor first before choosing school.

UT is a great school. Rankings aren't everything, even if many people are blinded by them. Best to be above all that in my opinion. The actual educational experience you'll receive at both schools, assuming that the faculties are both strong in your areas of interest, will likely be the same. If you like the location of UT, go there! Don't get caught up in the risible rankings game. Of course, it would be different if it were say, a toss up between Cornell and some little known school which boasted no strong faculty. But UT is not like that; it's a first rate school.

I agree with Arano. Even if you look at the rankings, Cornell is only ranked 4 spots ahead of UT (12 versus 16). UT is tied with UCLA in the rankings, and everybody considers UCLA a great school. Is 4 ranking spots worth 20K in additional tuition and living in Ithaca versus Austin?