Villanova vs Cornell

Great question and tough call. Looks like you can't go wrong with either place, running-wise; I'd let one's academic interests (and the kind of environment she wants to live/train in) be the deciding factor.

Cornell's team has 50+ women; I'd assume Villanova's is considerably smaller. Really a different kind of experience, I'd say; a high schooler who was interested in both programs would certainly need to visit, to get a better idea of each.

I would say Villanova.

It may actually be a good thing that they are having a down year because it would be easier for you to make the team. The coach hasn't changed, so the training is still sound and it might be a good opportunity to take advantage of their bad luck.

I'd pick Cornell for the education and Ithaca is the coolest college town in the country.

Cornell is a higher-ranked school, and more socially diverse. People tell me Villanova is pretty homogeneous (upper class white), but if you fit that stereotype you might be very happy there. A Villanova runner we talked to said she wished she had chosen someplace else where "not everyone is the same." The cold weather in Ithaca, though, would be a negative in my book.

Christopher Bitchens wrote:

Cornell's team has 50+ women; I'd assume Villanova's is considerably smaller. Really a different kind of experience, I'd say; a high schooler who was interested in both programs would certainly need to visit, to get a better idea of each.

Good call. Villanova has fewer than 20 women on the team!

Yea Villanova has like 18 girls on the team whereas Cornell has 50+ so if you're not a top runner will attention be paid to you at Cornell? I guess it depends on what you're looking for but if it were me I'd pick villanova. Olympians are born there as the OP has said. And Gina has shown she really cares about her athletes and they're fairly consistent. Let's put it this way....Nova has a "bad" year and they're still nationally ranked and still fairly good. What happens when Cornell has a bad year? But like I said depends what you're looking for as a runner.

Well one program has 9 national championships and countless Olympians while the other has none and one Olympian (Uceny). If you're going based on running Villanova wins hands down. Gina will get you to where you can go. If you're potential is to run sub-16, she'll get you there. If its sub-17 she'll get u there as well.

Cornell is a better school in a better environment. Who wants to live around Philly people?

Villanova isn't near Philly. 30 minutes outside of Philly. Besides The op asked where to go if you wanna become the best runner and it's been proven time after time that villanova is one of the best programs. Just cause Cornell is having a good year doesn't mean they'll be good 2-3 years from now. Villanova has shown it can be consistent. Oh and another thing is to take into account the work load. Cornell is any Ivy therefore there will be A LOT more work. Villanova is hard but it's not an Ivy.

I live 50 minutes from ithaca and while it is very nice it is NOT the coolest college town in the country. The person above who told you ithaca was the coolest college town in the country either went to school there or thinks hipsters in "ithaca is goreous" t-shirts mean something.

kenny denny wrote:

I live 50 minutes from ithaca and while it is very nice it is NOT the coolest college town in the country. The person above who told you ithaca was the coolest college town in the country either went to school there or thinks hipsters in "ithaca is goreous" t-shirts mean something.

Ha ha- actually, Ithaca just won the Coolest College Town "award".

I live 60 minutes from there, I go all the time, it is very cool whether you're in college or not.

I didn't go there, but if I could do it all over again, I would.

But which school has the best XC program? I'm assuming when you're an athlete you go to practice, classes, do HW and hang out with teammates and you don't have much time for anything else. So which school to pick if you want to become the best runner......

kenny denny wrote:

The person above who told you ithaca was the coolest college town in the country either went to school there or thinks hipsters in "ithaca is goreous" t-shirts mean something.

That's "Ithaca is gorges," Kenny.

I take it that you're no threat to attend?

Uhhhh wrote:

Well one program has 9 national championships and countless Olympians while the other has none and one Olympian (Uceny).

Actually Cornell xc had another alumna who went to the Olympics--before Uceny was born--and she medaled: Marion Greig. You can look her up.

Oh, sure, her medal was in rowing, but still...

Absolutely Villanova. The best female distance school in the country. It's not even close.

Villanova hands down. If you're good enough to run for Nova why would you pass up that opportunity? You'll get to the next level if you go to Nova and you'll enjoy much success unless you have a serious injury or something. Cornell is good but their good year is as good as Villanova's bad year, if you catch what I'm saying.

Time for my standard line: "Different things work for different people."

Apparently most of the Cornell women must feel like they're getting enough attention, because a whole lot of them seem to stick through four years--even with limited chances to compete in the big meets. They may be getting that attention mostly from teammates, for all I know: I've seen the Cornell teams at track meets and the "family" feeling they (men's team as well, actually) project is striking. OTOH I would guess that basically every single woman on Villanova's team had a striking high school background, so I could see that as a great situation: high expectations, similar-level training partners, fewer teammates with whom to divide the coach's attention.

Though C certainly is stronger academically in many areas--does V even *have* an animal sciences or biomedical engineering major?--V does have some academic areas that are very widely respected, with excellent instruction. And if the workload *is* somewhat less rigorous at V, and the in-class competition somewhat reduced, that may be a better fit for a lot of students.

If V's student population *is* more homogeneous--and from what I've seen, it certainly is--that's not necessarily a negative for a lot of students and their families. OTOH Cornell, as a national university, is certainly going to have a wider mix of people, and some students may prefer that.

If holding an athletic scholarship is important to a student (or, realistically, her dad), then V is the way to go--Ivy League schools only have need-based financial aid! OTOH for quite a few students/families, C's need-based aid may result in a smaller bottom-line expenditure, compared to, say, a half-scholarship at V. Or not, depending on an individual's circumstances.

So I guess what I'd say is, "It depends." Hard to go wrong with either choice!

'Nova, hands down. They have produced many Olympic runners, the academics won't be killer like it would be at an Ivy League, and Gina is a great coach.

If you're talking about running alone, then Nova without a question. Gina is a highly respected coach and is considered one of the best in the country. She also truly cares for her runners so you know you'll be taken care of as a person as well. There are other things to look at...your academic interest, financial situation etc. BUT as the op asked, based on running, villanova without a question!