Sure everyone is going to pick Harvard over Davidson but would you pick Cornell over Georgia Tech?
Do I want to be a Supreme Court Justice? Ivy League all the way.
Do I want to be a software developer? Coin flip.
Do I want to be a professional engineer (with a PE)? I go they give me the most financial assistance, as graduate school is likely to be more important and I need money for that too.
Do I have no idea? I go where I had the most enjoyable* campus tour/prospetive weekend.
* And that varies by student - party vs courses vs whatever else.
I think if you are good enough to get into Cornell, you are good enough to get in Georgia Tech. The rest is cost. If you are an out-of-stater, they probably end up costing about the same. My understanding is Cornell gives out a lot of financial aids.
But depending high high you are aiming, it may or may not be worth the tradeoffs for you.
It always ranked up (down ;) there with Dartmouth.
Then one level above you have Brown and Columbia.
Then above them you have Harvard and Yale.
And right at the top sits dear old Princeton.
And somewhere off the side in the bushes you have UPenn, which today I learned is an Ivy.