<p>So I have recently been looking into Cornell a lot recently, and I think it is my favorite as of now if I were somehow able to get in, and the financial aid was enough. I was specifically really interested in the AEM and ILR programs. AEM because right now I am most interested in business and the courses seem really interesting. ILR combines a lot of areas that I am interested in and seems like it offers a lot of very practical learning (The main reason I like Cornell a lot more than the other reach schools I am looking at.) I was just wondering if anyone could answer a couple questions about these programs and the university in general.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>My first question is about applying. Is your second choice only considered if you are rejected from the first option? The reason I ask is that I am not sure which of these two I am more interested in, and I would like to have visited before I have to choose between them. I don't want to visit unless I get accepted, because I don't want to make the trip from Wisconsin and fall in love with the school then get rejected. </p></li>
<li><p>Could anyone who was in either of these programs tell me some of the things they liked about it or things they didn't like? How do these programs compare in difficulty to the rest of Cornell? I realize anything is going to be tough as it is Cornell and I would be in the lower half of the class going in.</p></li>
<li><p>How much emphasis does Cornell place on EC's for admissions? I know for HYPS you need something big as all applicants have insane stats. I am guessing I have below average ECs compared to applicants. (4 years bowling-3 varsity, President of school DECA chapter, Church council representative, church youth group leader, a few other clubs I wasn't very involved in)</p></li>
<li><p>How hard is it to transfer between schools? Would I be able to take AEM courses if I were in ILR and vica versa? Would those classes be useless in graduation requirements if I did?</p></li>
<li><p>What is the social atmosphere like? I know it is vague so answer as you please.</p></li>
<li><p>What resources are there for out of class help and how accessible are they?</p></li>
<li><p>Do students care much about athletics? Obviously it won't compare to large state schools, but I was hoping that since Cornell has pretty good basketball, hockey, lacrosse teams you could still kind of get that experience. </p></li>
<li><p>Just any other information that you feel prospective applicants should know</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you for your time, and don't feel like you have to answer every single question.</p>
<ol>
<li>Yes; your second choice is only considered if you’re rejected from your first. The two majors you mentioned are quite different and while you may still choose to apply to both, you should have a preference when you apply. You should be able to glean the fundamental differences between the goals of the programs if you do enough research. A visit would be ideal, but not completely necessary to become familiar with each option.</li>
<li>I’m not in either program but I have multiple friends in each and have taken classes in each as well. ILR is jokingly said to stand for “I Love Reading.” You should expect quite a bit of reading and writing and a qualitative approach to learning. ILR is notoriously liberal and pro-union and this is obvious upon interaction with the professors. Many students are pre-law. AEM is more quantitative and has a lot of Wall Street, cut-throat, finance type kids. There is a much heavier emphasis on business practices than business history (ILR). AEM feeds into Goldman Sachs and all the other big banks as well as the big consulting firms. Both AEM and ILR are considered “easy” majors at Cornell. Most students in AEM or ILR won’t admit it, but it’s a far cry from Engineering or even A&S.</li>
<li>I really don’t know the details behind admissions, but I’m sure they have a significant value. The only advice I could give would be to do everything you can in the next few months to be involved and add to your application.</li>
<li>That really depends on which schools you want to transfer between. ILR has a relatively rigid curriculum and is somewhat tough to transfer into. AEM is easier, but transfer admissions are highly competitive. There will be some overlap between the two majors and some classes will fill requirements for both. By all means, you’re able to take classes in other majors and in others schools. If they overlap with your requirements, they’re very valuable. If not, they’re just elective credits (which you need anyways).</li>
<li>Cornell is a pretty fun school. It gets the rap as a suicide school and being depressing all of the time, but that’s really not true. Things have taken a turn for the worse over the past few years as the university has really cracked down on the greek system, but there’s still lots of fun to be had. If you’re into that scene, rush and you’ll be happy. If you’re not, don’t worry, you still won’t be bored.</li>
<li>There are tutors available (presumably for a cost) and plenty of other resources on campus. TA’s can be great or terrible but it’s not hard to find help if you need it. One of the best resources you’ll find will be your peers. You’re surrounded by smart people who are generally able and willing to help. If you want them to be, your friends can be the best academic support system you ever have.</li>
<li>As a good high school athlete, the sports scene was somewhat disappointing. People do get into hockey and those games can be a lot of fun if you go with a group of friends, but that’s about it. Very few people go to any other games unless they have friends on the team. That being said, if you make good friends and can get them to go with you, there’s nothing to worry about.</li>
<li>I love it and so do all of my friends. We complain a lot, but when we’re home we realize we have it better than just about anyone else. The weather can suck, but it’s a great place.</li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you very much! Right now I am leaning towards AEM because I have been leaning towards a business field for a while now, but the info packet I got from ILR made it seem interesting and also gave you a lot of different options coming out of college. What are some of the other popular fields coming out of AEM? I don’t really think IB is for me nor would New York be my first choice in where to live.</p>
<p>One more question. Is it normal to get mail from a specific school, but not from any of the others or the general university? What are some reasons I may have gotten mail from ILR?</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s necessarily odd to get mail from only one school. It may just be that you put down HR or Union something or anything along those lines as a career interest and got tagged by ILR. It could really have been anything; I wouldn’t read too far into it.</p>
<p>You should visit campus & go to the info sessions for both. Not only would this help you decide which you would prefer, but it also helps in formulating your essay, which is specific to the college within Cornell you are applying to. If you like the college & both programs, you may want to take a look at admission rates for each to see which you would have a better chance of admission to.</p>
<p>I have no idea why ILR is marketing as they are over-subcribed for the class entering this fall. (Communicated during college admission session during Reunion this year.) My son also received the ILR mailing/email and he has only contacted a different school within the university. </p>
<p>ILR is an interesting course of study. Drill down on the class offerings on the website and also see the related non-ILR courses you can pursue. You can make it what you want it.</p>
<p>ILR has been doing this for at least the last three years, I know that they were the only college at Cornell that my D received literature from (she was a 2011 HS grad.)</p>
<p>csdad–interesting, but I think they need to stop b/c the yield management guy sounded a little annoyed! Heard second hand from two different friends as I did not attend Reunion. But, he expressed his discontent with the over-subscription for this fall’s class.</p>
<p>My understanding is that Cornell’s suicide rate is no higher than that at comparable schools. Cornell might have that reputation because a documentary on college suicide featured many pictures of Cornell’s gorges…quite dramatic, to be sure, but misleading.</p>
<p>Not to mention that said gorges can confuse the situation in another way: by facilitating public accidents. For example, many years ago a certain fraternity’s activities were suspended because one fine evening, they held a party, somebody got drunk and made it <em>halfway</em> across one of the suspension bridges. Accident, but I can see how people would jump [no pun intended!] to another conclusion.</p>
<p>When I was there, Cornell had quite a diverse social life. A club for pretty much every interest you could think of, and many you couldn’t. (Fits in well with our motto, no?) I was a GDI but got on OK.</p>
<p>As for athletics, Cornell has some pretty active crew, hockey and football teams, among others. I didn’t participate, but certainly could have if I’d wanted to.</p>
<p>Last but not least, you’re right on target about the practical learning. (Check out our motto if you haven’t done so already!) That’s why Cornell’s the only Ivy to make this list:</p>