<p>You know, i'm no expert, but i think people here are overexaggerating the difficulty of AEM. I'm instate and my school is considered a feeder for cornell (we get around 20 acceptances a year)...this year, some of the best and most interesting kids from my school got rejected Early Decision from Arts and Sciences while a bunch of totally-average, nothing-special, not-really-that-smart kids got into AEM...at least in my school, arts and sciences is considered harder to get into...</p>
<p>lol i hope so. my school usually gets over 20 kids accepted to cornell too.. and we're in nj</p>
<p>but doesnt AEM only accept like a little over 100 into the program?
last year's class size was about 100 kids with a 77% matriculation rate.</p>
<p>BigJake: I'm not a student, I'm an alum. I am not comfortable having private conversations with students, so we'll have to keep it to this board. I don't have the figures for last year's class by college, because the university did not release them. For the class of 2007 the admission rate for CALS was 29.9% and the admission rate for CAS was 28.5%, which makes CAS more competitive to gain admission to. The 2008 numbers are lower; I just don't know exactly what they are. However, within CALS, the AEM major had an admission rate of 19% for the class of 2008, which makes it the most competitive program in the university. </p>
<p>Cornell admissions officers really read applications thoroughly -- essays, community service, extra-curriculars, work experience, etc. are extremely important. The stats are just a piece of the whole student. They are looking to build a class and among other traits, strong character is very important. Of your friends that were rejected, you don't know what their entire application looked like. It irks me when students demean other students just because they were admitted. I hope your essay doesnt reflect the kind of haughtiness displayed in your post. </p>
<p>Undecided87: I'm not sure if 100 students are admitted, or 100 student matriculate in the program, but I do know that the yield is very high in AEM.</p>
<p>BigJake: I hope I wasn't too harsh on you, but when kids talk about fellow students in anything but a supportive tone, it's like chalk on a blackboard to me. Please don't reply to my post with a list of applicants from your school and their qualifications-- not interested.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I am happy to answer anyone's questions about Cornell to the best of my ability. </p>
<p>I wanted comment on your research background. Your counselor was correct about your independent research experience being a good fit for CALS, but I would add that all 7 colleges support research. I think if you highlight it on your application, it would make your application stand out, even if you don't want to pursue research in college. About 75 or so freshmen get nominated as a Presidential Research Scholar. You don't apply as a freshmen, you just get selected. Since you obviously know research methods, etc, I think you would have a strong chance of becoming selected. As a Presidential Scholar, you can do your research in any field, including Economics if you want to. That would be a valuable resume builder when you are looking for a job. Here's the link: <a href="http://www.commitment.cornell.edu/CPRS/index.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.commitment.cornell.edu/CPRS/index.htm</a></p>
<p>my friend got denied from AEM and accepted to Wharton and NYU Stern. She's at Wharton this year. It all varies. Apply if it's what you want to do. Don't let the low acceptance rate sway your decision to apply.</p>
<p>Are Econonics majors in CAS highly recruited by investment banking and consulting firms just like the AEM program? I understand a lot go on to law school or business school but I'm interested in having a well paying job right after college. What types of jobs do Econ majors at Cornell usually land after college?</p>
<p>WidespreadTonic: I'm not as familiar with CAS as I am with CALS, but I have heard than Econ majors have a lot of success landing great jobs upon graduation. I'm sure the recruiting is very strong. I don't know enough about Econ to compare the recruiting from the two colleges though. Take a look at this website:<a href="http://www.arts.cornell.edu/career/majors/majors.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.arts.cornell.edu/career/majors/majors.asp</a> and scroll down to Economics. It actually offers some excellent advice on strategies; which clubs to join etc. so you can build a nice resume during your tenure at college.</p>
<p>Hey nagromis, you're right. I was out of the line. The thing is that, just as you were voicing your frustation, i was voicing mine - regarding the whole randomness of the college process. You don't know these kids. From what i've heard about cornell, they did not deserve to get in and it still puzzles me how they gained acceptance.</p>
<p>My cousin transferred into the AEM from a community college. She spent two years at the comm. college and 2.5 years at Cornell. She had to work extremely hard at Cornell to succeed in that program. She graduated with a 3.9 GPA and a double major in AEM / communications at CALS. Today, she works as an i-banker for one of the top banks in NYC.</p>
<p>WidespreadTonic: Econ majors do just as well as AEM majors in landing jobs. When it comes to finding a job, it's more about what you have done on and off campus rather than your major. I know econ majors who ended up with top Ibank jobs. As of consulting, it matters even less. I believe there are plenty of ILR students ended up working for consulting firm (mostly human resources). I think there are more Cornell engineers in consulting firms than AEM majors.</p>
<p>CAS Econ majors have one of the highest median incomes following graduation.</p>
<p>Whether you major in AEM or Econ will not affect your job chances whatsoever. Investment banking firms take as many Econ majors as Business majors upon graduation.</p>
<p>The main difference is the cirriculum between CAS and CALS. In CALS you'll have to take more sciences, and in CAS you'll have to take more arts/humanities courses. Also, AEM major will be required to take more business electives and less upper-level econ courses (such as advanced theories, econometrics, etc), and vis versa.</p>
<p>I am going to do Econ because I am interested in a wide range of humanities/sciences as well.</p>