<p>How is the AEM (applied economics and management) program at Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences different from the economics major at the College of Arts and Sciences? Like what are the major, most notable differences?</p>
<p>Bump 1 time</p>
<p>I’m a Gov/Econ major with AEM friends. I’m also going to take some AEM classes.</p>
<p>AEM is essentially a business degree. Economics is very theoretical and not necessarily always applicable in the business world. Economics is also the more rigorous major.</p>
<p>Really depends on what you’re looking for. A lot of classes are cross-listed, so you can take classes in both departments no matter what you choose. It’s easier to take Econ classes as an AEM major than it is to take AEM classes as an Econ major. AEM gives priority to CALS majors while Econ doesn’t seem to give priority to CAS majors, which is somewhat ridiculous in my opinion.</p>
<p>If you do AEM, you have to fulfill CALS’ hard science requirements. On the other hand, if you do Econ, you have to fulfill CAS’ foreign language requirements, along with various other ones. I only mention foreign language specifically because it’s the most annoying.</p>
<p>And there’s definitely different types of students in each program. You’re more likely to see hooked students in AEM and certainly more people looking to go into a corporate career right after Cornell. To be fair, though, not all the econ majors could really give a damn about the science of economics as well. You’ll find more people that use the major as a means into something else.</p>
<p>AEM gives priority to CALS majors while Econ doesn’t seem to give priority to CAS majors, which is somewhat ridiculous in my opinion.</p>
<p>CALS applicants must pick a major to fulfill while CAS applicants do not; and this is why classes like Financial Accounting have to cater to specific subsets of students each semester. Many CAS classes are also distribution requirements for other colleges. Introductory and intermediate economics classes are taken by plenty of people not economics majors.</p>
<p>Is AEM much more difficult to get into than Economics? I know AEM has one of the smallest class sizes.</p>
<p>@Islander</p>
<p>It just feels kind of unfair that AEM majors get to sign up for our classes as equals, yet we can sign up before them in AEM classes and still get booted so the class can accommodate them. I couldn’t even get into Intermediate Macro for next semester while AEM majors could. And of course all of the AEM classes are walled off to non-AEM freshman. Ridiculous.</p>
<p>By the way, how did you do on the two prelims for Troshkin so far? I did pretty terribly on both, but the curve made it just about impossible to fail.</p>
<p>@Rocnation951</p>
<p>It’s 11% vs 14.5%, so it’s slightly more difficult, but I would just pick the one you want to go with.</p>
<p>@Saugus</p>
<p>other majors have plenty of chances to get into AEM classes – in fact, many AEM classes aren’t even sectioned in a way that gives AEM students priority, which is utterly ridiculous. it’s pretty much the freshmen classes that are grouped off. this ensures that freshmen AEM majors get a more community feel. why do you think it’s a business school? if non-AEM majors want to take AEM classes so badly they should have applied to AEM and gotten in that way.</p>
<p>what you also forget is some AEM professors teach ECON classes, so thats why ECON is not sectioned off to just ECON students. i dont understand where you’re seeing AEM majors get into intermediate macro whereas you couldn’t get in, since not many AEM majors take intermediate macro in the first place. if you’re saying senior AEM majors vs. you, then that’s just class standing and i dont see anything wrong with that.</p>
<p>@OP</p>
<p>difference is just practical vs. theoretical. AEM has more of a community feel to it. the soft skills are emphasized and we hope to offer dyson students more professional development in the near future as well. that being said, both are great majors and students from both go on to finance jobs (but if youre interested in marketing etc, AEM is the way to go).</p>
<p>“If non-AEM majors want to take AEM classes so badly they should have applied to AEM and gotten in that way.”</p>
<p>The same can be said for just about any subject. If AEM majors like Econ, then they should have applied to CAS…</p>
<p>The course roster states things like “priority given to CALS majors,” etc. Are you saying that that isn’t actually enforced?</p>
<p>And I’m okay with not taking Macro next semester. I was just using it as an example.</p>
<p>FYI, most classes that are full have space open up during the first week of classes. In the one case in my Cornell career when the class remained full, the professor petitioned the department to allow him to expand the class size for the few of us who couldn’t register. Although I think that’s more an exception than the rule.</p>
<p>^
That’s what I was hoping for for the American Presidency with Sanders. It was my top choice but they capped it at 50 for some reason. </p>
<p>My faculty advisor told me that it isn’t like it’s significant in an election year or anything and will be around in the future, so he advised me to just stick with my current schedule.</p>
<p>yes, the same can be said of any subject but some ECON classes are required for AEM majors and some AEM professors teach ECON classes while it’s not the same the other way around.</p>
<p>whether or not it’s enforced depends on the professor, but in student center it isn’t enforced. we’re trying to change that.</p>
<p>^
Do you know how hard it is to get into Financial Accounting as a sophomore?</p>
<p>before they started pre-enrolling AEM students, it was also hard for AEM students to get in… why is it so crucial for ECON sophomores to take financial accounting?</p>
<p>^
It wasn’t a rhetorical question; it was an actual question.</p>
<p>What about as a junior?</p>
<p>If you’re not in CALS, it’s much easier to get into and stay in that class in the spring since it’s open to everyone. Spots filled up very quickly for next semester, though.</p>
<p>My kid took finance courses in Hotel when she couldn’t get into AEM.</p>
<p>So do you recommend I use the primary-alternate choice to apply for AEM and economics?
AEM is my first choice</p>
<p>I’d say if you are interested in a business degree, you should really just apply to AEM. Econ really is quite different. If you don’t get into AEM, then move on to the next business program that accepts you. If you are unsure about your academic interests, by all means apply to both, but if you have a clear preference, really the only way you’d be admitted into Econ is if in your essays it became clear that while you thought AEM was what you wanted, your interests better align with CAS/Econ.</p>
<p>what mikey said ^.</p>
<p>and yes, seeing as how im an AEM major and i had to get into financial accounting as a sophomore, i know how hard / not hard it is to get into the class…</p>
<p>What people should keep in mind here is that the traditional ‘business’ jobs don’t care what your major is, coming out of Cornell. Finance, consulting, F500, etc all recruit out of all schools within Cornell, not just AEM/ Econ. </p>
<p>Many kids I know who are working in banking/consulting were liberal arts/ PAM/ Hotel majors. Companies couldn’t care less if you are AEM major. They want someone with high gpa and relevant internships. Something to keep in mind.</p>