<p>OK, I'm really baffled by the primary-alternate thing at this point. </p>
<p>I assumed that Cornell could reject you from your primary choice and then accept you into the alternate program. </p>
<p>But now I just read this on the Cornell website...</p>
<p>Question: If I apply to a primary and an alternate choice college, will I receive decisions from both colleges? </p>
<p>Answer: Applicants will receive only one decision from Cornell University. Once a decision is rendered by Cornell University, requests to be considered by additional colleges and schools at Cornell will not be honored.</p>
<p>So then what's the point of applying primary and alternate? Is it just for people who can't decide between two schools they would equally like to attend?</p>
<p>No. Only a small percentage of applications are forwarded on to the secondary college. And if you are rejected at the secondary choice, I do not believe there would be any indication that you were ever considered for the second choice.</p>
<p>OK, so in my case I would like to study AEM in CALS, but I'm also interested in doing double-major in math and econ in regular CAS. And AEM takes 95 kids a year, so my chance of making it is absolutely tiny. So, considering both those things, the smart choice would be to apply primary choice to CAS for math and econ?</p>
<p>I'm also confused... I'm applying to HumEc and I'm completely in love with it, but should I apply to CALS as my alternate choice just in case? I wrote the CALS essay and do like their Biological Sciences major, but i vastly prefer HumEc's HBHS major.
Does applying to an alternate choice, in the adcoms' eyes, show less interest in the primary choice?</p>