Biological Engineering: College of Engineering vs. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
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Hey!
I’m currently a junior in HS interested in pursuing Biological Engineering. I will most likely apply to Cornell regular decision. I would say it is one of my top choices but I cannot apply early decision for financial reasons. Anyhow, I know Cornell offers the Biological Engineering major in two schools. My GPA is a 97.02 weighted, 95.8 unweighted. I have taken the SAT for practice and to get a feel of the test I got a 1490, though I guarantee you it will go up once I take the test “for real” in March. I take all honors, AP, and IB courses. By the end of HS I will have taken 7APs, 1 IB HL, and 9 honors courses. My schedule has been rigorous with the exception of my freshman year, when I only took 2 honors classes. I have also taken courses in molecular biology/biochemistry at my local community college. I have done research in Biology and I have presented at my state science fair, winning some awards. I plan to take the SAT subject test in Biology and Math 2. Finally, I would consider myself to be more of a science person than a math person, meaning I like science more and I get better grades in science. The only Bs I have gotten in high school have been in math, though all but one of my final grades have been As. I do think I am more of a life sciences person, though I do think I could thrive in a more rigorous STEM environment.

What school do you think would be the best fit for me? Do the majors at each school differ in quality? Would I be better off at one rather than the other in terms of my career after college? What school do you think I have a better chance of getting into? Do I even have a chance at all? Thank you so much :).

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@sciencenerd123 I had similar questions and finally concluded engineering was the right path for me. First things first. Yes, you have a chance. I’m not sure what 97.02 is on a 4.0 scale but I think that’s pretty much a 4.0. When you say SAT for practice, do you mean you did it at home and self-scored a 1490 or did you officially take it and plan to take it again? Because that’s like 99 percentile already. Your course rigor sounds good. Make sure you finish your junior year strong because that will be the record they have to work from when making a decision. And hopefully you have a decent list of ECs and can show some leadership in a few activities.

Anyway, I may not be totally informed, but I think of biological sciences as more academic and research oriented - meaning you could be a teacher someday or work in a biolab somewhere for a big pharmaceutical company. Biological Engineering on the other hand, I imagine it more like manipulating the body at the cellular level and engineering cures and diseases and even doing things related to biometrics (finger print scanner on an iPhone). I actually chose Biomedical Engineering and was admitted ED in December. I wanted to be more hands on and do things with 3D printers and manipulate medical devices and even create new prosthetics for disabled people (biomechanics). That sort of stuff. I’m better at math than science, but I think both colleges borrow a lot from each other and both take similar classes. You can just google Biological Sciences vs Biological Engineering and you’ll see the differences. Both programs are top notch at Cornell though so you can’t lose with either decision.

From what I have read CAS has more applicants, therefore more competition, but CoE is more selective and you have to show a good grasp of both math and science equally. Are you a girl or a guy? Because girls might have a slight advantage in gaining acceptance in CoE because it’s so male dominated and they want to balance it out. That’s speculation on my part but makes sense.

You are the third person I have read that said they can’t apply ED because of financial reasons. I don’t think you really know how that all works. What does that even mean? You’re not talking about the $80 application fee right? Because everyone pays that unless you have a waiver. And the financial aid offers are the same whether you are ED or RD. I got a pretty generous package and it wouldn’t have been any different if I applied RD. The FAFSA is what it is regardless of timing. If you apply ED and still can’t afford it, you can get out of the binding agreement easily and just accept somewhere else. I had five other EA applications in at the same time as Cornell so I was still able to compare financial aid offers too. Cornell’s was the best one believe it or not. PM me if you want specific details.

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So I know nothing about biological engineering, but typically when Cornell offers the same major in two colleges, the major is exactly the same in both. There’s only one department of biological engineering, and all your major classes will be through that department regardless of which college you’re in.

The difference usually is in the graduation requirements for CALS vs. Engineering, i.e. the classes you’ll have to take outside your major. However, the website for biological engineering says that the program “follows the academic requirements of the Cornell College of Engineering.” I’m not sure if this means that you’ll have to follow the engineering requirements even if you’re in CALS, which doesn’t make a ton of sense to me because in that case there doesn’t seem to be a point in offering it in both colleges.

Maybe someone who’s a current biological engineering major will comment, but if not, the main thing to keep in mind is that the major should be exactly the same in both colleges.

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@cotopaxi the thing about not applying ED is that it is binding, and therefore the only financial aid package you get is the one from Cornell, so you can’t really compare costs. Binding ED benefits those who are super rich or super poor, because the rich don’t worry about financial aid, and the poor have a better chance at getting more financial aid ED. I’m somewhere in the middle.

Also, I am a girl. Biological engineering is offered at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences AND the College of Engineering, but I’m not sure which one I would apply for. I think I have a greater chance at CALS. Also, I don’t know if I want to do Biological Engineering or Biomedical, but I think if I choose CALS and decide I want to do Biomedical I can transfer, right?

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@sciencenerd123 I’m sorry, I don’t agree with you. You absolutely can compare costs. You are still aloud to apply EA (early action) while still applying ED to Cornell. You’re just not aloud to apply ED anywhere else, but many schools have EA instead so take advantage of it.

And where did you get you information about ED being for rich and poor? I’m dead center middle class and got a package my parents could afford and even a small merit scholarship from the CoE called the John McMullen Dean’s Scholar on top of it. Yes, it’s still steep compared to my state university where I got almost a full ride, but I’m convinced it’s worth the cost. It is an out of state Ivy after all. I didn’t apply thinking it would be a free education. And by binding, it’s more of a guideline. It’s not a legal document, they can’t take you to court, and to get out of it, you basically send a letter to admission that the cost is too much. In some cases they may even work with the applicant and give them a little more financial aid just to keep them. There are threads on here where people have said that. Anyway, it’s up to you. I knew Cornell was my #1 and so ED and it’s bump in acceptance rates was the right call for me. And like I said, I had 5 other early action applications in at the same time and I got accepted to all 5 and was able to compare financial aid before the deadline to enroll at Cornell. It was a win-win.

As for your major, you are applying to a specific college so you sort of have to be sure about it because they frown heavily on transferring colleges. They said that at least three times during the info session. However, if its between biological sciences and biological engineering it might be a little easier since the course work is similar. A lot of people try to game the system by declaring an easy major like general business and then decide once they get there to switch to something else like hotel management. They end up being denied unless they can make a good case because they have to balance out the university and there’s only so many desks so to speak.

Your comment about greater chance at CALS is speculation too. It all depends on the makeup of the incoming class and where they need balance that particular year. And, by the way, I’m a girl too, and I think that actually gave me a significant advantage for CoE because as a whole its about 70% male and they need more girls so that’s likely to give you a few more percentage points in your favor. Again, that’s an educated guess but make a lot of sense. My interviewer even said as much.

I recommend you conduct your own research about acceptance rates at the various colleges, their breakdown by gender, and how binding the ED really is. There is ton of information out there, but sometimes its tucked away deep in a website. This site is helpful but sometimes people are misinformed or just guessing. I have done a lot of that myself, but I’m always careful to state something as fact if I don’t know it for certain.

Anyway, it’s super cool you are doing this much information gathering as a junior. It’s really going to help you next fall when you start sending applications. I’m amazed at how many people wait until September of their senior year (or even later) to start figuring out how the game is played.

You remind me of me. :slight_smile: Feel free to ask me anything.

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@cotopaxi I’ve had a whole bunch of conversations with my parents about ED vs. EA vs. RD., and they say that I can only apply EA. and RD., again because of financial reasons. I do see your point though. As for COE vs. CALS, I really think I’d be OK at either school since on the biological engineering website they say that since they both offer the major, the classes are identical. You said you were accepted ED–are you already at Cornell or were you accepted just last month? Do you know anything about the culture-- like for examples, are the contract colleges (like CALS) seen as “less than” or not ivy league? I mean, I don’t care THAT much about what other people think, but there are probably a handful of people that think that. Also, what were the other colleges you applied to or were looking at for biomedical/biological engineering?

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@sciencenerd123 I was just accepted ED in December. My parents paid the deposit the very next day, before even seeing the financial aid. That’s how excited everyone was. It made for a great holiday knowing I didn’t have to even think about applications and waiting on pins and needles for 3 or 4 more months. Now I just have to make sure I keep my senioritis in check. I am sooo done with high school. I want it to end.

I don’t know that much about Cornell culture to be honest, only what I have read on here and talking with the two people I know who graduated from there. They are in their 20s so its pretty recent. They say its a really cool place, classes are tough, but still plenty of time to play, but you only get out of it what you put in. I guess that would be true of anywhere though. As for contract college, forget about that. Doesn’t matter. That distinction just means the state of NY funds part of it. No shame in that. Same admittance standards apply. When people in the future ask you where you graduated from, you proudly say CORNELL! Period, end of discussion. They might ask what you majored in, but they don’t say, oh but that’s a contract college you loser. LOL. Just get in. All that other stuff you can’t control just adds anxiety for no reason.

I had all the biomed universities on my list and was prepared to apply to all of them, except Cornell came through so I didn’t have to. I visited and was applying to Duke, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Columbia, Princeton, and Rice. Plus a handful of other safety schools. Johns Hopkins was probably my second favorite reach school. Look into Virginia Tech as well. I really, really liked them too. I did not look at anything out in California. Too far to travel to come home on holidays. I also liked UNC Chapel Hill, Clemson and Vanderbilt. Avoid Rensselaer (RPI) like the plague. Awful experience when we visited that one. I also didn’t like Virginia despite their reputation for good biological majors. I visited 14 schools in all over 18 months. Start early if you haven’t already. I’m one of those people who needs to see them for myself. I can’t go by brochures, websites and reputation alone. Fourteen is a crazy number and unrealistic for most people, but hopefully you’ll be able to visit a few outside of your own state at least. Shoot for at least 3 or 4 in another part of the country. I live in the south and the schools here are great, I just wanted to move north for some reason. LOL.

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@cotopaxi see the thing is I’m from maine and my parents don’t want me to go too far-- 5 hours away at most I think. Cornell isn’t my top choice AND it’s 7 hours away from where I live, but I really like it and if I get in I bet I can work some magic and convince them to let me go haha. I’ll have at least a few acceptances from early action and then I’ll worry about regular decision because all of those will be my top “reach” schools. So far I’ve only visited WPI, Tufts, and Brown.