Hi! I am planning on submitting my application to Cornell University this week. However, I am unsure what to indicate as my choice of major. I am interested in drug delivery, cellular engineering, and other biology-related engineering areas. Cornell has three majors that cater to my interests–Biological Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Chemical Engineering.
For most other colleges that I have applied to, I have selected Biomedical Engineering if it is offered and has concentrations in molecular-level or cell-based bioengineering. For other schools I have selected Chemical Engineering with the hopes of pursuing a biological engineering track.
At Cornell, I understand that Biomedical Engineering is new, and that it therefore might not be as developed with regards to having many concentrations and a good reputation. For bioengineering at Cornell, I am confused about how it is offered in two schools (engineering and agriculture) and I am concerned that it might have too much of an agricultural focus. Other than that however, it seems like a solid option for me. Chemical Engineering seems good as well, but it is confusing to me that there is a biomedical engineering concentration within it (which I would likely pursue). However, what would cause someone to choose a Biomedical Engineering track in a Chemical Engineering major over a Biomedical Engineering major alone, or vice versa? Also, I noticed that there is a Biomedical Engineering concentration within the Biological Engineering major.
Overall, based on all this, it seems that I could cater any of these three majors to my interests, which makes me all the more confused on which I should pursue.
Thank you in advance for all your help!
I assume each major has associated with it a core group of courses one has to take, and then groups of electives that can count towards that major. Look for that information and determine which course pool melds most closely with your interests.
But do you really have to decide that now? It used to be that engineering students didn’t have to select a major till sophomore year. If an actual major selection is not required upon application I think it would be fine to cite the general areas you think are interested in now, and say that the specific major will be determined later on as you progress in your studies.
They can’t reasonably expect somebody to have made these fine distinctions between similar programs before you even show up. Heck, after your first three semesters you might find you are actually turned on by materials science. Or economics. Or…
@wannabeBlueDevil Nice nickname by the way. Did you apply ED at Duke? Any results yet? I applied ED biomedical at Cornell, or lets call it BME from now on. Your assertion that it is new is not true. Only the undergrad program is new, but the graduate level BME has been around a long time and is listed as the #3 or #4 program, depending on the publication, only behind Johns Hopkins and Duke. I don’t think it really matters which one you chose because you don’t really start focusing on a specialty until second semester sophomore year. But, I’ll be honest, if you are unsure at this point then I think that might become obvious in your supplemental essay. They will sniff out that you are unsure of your fit and that might work against you. With it being so tough to get in, you have to convince them you know all about Cornell and what you want to do to make the world a better place as a Cornell grad. A generic essay will become obvious to them. Maybe you should chose chemical engineering and focus on a story of how you’d like to work on low cost pharmaceutical solutions for the underdeveloped world or something like that. My cousin did that and got into Columbia. Good luck.
Thanks @cotopaxi ! Haha thanks… I wanted to apply ED Duke, but I last minute decided that I wasn’t ready to make that commitment so I went RD and just applied to some other schools EA. Good luck with your ED to Cornell! When do you find out?
Thanks for the advice. I think I will go with chemical for now.