<p>What's the difference? I'm looking at their website and it looks like both offer the same subjects ("programs of study", according to their website). How do I choose between them if I want to major in biology?</p>
<p>This has been asked a lot 
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/236588-biology-cas-vs-cals.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/236588-biology-cas-vs-cals.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/957682-cals-vs-cas.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/957682-cals-vs-cas.html</a>
Read these two, they describe everything. To summarize: CALS is cheaper for NY residents because of the state funding, and gives you BS. CAS is more liberal arts thus more rigorous and has slightly lower acceptance rate. Overall: same proffs, similar knowledge and if you are not a NY resident same price.
P.S I personally applied for CALS because really wanna stay at Cornell (higher AR), and aiming for med school so can get a higher GPA :)</p>
<p>also, just since you didn’t mention it, CAS students earn a BA.</p>
<p>I am not sure what you mean by CAS being “more rigorous.”
the classes that are in the biology major are exactly the same between both schools. in that you are all seated in the same lecture hall listening to the same professor, taking the same exams, and being graded against each other. the biology major is therefore equally rigorously between the two schools. you don’t just have similar knowledge, you have the exact same knowledge…or the exact same opportunity to get knowledge anyway. :)</p>
<p>but if you meant that CAS is actually a more rigorous education overall, I think that is not necessarily the case either. I also don’t see why a bio major in CALS would be expected to have a higher GPA. you can take a max of 55 credits (that’s like 3+ entire semesters worth of coursework) outside of CALS, and you only have to take a minimum of 55 credits in CALS. I’m a CALS bio major with a minor also in CALS, and I am going to have 60+ CALS credits by the end of junior year without trying (and less than 30 CAS credits). I will even say that if you want to have a liberal arts-style education in CALS, it’s totally feasible. you just aren’t forced to.</p>
<p>personally I like CALS because in this coming semesters, half my classes are not going toward my major or minor, but I could just choose whatever I wanted, because I don’t have to do breadth and geography and all that stuff. I think this allows me to get a better biology education than I could have elsewhere. I’ll end up taking a couple of (cool, interesting) advanced bio courses outside of my chosen program of study instead of taking some other subject because someone else thinks it’s important.
(as you can tell I’m not much for a liberal arts education, and I chose my school accordingly…)</p>
Hey, does anyone know whether it is better to apply to CAS or CALS if i’ve decided to go on the pre med route?
Does the liberal arts approach at CAS give a significant advantage when applying to med school?