<p>I'm planning on majoring in Biology, probably with a concentration in neuroscience. I'm a NYS resident, so right now I'm leaning towards CALS because of the money I would save. I visited Cornell and actually liked CAS better and thought it would be a better fit because I also enjoy Art History and enjoy the idea of a liberal arts education. However, finding out about the price difference between the colleges has pushed me in the direction of CALS. I don't really have an interest in the environment though, so I'm worried that I have a better chance of being accepted to CAS and if I choose CALS, I won't be accepted at all. I know the biology program is the exact same between both of the schools. I can post my SAT/ ACT scores, GPA and what classes and ECs I've taken if that will help. I'm just worried that I will not be accepted to Cornell at all. I'm applying RD. </p>
<p>I would say CALS. It’s 10k cheaper and has much fewer graduation requirements. It also offers a lot of freedom to study what you want, you just have to take at least 55 credits within CALS, but that shouldn’t be too hard. </p>
<p>Do you think it matters that I don’t have a strong interest in the environment or farming? I probably want to work in a lab and study humans, not animals or plants. </p>
<p>…just because it has agriculture in it’s name doesn’t mean you have to be a farmer to be admitted. The Dyson major is in CALS, and so are a bunch of other majors that don’t have direct applications to agriculture. CALS is more about local outreach and applied research. </p>
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<p>In this case, CAS is your best bet. Not that you can’t take liberal arts-type classes in CALS, but I feel like the mission of Arts and Sciences would suit you a lot better. I’m a GT to CALS and really like having the freedom of not having to take that many humanities classes, but for you it might be the opposite, haha. </p>
<p>Have you considered HumEc as another alternative? It doesn’t offer Biological Sciences straight up but has a couple of similar majors and is also a contract college. I admit I’m not too familiar with it, but from what I’ve read, it sounds a lot like CALS with a liberal arts twist, which might be up your alley. </p>
<p>Best of luck! </p>
<p>While it does sound like CAS would suit your needs better, the appeal of CALS’ lower tuition rate is hard to ignore. You don’t actually have to take any specifically environmental or agricultural courses in CALS. To fill the distribution requirements, you’d need to take a certain number of credits in introductory life sciences/biological sciences, chemistry/physics, quantitative literacy courses, and social sciences/humanities. </p>
<p>Keep in mind you are also allowed to take courses outside of CALS! If you’re interested in art history, you can minor in it if you wanted to, or just take some courses in the department for fun. My roommate is an agricultural science major in CALS but she’s getting a minor in philosophy through CAS.</p>
<p>Hey bud, you should really just go through CALS. You can easily take classes outside of your college.</p>
<p>CALS is a pretty funny school in general. There’s a bunch of random majors that are mostly science oriented (except for Dyson) all smacked together, and that’s how you get the 2nd biggest school in Cornell. Basically everyone graduates from CALS with a BS, while most CAS kids graduate with a BA. </p>
<p>It’s really up to you though, but CALS is almost always the better choice for NY residents. I personally applied through CALS for engineering (Biological and Enviromental), and I have no interest in agriculture. Good luck!</p>
<p>The biology major itself is the same. The difference is in the curriculum you would take outside the major.
The biology major consumes about 40 credits within CALS. However the minimum in-CALS graduation requirement is 55 credits. So you would have to take about a full semester’s worth of courses that you might select otherwise if you attended CAS instead.</p>
<p>“CALS credits include all courses from departments within CALS and courses offered in the Biological Sciences, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Information Science, and Nutritional Sciences Departments. Specifically, courses offered under the following subject prefixes count as CALS credits: AGSCI, AIS, ALS, AEM, ANSC, BEE, BIOG, BIOAP, BIOEE, BIOMG, BIOMI, BIOMS, BIONB, BIOPL, BIOSM, BSOC, BTRY, COMM, CSS, DSOC, EAS, EDUC, ENTOM, FDSC, HORT, IARD, INFO, LA, NS, NTRES, PLBR, PLPA, SEA, SNES, VIEN.”</p>
<p>The rest of your courses are not all free electives either. Because the bio major requires physical science courses taught in CAS, and required freshman seminars are often in CAS. So your room to “play” is constrained to a point.</p>
<p>CAS of course has its own set of [ different] requirements, including distribution requirements and a foreign language requirement.</p>
<p>So there is there is some difference, and there is a decision to make. Having said this, I personally can’t recall a single bio major I knew who was from New York and was not in the ag school. Premed chemistry majors yes, but not biology majors. But that’s just my personal recollection. IMO it would not be completely insane to do a Biology major through CAS if the described limitations would deeply impact you.</p>
<p>Thank you to everyone who has replied. I’ve decided to apply to CALS as my primary choice college and CAS as alternate. Fingers crossed that I will be accepted. </p>