<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I'll be a senior this fall applying to Cornell, but I'm not sure which school to apply to. I know I'll want to major in biology, but I havn't really decided what specifically. Whats the major difference between Arts/Science and Agriculture and Life Science? Also, the school of Arts/Science accepted a lot more students than did the school of Agriculture and Life Science from our school. Why is that? Can one transfer to another school later on?</p>
<p>Hope this helps....
<a href="http://www.cals.cornell.edu/Academic_Departments.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://www.cals.cornell.edu/Academic_Departments.cfm</a> (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)
<a href="http://www.arts.cornell.edu/departments.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.arts.cornell.edu/departments.asp</a> (Collegs of Arts and Sciences)</p>
<p>CAS is the one you'd apply to if you were planning on majoring in biology. As for transfering, I hear it can be done but is very difficult. Correct me if I'm wrong anyone.</p>
<p>If you're in NY, you should probably apply to CALS. It gives preference to NY residents plus you get a tuition break.</p>
<p>Most out of state students tend to apply to CAS since it has more of a private school feel than CALS. The bio programs are the same but CAS will afford you more options in case you want to change majors later on.</p>
<p>yes you can change majors and transfer colleges. it is easiest to transfer into CAS. As a NY resident, you'll get some preference and a tuition break at CALS, HE, and ILR</p>
<p>if your not from NY state, you won't have an advantage applying to either college. The primary difference between the two schools is in the degree they offer--BS from CALS and BA from Arts. In addition, the distribution requirements are quite a bit different between the two colleges, Arts having a more liberal arts college type curriculum and CALS having a few less options. This didn't stop me from taking piles of cool electives in Arts (I think you can take upwards of 55 credits in the Arts college before they start charging you extra). One downside to CALS is that you can't double major in say, biology and english because most majors of interest are in the Arts college. It's something to think about. Don't let anyone tell you that students in Arts are smarter or more "ivy" than CALS students. When I graduated, the top biology students were all CALS students and kicked serious butt when it came time to apply for grad/medical schools and for writing pre-doctoral grants...</p>
<p>hope that helps.</p>
<p>CUgrad</p>
<p>Yeah I am in the NYC area. It seemed that this year A/S took a lot more people than ALS from my school( regular). Why is that? Is A/S easier to get in?</p>
<p>Biology might be an ultra-impacted major in CALS...sort of like AEM, just a thought.</p>
<p>CUgrad</p>
<p>The bio programs at both CAS and CALS are the same.</p>
<p>You should decide which college you want to apply to by where your other interests lie, and if you have extracuricular strengths in other areas taught at CAS. . .that might be a hook for the school.</p>
<p>CALS is easier for a NYS resident to get in, and you get reduced tution. But keep in mind that you won't be able to double major in a non-bio related field (or communications). And you may be eligible for financial aid grants at CAS, which may make the schools cost the same. For instance in my case I'm in CAS, they gave me $16,000 in grants. If I applied to CALS, a school that costs about $12,000 less, I think that they would just give me $4,000 for grants.</p>
<p>So depending on your financial situation, one might not cost more than the other. If you're very concerned about getting in AND a NYS resident, then you might have a better shot applying CALS.</p>
<p>If you have a lot of interests outside of bio, by all means, apply to CAS. . . .or you could get into CALS, and transfer later to CAS, but that would take a little work through the internal transfer department, but could still work as well.</p>