CALS Dyson vs CAS Economics?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
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<p>I want to apply to Dyson, in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, with the CAS as my second choice (major in econ). I looked at Dyson’s website, and while it does seem like it will provide a strong education in business and applied economics, I’m slightly unsure about how much “agriculture” will be a part of it. Will it be pure econ/finance/business/management, or will it often tie back to agriculture? I’m not really interested in agriculture, so I’m wondering if Dyson would be right for me. </p>

<p>Also, on the “freshman requirements” page on the Cornell website, for CALS, when they say what they are looking for in a prospective student:</p>

<p>“Participation in activities related to student’s choice of major; strong demonstrated interest in agriculture and the environment; rigorous high school curriculum and outstanding record of academic achievement.”</p>

<p>My choice of major would be applied economics and management, in Dyson. I have a couple of activities related to this: econ class at school, rigorous econ class during summer, and internship at a bank. But then they ask for a “strong demonstrated interest in agriculture and the environment” and I don’t think I have anything that would show this. First of all, environment and agriculture, in particular, just haven’t been that important to me. And none of my extracurriculars really have to do with them either. I mean, I like science, and I can think of the time I wrote an essay about GMO’s in ninth grade biology, or built a model of an environmentally friendly house in middle school, or read some books on global warming, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at my application and on the top of my head I can’t think of something that really stands out in those areas. That’s not really my focus at all. And agriculture? How many high school students have experience with that? So, what are they expecting? Environmental club? Volunteering at a farm? </p>

<p>I’m guessing that I can probably bring some aspect of my involvement with the environment/agriculture in the essays, maybe? I’ll have to see when the supplement comes out. Or would Economics in CAS be a better choice? I thought applied econ would be more practical, as pure econ tends to be very theoretical. </p>

<p>Can any current Dyson, CALS, or Cornell students give some input? Thanks!</p>

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<p>Unless you choose the “Agribusiness Management” concentration route, you will pretty much not have anything to do with agriculture. AEM is in CALS for historical reasons. I am sure not many AEM applicants have agricultural background aside from those who are interested in Agribusiness…in that case I have seen people who grew up on a farm/worked on farm. </p>

<p>Is there an essay that specifically asks for your involvement with agriculture and the environment?</p>

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<p>Nothing related to agriculture is in any of the core AEM classes. AEM is mostly a general business program with a few specializations that relate to agriculture and the food industry. It won’t be an issue.</p>

<p>Also, the CALS essay shouldn’t be a problem regardless. CALS is the college you apply to, even if you’re picking a major.</p>

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<p>The essays aren’t out yet, so I’m not sure. It’s just that they say they’re looking for “strong demonstrated interest” in those two areas, so I would think that they would be looking for that in extracurriculars. If the essays are just the general “why cornell cals” or “what would you do at cornell” should I mention the environment/agriculture then, even if it’s not a big part of why I want to go to the school? Would it be bad just to mention why I like Dyson?</p>

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<p>I had the same essay question when I applied and I did not talk about ag at all. Dyson is a business program. It only has the ag portion because of its history. Go ahead and just mention Dyson – after all, that is what you are applying to. The admissions person who will read your application is from Dyson.</p>