<p>I've searched through past threads, but I still have a few questions... I will be attending CAS next year, perhaps on the business track... I was wondering how reputable an Econ major is in CAS in terms of its level of difficulty, potential career paths, job opportunities, placement, salaries, etc... </p>
<p>Also, if I decide to transfer to CALS AEM, would it increase my chances as an internal transfer if I started out as an Econ major? How common is this, and what's the general acceptance for econ majors who meet all the requirements for transfering to AEM? Basically, how does a degree as an econ major compare to that of an AEMer in the business world?</p>
<p>Hope that all made sense... I'm incredibly tired lol</p>
<p>CAS Econ isn't a business track. Business involves management. Econ is mostly theoretical and is basically just applied math. By the time you graduate from econ, you'll have taken a ton of advanced math. The econ major is roughly, I dunno, 3 or 4 times as hard as AEM; AEM is notorious for being relatively easy in terms of workload, though the program is good.
Econ majors generally go on to graduate school where they do even more math. Economists will get jobs, usually in the government, doing calculations relating to international trade and business or else will work on the stock market. Business people- AEM people- will go on to become managers of stores and companies, will interact with people and customers, and will generally be involved in management.
The only career I can think of that Econ and AEM (and Hotel, for that matter) might both prepare for is banking/investment, but again, high-end jobs would require graduate work.</p>
<p>A transfer from CAS -> CALS will be easy, sinec CALS doesn't require an interview or recommendations from professors for internal transfer like CAS does, and CAS is more competitive admissions-wise than CALS in general. It won't be hard at all, especially if you begin to transfer immediately.
As for investment banking, I'd definitely recommend the Hotel school. The Hotel school has an amazingly extensive alumni network; the network is #1 in the country, with #2 being Harvard business. (This is a non-Hotelie speaking, so I'm not biased; these are facts!) Hotel is definitely your best bet, since the alumni network is what will matter/help most in getting a job post-graduation. I wouldn't recommend econ for investment banking, again because econ is lots of complex applied math and is pretty theoretical. Go into econ a) if you love and are good at math, b) if you're planning on grad school and c) if you probably want to work for the government crunching numbers or on the stock market.</p>
<p>But, in order to get into the hotel school, don't we have to demonstrate that we've had experience in the hospitality industry? I'd definitely not be able to get in, if that's the case. I also heard that AEM is pretty difficult to get into. Is that true?</p>
<p>If you're interested in I-Banking, a lot of Operations Research people from CoE go into that field too...just something to consider. Transferring from CAS to CALS shouldnt be too bad...if you know you want to be an AEM major you can take some classes first few semesters. Maybe you should email someone...AEM probably has a director of undergraduate studies...</p>
<p>Oh yeah, and the econ major is very difficult: I know a lot of people who WERE econ majors beginning freshmen year (or thought they wanted to be)...now none of them are. AEM = easier than hotel school.</p>
<p>As for AEM, I'm still confused... as long I take the classes the first two semesters and have good grades, is it pretty much a sure shot... or is it like applying to college once again? After all, applying there as an incoming freshman is fairly competitive, is it not?</p>
<p>I've heard it's very hard to actually get into AEM as a freshmen applying (i.e. you need contacts or something), but I know a couple people transferring into it (like they're taking it on as a second major because it really is THAT easy) and they don't seem to have problems, but that may be because they're double majoring.</p>
<p>Oh, wow. I might not apply for AEM then... I'll just double major like them then. Now, I'm not sure which other major in CALS would be most helpful for I-banking other than AEM. Information Systems? I know there's also communications and statistics/biometry.</p>
<p>I'd recommend Hotel over AIM no matter what.
Hotel has, again, a huge, very impressive, and very helpful alumni network. Hotel emphasizes hospitality and customer-business relations. Hotel looks better on a resume. It's the best Hotel school in the world. AEM, on the other hand, is somewhere between "good" and "great" but is by no means phenomenal nor is it in the top 10 undergrad business programs.
The only thing AEM has over Hotel is that CALS is cheaper. But if you can afford an extra $8,000 or so, definitely go with Hotel over AEM.
Information Systems wouldn't be so great for I-banking. You have to take a fair number of more humanities-type courses for IS, and even with a concentration in IT it's more computer-techy and it's not very business-oriented at all.</p>
<p>Boy, am I going to have trouble getting into hotel school though. I've never done anything in hospitality. Community service is like the closest thing I've done. I'm definitely very math and science-y... That's definitely not good news in this case.</p>
<p>this thread has a lot of bad advice on it.... AEM > Econ > Hotel</p>
<p>Hotel is by far the easiest part of Cornell to get into and on wall street is somewhat embarrising. Being an econ major is really not that bad. It's very respectful to be in arts and sciences. Try to transfer into AEM after freshman year though. Freshman year is kind of general anyways and you can get your econ requirements out of the way, as well as bio. Trust me, you'll be fine. Anyone who is actually older here knows that being in Hotel isn't that great, although it is still Cornell.</p>
<p>Wait, so if I declare that I am some science major... is it possible to double major in AEM later on? Or is it hard to even do that because they have limited space or something? I'm not willing to use my ED on AEM if I'll just get outright rejected... people make it sound impossible to get in... aah.</p>
<p>Regarding Economics at Cornell, it is possible to do a very mathematics/calculus-oriented major,and also to do a major that doesn't involve much math at all. The only requirement is one semester of calculus. </p>
<p>I have heard of economics majors getting very good business and investment jobs; there is definitely job overlap among the three majors, AEM, Hotel and Economics. </p>
<p>An Economics major, requiring less courses than the other two, leaves open the possibility of a minor in international relations or government (or just about any other field), and/or serious language study that might be very attractive to a potential employer.</p>
<p>You really aren't going to lose with any of these majors!</p>
<p>I'm in the same boat. I want to go into business and banking, but I'm in CAS. If I take operational engineering, AEM, or hotel along with a CAS major, isn't that considered dual degree? Is it possible, and "sane," to finish a duel degree in 4 years? I really don't want to spend a fifth year of money paying for college.</p>