I want to major in Computer Science at Cornell but idk which school to apply to since they both have Comp Sci.
From what I have read, degrees from both schools have the same job outlook.
Personally, I like the math/ science required courses in the engineering school and hate the foreign language required courses in the CAS school (I had language so much that I only took 2 years of French).
However, CAS seems a lot easier to get into than Engineering.
I am really confused on what school I should apply to.
So the question is CAS or Engineering?
Check the requirements. You need 3 years of one foreign language in hs to qualify for CAS.
@renomamma but I thought that you can still explain on the side as to why you didn’t take more than 2
Perhaps you can. I don’t know. But CAS admissions is also highly competitive, so that wouldn’t exactly give you a leg up on your application. I wouldn’t exactly say it’s “a lot easier” to get in.
If you hate the foreign language req, CAS is definitely not for you. And, if you’ve only done two years of foreign language in HS, they won’t consider you eligible anyway. Hope that helps.
My daughter faced the same question. She didn’t want to take the language courses either, and yet, she also thought CAS might be easier to get into. The latter might be a myth. I don’t know if anyone has any evidence one way or another. I won’t go by statistics and percentages alone. The applicant pools have different strengths and talents. In CAS, you’ll be looked at slightly differently. Also, if enough people think like you and apply to CAS instead of CoE, that makes CAS for CS majors equally competitive, no? 
Ultimately, my D applied to CoE and got in.
Besides the language requirement, there are two added considerations for you.
- Should you want to change your major from CS to another type of Engg, I think you can only do that if you're already in CoE.
- The essay prompts for the two schools are different. In my Ds case, she felt the CoE prompt was tailor-made for her.
College of Arts and Sciences: Describe two or three of your current intellectual interests and why they are exciting to
you. Why will Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences be the right environment in which to pursue your interests?
College of Engineering: Tell us about an engineering idea you have, or about your interest in engineering. Describe how your ideas and interests may be realized by—and linked to—specific resources within the College of Engineering. Finally, explain what a Cornell Engineering education will enable you to accomplish.
Which school is easier to get into depends almost entirely on your qualifications. If you only took 2 years of language in high school, CAS would be incredibly difficult to get into. If you took and excelled in high level math and science courses, CoE is probably easier for you. Also, it seems like your interests lie closer to CoE.
Cornell also offers the primary/alternate admissions option, in which you can apply to a first choice college and, if you don’t meet the criteria for admissions there, you can be considered for a second college. So if you really can’t decide, you can apply to both. I was planning to do this (I also applied for CS), but I didn’t have time to get my CAS essay up to snuff. Luckily I got accepted into CoE!
@Tulpen @fsharp @looneytoons I looked into the languages that could fulfill the requirement and one of them included Hindi, a language I’m actually interested in learning so that is no longer a problem. I’m thinking of moving from CAS to CoE a year after I get in (I asked the admissions office today and they said I can do that). In terms of the essay prompt, I think I can find a way to show that my math/ science interests can be fulfilled in the CAS department. In terms of the foreign language requirement of 3 years, I can still talk about in my app about how I wanted to take AP Comp Sci (relates to my career field) as opposed foreign language. Cornell is literally my dream so I will do anything to increase my chances at getting in.
So, you’re applying to CAS and planning to transfer to COE because you think it’s easier to get into CAS and you won’t have the basic foreign language requirement for CAS but you think you can get excused from it because you took a CS class that conflicted with a foreign language class? Is that right? Yikes.
Applying to a college at Cornell just because it seems “easier” is not going to help your chances, especially between College of Engineering & College of Arts and Sciences which are both difficult to get into. Personally, I also think it’s an easy way to sabotage yourself as when you’re trying to justify why that college at Cornell should take you, you won’t have the passionate reason someone who knows exactly why CAS is for them and not COE driving you in your writing and the essays can reflect this.
As I tell many of the applicants I meet, the decision on which one to apply as your primary largely depends on what your interests are. If I told you you couldn’t major Computer Science, what would you study? The major actually REQUIRES you to have an external specialization (meaning taking junior/senior level courses in a field that is not CS) - what will you fill that with? The answer to that question may give you some hints on which college you should be applying to.
Anyways, to go back to the CS degree programs in the two schools; they’re identical because they are the same program. I did CAS CS myself. Depending on which school you’re in, you’ll have to do different college requirements (COE - engineering distributions & multivariable; CAS - foreign language & liberal art distributions) and you’ll be limited into what majors you can double-major with by what other major is in your college, but that’s about it. You will get a BA from CAS and a BS from COE, but employers don’t care about that - they just care that you have the CS skills and a 4 year CS degree. The classes are the same, the professors are the same, the department is the same.
Without the basic HS qualifications for CAS:
CAS- zero chance
COE- higher than zero chance
“I’m thinking of moving from CAS to CoE a year after I get in (I asked the admissions office today and they said I can do that).”
Coming in to CAS truly thinking you will major in CAS and then changing your mind after you arrive is fine - coming in to CAS and accepting an CAS offer knowing you want to transfer in CoE is NOT. If CAS so much as suspects this is the case, they will not admit you. There are plenty of CAS CS majors who really want CAS and who make a great case for wanting to be in CAS rather than CoE, and don’t think CAS admissions readers won’t spot the difference!
@OrcinusOrca
Your response is spot on.