Computer Science vs Computer Engineering vs Aerospace Engineering

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

I have an avid interest in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Aerospace Engineering. Which of these three majors has the highest prospect for careers but still isn’t nearly impossible to get into at Cornell with the following stats?

GPA Scale: A in a regular class: 4.0 ; Honors/AP:5.0
Unweighted/ Weighted GPA: 3.65 / 4.39
Class rank: Top 15% in the over 650 kids in my graduating class
ACT: 31 (taking classes and averaging 34-54)
Senior Course Load: AP Econ/Gov (1st/2nd semester), AP Literature, AP Calc AB, AP Physics, AP Computer Science, and Advanced Marketing
AP Courses: 9 by the end of next year
(I have taken the highest level of rigor with my courses that are offered all four years now.)

Extracurricular:
DECA:
Arizona DECA State Officer (Represent 9,000 students)
Served as Chapter Vice President & Public Relations Officer
Won 1st Place in Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan Junior Year (Developed an app plan), 3rd Place in Marketing Communications Sophomore Year
Two Year International Career Development Conference Qualifier
International Media Correspondent

Speech & Debate:
4 Year Speech and Debate member
Served as Speech and Debate Secretary
3 Year Varsity Debater

American Red Cross:
4 Year American Red Cross member
Serve as Red Cross Public Relations Officer

Computer Science Club:
Founder and President
Developing apps and new websites for teachers and school

AP Physics Phreaks:
President
Work on many physics projects during the school year with teams

Other:
National Honors Society (2 Years)
Mentoring Program
Key Club
Large amount of community service
Arizona State University’s Business Scholar

WORK:

Corporate Marketing IT Intern for May 2013-2014
Marketing IT Development Specialist for May 2014-Present
CEO of successful international business June 2015-Present
Inside Sales Representative for Marketing Technology/Branding Company

Ethnicity: Asian/Indian

First Generation American
First Generation College Student

I have my extracurriculars going for me, and my ACT score isn’t bad, but obviously my GPA is weighing me down. My essay for Cornell is very good. It’s about an engineering idea that I have been working on getting patented and have won multiple competitions with. Which of those three majors would be the best choice for me to go with when applying to Cornell that I have a shot of getting into but also will have a good job prospect after graduation. Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

2

Frankly right now you would be a long shot in any of those majors. Your ACT & GPA are below average for applicants to those programs. I know at one time something like 94% of entering freshmen were in top 10% of their class, not sure what that % is now. If Cornell is #1 choice & you can afford it, applying ED will help. You are correct, your ECs are very good.

3

Did you take subject tests?

4

To be honest, your GPA is not quite as high as it should be. It would also be best If you can raise your ACT to like at least a 32. Your extracurriculars are impressive, so it wouldn’t hurt to just apply. As for career plan, I think computer science is very flexible and is going to be a big part of our world in the future. Cornell is also ranked top 10 in computer science last time I checked. Good luck!

5

As a CS major, you could apply to the Arts and Science School or the School of Engineering. For the other 2, you have to apply to the school of Engineering. Since they’ve changed the requirements this year (you can only apply to one school), you have to think hard about which school you will have better chance of getting in, taking into account YOUR interest and history (what you have actually done).

The school of Engineering enrolled about 800 students this year (acceptance??? 1600?) out of 12,000 application, or 6.7%. 48% were women. IDK the stats for the School of Arts and Science.

My first just started with Cornell so I am a novice with the college process. Here are my thoughts if you are interested in my take.

Your extra-curric are concentrated in software; you have nothing indicating any interest in Aerospace (work, extra-curric) so I would NOT apply this way (you want to highlight your strengths). If you were to be accepted to the School of Engineering, you do not declare until end of sophmore year so you could state your interest (Computer Engineering) and declare a different major then (Aero) - assuming you have good grades and they accept you into the major. I think I read a good percentage of students change their major (maybe that was for the University as a whole). I am not saying to be dishonest, but if you want to increase your chances of getting in, you need to show demonstrate CONTINUED interest (several years) on your resume. So if one would take a cursory look at your resume, what are the 3 things that one might remember? The major that would dovetail best with those extra-currics would be the major that you would want to apply.

I noticed that even though you have already taken AP courses, you have not stated what grades you got. Did you get 5s? If you did not, this will work against you.

As an Asian/Indian, I highly doubt you would be considered a minority by Adcomm even though if you were to attend Cornell, they will probably gleefully count you as part of the 48% (?) diversity stats. You may have some advantage applying from Arizona and as a first gen college student.

My first had better academic stats/ACTs and thought they were too low. They were in the range of the 75-25% -tile and probably over the 50%-ile. 5’s in all of the APs (except for one taken May 2015, so Adcom would not have seen it.)

6

Also, you should know that Cornell doesn’t have an Aero major, only a minor. You would take it in combination with a MechE major.