What’s up College Confidential.
I’m applying to Cornell’s CALS School, majoring in AEM in the Dyson School (sdq).
I was previously looking at the ILR school, and although they are totally different schools with profoundly different focuses, which school has proven to be more selective?
Moreover, is the AEM major more selective than other majors in the CALS? Am I putting myself through more competition by applying to AEM directly?
Any advice or personal experiences would be great. Thanks!
Yes, AEM is probably the most competitive intended major with an acceptance rate of around 10%. Keep in mind, Cornell’s Dyson school is the 3rd best undergraduate business program in the country. ILR has an acceptance rate around 19-24%.
Remember that it’s Cornell, every school there will be extremely competitive.
While ILR has a higher admission rate, I believe they look at your ‘fit’ a lot more. They want people who are passionate about the subject, and not just hunting for an ‘ivy league’ diploma (not implying this is what you’re doing).
Wherever you fit best, extra credit, and interest wise, will be where you should apply.
On the AEM site: 7% rate.
The ILR overall acceptance rate last year was 13.8%
How do you know acceptance rates by major?
Wow, even more selective than I thought, thanks for the stats!
And yeah wittman, I’m interested in both AEM and ILR equally, but leaning towards the former.
I think applying to AEM is stupid. Biggest mistake of my life. Would have easily been accepted had I applied for another major.
Cornell is all about fit, so if you try to backdoor your way in by applying to a college with a higher acceptance rate, you will most likely be rejected. Also, transferring colleges once you are already in Cornell can be difficult. To change colleges, you have to apply for an internal transfer, and it is not guaranteed that you will be accepted, so you could end up in a major/college that you do not want to be in.
Yeah, I’m genuinely interested in ILR, but AEM fits better for some ideas that I have. AEM definitely sounds like the better and cooler option, but I’m almost guaranteeing more competition from Cornell if I apply to AEM, haha. Well, it’s always worth the risk.