Sorry if this question has already been asked, but I couldn’t find any past posts. What’s the difference, and which one is harder to get into for computer science?
In CAS you get a Bachelor of Arts degree; in Engineering you get a Bachelor of Science degree.
The core of the CS major in both schools is the same; you take the same requirement classes for the CS major. The only thing that differs between schools is the requirement list for graduating (for example, all CAS majors need foreign language credit, while all Engineering students don’t).
Cornell doesn’t accept based on major, but rather on school. I believe CAS has a slightly higher admissions rate, although an applicant has a better chance of getting into the school that’s the better fit for him/her.
Alright, thank you!
OP: Keep in mind that even though you are accepted into CAS or COE, you are not guarateed to major in CS. Everybody enters as undeclared, then take the classes required for that major then apply to that major if you meet the minimum requirement.
I agree with @DaedricSaiyan and just remember CAS or COE are both excellent schools, nonetheless. 
Of course, thanks everyone!
@2018dad and @shadyrainbows The requirements to get into any major at Cornell seem very reasonable. It is not competitive to “get” your major, like it can be at some large universities. (They call it “affiliating” with a major at Cornell, as opposed to “declaring” a major.). My son is a freshman, deciding between ECE and CS, so we asked the same kinds of questions you are at all the schools he visited.
I beleve that everyone who wants the CS major, takes the required courses, and achieves the required GPA (low - 2.3, I think) has gotten into the CS major in the COE at Cornell. At least that’s what COE advisors have told us in two different sessions. Am guessing the CS major in CAS would be equally accessible, but you could contact the college directly to verify. This is a nice advantage of Cornell. You can try out courses in various majors before committing.
There is a Cornell Engineering Student Handbook online that shows you details about the requirements for the CS major in COE. You can google it. I am guessing there is something similar online for CAS if you wanted to investigate the differences in the requirements to graduate with a CS major in the two schools.
I think that CAS and COE are similar difficulty to get into them, but with regards to the admissions process, they vary slightly. I actually emailed my regional admissions officer about this, and here’s what he/she said:
“As for the admissions process differences between Arts and Sciences and Engineering, I can say that they are similar, but Arts and Sciences definitely emphasizes balance and essays a little bit more, while Engineering emphasizes science and math performance much more heavily. Testing might also be a little more important to the Engineering committee.”
Also, there’s an unwritten guideline they use that I think is generally accepted to be true: race. Honestly speaking, I think that they are more likely to scrutinize an asian boy applying to the COE for CS than they are any other race. Take of it what you will, but I definitely believe that having outstanding academics and test scores for COE helps a lot.
Thank you very much @MOMANDBOYSTWO and @roboticsnerd33 !! Robotics, that makes sense - would you think the case is similar for many other schools in regards to CAS and COE admissions?
@shadyrainbows I can’t really say anything for sure, but I honestly think that this principle is true for most schools when applying to their engineering and arts/sciences sub-schools. Like for many of the people in my school who applied to UMich Ann-Arbor - LSA had a lot more acceptances than engineering. Take of it what you will
Thanks again! Good luck in the college application process.
@shadyrainbows yup, you too!