I’m deciding to ED to either Cornell or Dartmouth as a CS major. Cornell admits by major but Dartmouth (I think) doesn’t, and their ED acceptance rates are almost equal. Keep in mind Cornell’s engineering is their most competitive for male applicants (~6% RD).
Would I have a higher chance of ED admission to Cornell’s College of Engineering or to Dartmouth as a whole?
If their acceptance rates are equal then, in absence of other data, I’d say your chances of admission are equal.
Both schools are reaches for any unhooked applicant. Apply ED to the school you would prefer to attend. In another post you say your top choice is Cornell so IMO that should be your answer.
The more important thing is that you take the time and energy to seek out those match and safety schools that appear affordable and that you would be excited to attend.
Dartmouth will probably need more than 12 quarters (4 academic years) to complete an ABET-accredited BE degree. If you plan to work as an engineer after college, it may not be the best choice unless you want to attend and can afford the extra quarters. The four year AB degree may be suitable for those who want some engineering knowledge but are aiming for traditional Ivy League jobs like finance and consulting.
Since your stated interest is in CS, why not apply to CAS at Cornell?
@merc81 I did some research but I think the main differences are the diploma (BA vs BS) and the core distribution requirements. I’ve always been interested in engineering and applied sciences, so I think the COE would be a better fit. Did you have something about the CAS CS program?
@happy1 Thanks for the comment! Yes, these are both high reaches for me and I could just be fussing over something that doesn’t matter, but why not try anyway right? I’m still finalizing my college list - especially for matches - but would you have any suggestions for schools heavy in STEM I could look into?
I think you should go for the better fit, which you would seem to find at COE, @shredd.
re #1:
“Cornell admits by major …”
For those entering as freshmen, this is correct only to certain of Cornell’s colleges: CALS and AARP. ILR and Hotel each only have one major.
But those colleges don’t have the Computer science major. One can choose to major in Computer Science in either the College of Engineering or the College of Arts & Sciences . Neither of these two colleges admit freshmen by major.
Unless something has changed…
Of course the pool of majors a candidate contemplates choosing, later on when that decision is made, must be majors offered by the particular college. But the specific major selection doesn’t occur till mid-sophomore year. Prior to that a student at a particular college there is enrolled at that college, but not yet into any particular of its majors.
There are some standards for entering each particular major, you can look them up.
But selection of, and admission into, a major doesn’t happen at the time of admission into the freshman class of either of these two colleges.
Cornell does have secondary admission to CS after enrolling at the school, although the hurdle is not that high:
https://www.cs.cornell.edu/undergrad/uadmis/becoming-cs-major
Maybe Cornell, because I think it holds greater importance on engineering.