Cornell Supplement essays read separately?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (500 words max):
How have your interests and related experiences influenced your selection of major?</p>

<p>College of Arts and Sciences (500 words max):
Describe your intellectual interests, their evolution, and what makes them exciting to you. Tell us how you will utilize the academic programs in the College of Arts and Sciences to further explore your interests, intended major, or field of study.</p>

<p>**I also am applying to the same major (Biological sciences) in both colleges. Are these prompts the same? If so, can I use the same answer for both? Will they be read by each college separately? OR is one prompt asking something a little different from the other?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

2

<p>IT IS POSSIBLE THAT BOTH COLLEGES WILL SEE BOTH ESSAYS</p>

<p>Here’s an excerpt from the CAAAN Undergraduate Admisssions Manual for 2010-2011:</p>

<p>Frequently Asked Questions About Primary/Alternate Admission</p>

<p>Am I required to designate a primary and alternate choice college? All applicants are required to designate a primary college and have the option of designating an alternate choice college. Applicants are not required to designate an alternate choice college.</p>

<p>Will applying to both a primary and an alternate choice college increase my chances of being admitted to Cornell University? Admission to Cornell University is competitive and highly selective. With more than 30,000 applicants, admission will remain competitive regardless of whether or not an applicant applies to an alternate choice college.</p>

<p>Will my primary college seriously consider my application if I apply to an alternate choice college? Absolutely. We understand that some intellectual interests can be satisfied by more than one undergraduate program at Cornell.</p>

<p>Will my essays for both my primary and alternate choice colleges be read by both colleges? It is possible that both colleges will review your primary and alternate choice college essays.</p>

<p>Which admission requirements must I satisfy if I apply to both a primary and an alternate choice college? You must satisfy requirements for both colleges.</p>

<p>Can I list the same college as my primary and alternate choice? No. If you apply to an alternate choice college, this college must be different from the college you selected as your primary choice.</p>

<p>If I apply to a primary and an alternate choice college, will I receive decisions from both colleges? Applicants will receive only one decision from Cornell University. Once a decision is rendered by Cornell University, requests to be considered by additional colleges and schools at Cornell will not be honored.</p>

<p>If I am admitted to my alternate choice college, will I have the opportunity to change colleges upon enrolling at Cornell? Transferring between colleges is a possibility, but is not guaranteed. If you are admitted to your alternate choice college and enroll at Cornell, you are making a commitment to study in that college or school.</p>

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<p>[Early</a> Decision | Undergraduate Admissions Office](<a href=“http://blogs.cornell.edu/admissions/2011/09/02/early-decision/]Early”>http://blogs.cornell.edu/admissions/2011/09/02/early-decision/)
“The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), does state that they value a strong demonstrated interest in agriculture and the environment. However, every applicant has different interests and related experiences to share with the section committee. My advice is to prepare a thoughtful response to the CALS essay on the Cornell Supplement to the Common Application: “How have your interests and related experiences influenced your selection of major?” This essay is a great way to describe to the selection committee why you are a good fit for the major you have chosen.”</p>

<p>Bottom line - it’s not just about the major you’ve chosen, it’s about the colleges as well, and they are two separate and distinct entities. Obviously, information regarding your chosen major (and your interests in general) will be the same somewhat on both essays, but I’m sure there is enough of a difference between the two colleges that will make it fairly easy to differentiate enough so the two essays are distinct. I’m sure that when you fully research both colleges, you’ll find enough to work with. That said, I think the two prompts are also quite different.</p>

4

<p>I called about this, and they said that all the admissions officers from both schools see your entire file. Which includes both essays. So the admissions officers can see that your other essay is the same, even if it is not for their school. I had the same situation, but changed the second essay.</p>

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<p>Yeah, plus, the prompts ask different things anyway; once analyzing them, they ask different things. Thanks guys. Hope I get in.</p>