I’ve been incredibly fortunate enough to be admitted as a transfer student to Cornell ILR. I’m confident ILR is a great fit for my interests. Although Amherst hasn’t released its decision and won’t for another few weeks, I can’t decide between the two if I were lucky enough to be accepted to Amherst. An immediate decision is needed by that time, so I don’t have enough time to make a thorough choice; otherwise, I would normally wait until I actually was accepted. Both schools can take me to careers I’m interested in, which include finance(investment banking) or public policy. Majoring in economics at Amherst would take a semester or two longer than Cornell and perhaps be more intense, but I enjoy the individualized focus the school gives each of its students. For me, it’s essentially a coin toss at this point. Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks
These are very different educational environments. Any serious evaluation will have to begin with that, and nobody but you can decide which style of schooling you prefer. Obviously both are phenomenal schools.
Exactly. Very different schools. Can you visit either/both of them in person in the next few weeks for a gut check? In any case, sounds as if you need to work up a list of relative attributes for each – a pro/con list. Spend some time with any online communities they might have. Read up on who your professors might be. Develop a point of view … and then relax, because either way, it’s all good.
Have a son at ILR, also was a transfer.
You will have many courses not related to public policy
nor econ, but can take electives in those subjects.
While not as familiar with Amherst, assuming any school
is more intense than Cornell is probably not accurate.
The work load is famously intense at Cornell, ILR is no exception.
I work on wall street, and not sure either is the absolute best path to IB,
but sounds like you are not sure. Public policy is actually something you can major
in, at other colleges. Both are reasonable choices but maybe other options could
be even better if you were sure what you wanted. Given you are unsure, both can help
with internships to learn more about these careers.
Thanks for the replies. I’m not doubting Cornell has rigorous work load; in fact, I am positive I’ll be more than challenged there. However, at Amherst a major like economics is definitely rigorous, so I do feel I would have to work harder to maintain the same gpa than I would at Cornell. That’s really a key factor in my decision in addition to the extra semester or two I would take there.
Cornell
Pros: Relatively flexible curriculum
Excellent reputation
Great opportunities for a variety of careers
Smaller school compared to the other six colleges
Will graduate in 2 years
Cons: Could be tougher to do a career in finance coming from ILR but still possible
Amherst
Pros: highly respected with has a very strong connections to finance
Competing against a small number of
students
Cons: I could be wrong, but I think my gpa will probably be lower at Amherst
May take an extra semester or two to complete
Nobody can or should presume to answer this for you.
- The environments of the two schools are very different. Consider if your want a LAC environment or a large school environment.
- The majors you are considering at each school are also very different. I suggest you carefully look at the curriculum for ILR at Cornell and economics at Amherst and see which is more appealing to you (in my case, I was going to apply to Cornell ILR many years ago and mid-way through researching the essay about why I wanted to go to ILR, I realized I had no particular interest in labor relations so I stopped right there and didn’t apply).
- Have you researched the types of jobs people get out of the ILR program at Cornell and as an economics major at Amherst? If not, I would do so by contacting career placement, the departments etc.
- If the extra semester/year it would take to graduate from Amherst is a major factor (time and/or financial) then that should be part of the equation as well.
You have put yourself in a great spot. But only you can decide which school and program is the better fit for you.