<p>Alright, so I'm applying to Cornell. I want to go into finance (I love economics), and I've been set on Dyson for a while now. I have my Common App done, and I'm about to submit it, when a thought occurs to me. Would it be wiser to apply to the College of Arts and Sciences instead? Dyson is very competitive, with acceptance rates in the single digits (7 or 8 percent I believe), and even with good scores it's a long-shot for anyone. Cornell in general though has an acceptance rate of about 16%. I listed the CAS as my second choice on the Primary/Alternate admissions option, but I'm rethinking it. Would my odds of getting into A&S and getting a BA in Econ be much better than my odds of getting into Dyson, and if so, is it worth doing? Would a BA in Econ get me as far graduate school/career-wise as an AEM degree from Dyson would?</p>
<p>Any input would be great. I'd need it fast though, because I hope to send in the app within the week. Thanks so much for the help.</p>
<p>If you’re admitted to CAS, you could do a minor at the Dyson school in business. My S is doing that from the engineering school and is thoroughly enjoying it. Just remember that your second choice is someone else’s first choice…proceed from there.</p>
<p>coming out of cornell, your major won’t matter for finance recruiting.</p>
<p>well, actually for quant-driven finance (hedge funds, some type of trading, etc), you will need math / stats / engineering backgrounds, which neither business nor econ degree would suit you.</p>
<p>for i-banking, you can be a government major and still get the job.</p>
<p>interpret these as how you’d like regarding your original question.</p>
<p>If you want to apply to Dyson AEM, you need to make sure you are interested in agriculture/sustainability. Cornell has a “business” program in almost all their schools ([Cornell</a> University - Search Cornell](<a href=“Cornell University | Search Pages”>Cornell University | Search Pages)), and what is unique about AEM is it’s the science aspect of it, as it is in the Agriculture and Life Sciences school after all. </p>
<p>I’m applying to Cornell’s Dyson AEM and CAS Econ with the Primary/Alternate option, and you can very well do the same.</p>
<p>I did exactly what you just mentioned- AEM primary with CAS alternate for economics- and was deferred. I applied early (which would have the higher admission percentage) and expressed a clear interest in science and business in both of my essays. I’m not asking for your stats or anything, and I definitely can’t give you help from an admitted students standpoint, but if there’s anything you need help with with regard to applying or expressing fit, let me know. If you’d like to see my stats to compare with your own, check my recent posts or go to page 5 of the results thread. I hope this helps.</p>
<p>^ One thing I noticed looking at the stats of those who got accepted was that there seemed to be a pretty decent gap in terms of scores between AEM and CAS, with the former being harder to get into. I guess that isn’t surprising though considering the aforementioned 8% acceptance rate for Dyson.</p>
<p>Good luck with RD appplicant, and thanks for the input. My stats are actually pretty comparable to yours, and we both have similar scores to those who got into CAS Early Decision, so I’d say there’s a chance for both of us.</p>
<p>One thing that struck me was that according to this, CAS is actually harder to get into that ALS, with an acceptance rate of about 15.5% compared to ALS’s 19.5%. If that’s the case, how does Dyson come up with an 8% acceptance rate (according to their website - <a href=“Applied Economics and Management Degree Program | Cornell Dyson)?%5B/url%5D”>Applied Economics and Management Degree Program | Cornell Dyson)?</a> Are applicants accepted or denied based more heavily on their major of choice (with AEM being more competitive than say Food Science or other programs in CALS)? It just seems strange to me that their admissions folks would get that specific.</p>