i already have a college list in mind but was just curious. i think harvard & princeton dont admit by major, cornell does by college? but can someone please let me know. I would think cornell/brown/dartmouth but that’s only based on overall acceptance rates not by college/major.
thank you!
This is a parlor game question, particularly given all your other threads, and all the other metrics you are weighing. All the time and energy you are putting into CC posts trying to figure out the ‘easy/easier’ way should be going into specifics.
It doesn’t matter how easy/hard admissions are if the place doesn’t suit you. Your other threads indicate that several of the “Ivy League” schools are unlikely to be places that you would be happy attending. I don’t mean getting the acceptance letter which is exciting! I mean actually attending classes for 4 years. So, let’s say that Columbia is actually the ‘easiest’ admit for neuro, would you go there? My money says no, b/c the Core is antithetical to your aversion to a lot of writing.
Figure out what you actually want and then pick schools that will give you that. Choosing an “ivy” for the label is like buying a brand of shoes b/c they are famous, even if they don’t fit you.
(edited for typos)
That’s an easy question: none. Your odds at all, like all accomplished students, are very low.
Anything related to biological sciences is especially competitive everywhere even at your state flagship and at universities that routinely turn down 90% of the top students who apply, with luck and institutional priorities (which vary year to year and which you dont know) having an impact.
As a result, your query is pointless.
My guess is that if you’d studied Latin and Greek in HS, had prizes in Latin, and wanted to study classics, it’d be relatively easier all other things being equal. But you cannot improvise interest in a major nor disregard fit.
If I answer, Dartmouth, are you going to become interested in a Greek-dominant school where the nearest shop is a Walmart 20mn away by car?
None of the Ivies admit by major, other than Cornell and UPenn which admit by colleges. Some colleges with engineering schools may ask for an engineering supplement. However, each college does try to shape its class by having a good balance of admitted students with varied academic interests.
I will relay a personal anecdote. I have been a long time interviewer for Yale. Probably the worst assessment I have given on an interview involved a candidate that expressed an interest in a relatively obscure major, but one in which I have an interest and have done a fair amount of reading. I was looking forward to our conversation. Unfortunately the interviewee had barely superficial knowledge in the topic. During the course of the rest of the interviewer, it became obvious to me that the interviewee was really a pre-med type and must have gotten bad advice that the applicant should try a seemingly less competitive door. AO’s with access to all of the applicant’s file will easily spot that type of gaming.
All the competitive applicants to the highly selective schools you are considering will be incredibly strong. Your best bet is to present your strengths and not worry about anyone else. Your application is really a sales document. Ones that provide a clear, consistent and compelling picture of why you will be a contributor to the school will be the successful ones.
Cornell admits by College, but trying to play the game of getting into what one thinks is an easy college and then transferring into what one really wants usually backfires there.