<p>Just a question, but is the hotel major simply specialized business? I'm not very acquanted with it, so I apologize for my naivete.</p>
<p>Tux, I believe so. You graduate with a business degree of some sorts, but the curriculum is strictly focused on the hotel school courses. I'm not an actual hotelie, so I'm just spouting off on memory from what I've come across on the web site. That's my gist of it.</p>
<p>As a current Hotelie, I would argue that the Hotel School is absolutely worth the cost. Though I had my doubts about attending a non-traditional business program, I have not regretted my decision once, as the curriculum, extracurriculars, career focus, and student community are all remarkably unique. </p>
<p>From a strictly financial perspective, make sure to compare the Hotel School average salary with the average salary for other majors and at other universities. $45,000 per year coming out of college is not bad at all, and that is just the median. It really depends what you want to do. Some graduates might love the idea of working for a national park. That simply doesn't pay as much as the graduate who wants to go into investment banking. The point is, either student will find opportunities within the Hotel School.</p>
<p>The alumni connections alone are worth the tuition price. Simply call a Hotel School alum, be it for a class project or an informational interview, and 9 times out of 10 the alum you speak to will offer info about jobs and internships. Non-alums as well are impressed with the program and more likely to offer jobs.</p>
<p>I have read some posts saying that the Hotel School curriculum is too strict. This couldn't be farther from the truth. The Hotel School has a base curriculum, and from there, you have complete freedom. I want to go into business, and yet Cornell's traditional business program, AEM, has Physics and Chemistry as required courses. What do these have to do with business? The Hotel School, on the other hand, has courses such as Managerial Communication and Financial Accounting that, even if they don't interest you personally, are universally applicable.</p>
<p>In sum, I can't think of a single attribute that a traditional business program has that the Hotel School is lacking. On the other hand, I can name a number of attributes that the Hotel School uniquely has. When making your decision, doubt is inevitable, but keep this in mind: with a Hotel School degree, you can do ANYTHING. It is fun, it is practical, and it is extremely worthwhile. If business is what you love, then look no further.</p>
<p>Trigger, I'm so glad you posted! That was incredibly insightful and helpful to me. You really got me hooked on Hotel School again.</p>
<p>What year are you?</p>
<p>I'm a freshman. Feel free to post here or send me a private message with any more questions. I know what a tough decision this can be, and I would love to help in any way that I can.</p>
<p>Trigger know of anyone that got in with a 3.1 GPA and a 1800 SATs? :(</p>
<p>I wonder what the consensus would be now - 4 years after the real estate slump</p>
<p>Actually, the median is now $53,000 for the class of 2013.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/students/careers/documents/2013BSPreliminary-September.pdf”>http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/students/careers/documents/2013BSPreliminary-September.pdf</a></p>
<p>So when compared to the rest of Cornell University, the hotel school students have the highest employment rate and third highest median starting salaries of the seven undergraduate colleges. It’s safe to say that students there are pretty successful.</p>
<p><a href=“Career Services | Student & Campus Life | Cornell University”>Career Services | Student & Campus Life | Cornell University;
<p>An article quoting the same survey.
<a href=“BUSINESS NEWS | Engineers See Highest Starting Pay | The Cornell Daily Sun”>http://cornellsun.com/blog/2014/03/03/business-news-engineers-see-highest-starting-pay/</a></p>
<p>Cornell does not have the only well regarded hotel school in the country. Why not consider some cheaper alternatives?</p>
<p><a href=“The 15 Best Hospitality Management Degree Programs”>http://www.thebestschools.org/blog/2012/01/20/20-hospitality-programs-united-states/</a></p>
<p>Hotel students at Cornell can get broader education besides hospitality. Graduates have more options when it comes to employment, like real estate management, investment banking, consulting, as well as hospitality. Cornell also offers very generous FA, so for some students it can be a less expensive option.</p>
<p>The hotel school is really well regarded and will prepare you well if you’re into hospitality (obviously, as #1). I’m not a hotelie but it seems like you can’t possibly graduate from there and not know everything about hospitality. The classes are focused and you even get to work in the Statler to get experience (the Marriott family even goes to that party thing at the Statler!) That’ll give you quite a leg up compared to kids from other schools. And that $53,000 median starting salary is not bad at all. That’s like the household income in the US is it not? Oh, but then again you said that you’ll likely not go into hospitality. But there are still business courses in there and it seems like there’s been people who didn’t go into hospitality. So obviously it’s possible! </p>