Hi,
I am a junior, getting ready to begin my application process in the fall. Cornell is one of my top choices and I’m considering which school to apply. I envision going to law school after college. I love psychology and had considered majoring in psychology HD, but now find myself unsure. My passion is criminal justice reform and this is my second year as a peer advocate in my county’s peer diversion youth court. This program tries low level juvenile offenders in legally binding decisions. The recidivism rate is low and I’m so proud of my involvement in the court. I see Human Development as a really great opportunity to study the psychology of development and to use it as a launching pad for criminal justice reform that focuses on rehabilitation and prevention.
That said, my dual enrollment business law class has been my favorite and I find myself fascinated by business law. ILR would allow me to really delve into that aspect of law, which would help me determine if business based law would be a good career path.
My stats:
GPA 99.1 unweighted(rank will be 1 or 2 out of 380)from my public school
ACT- 36 composite from one sitting
National Merit Semifinalist(my selection index is 226)
In addition to my youth court, I am a board member of the feminist club, student teacher for Hebrew school, attends Hebrew high school program at my temple, three honor societies at high school, and a few more.
Any thoughts or advice for me?
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Look at the curriculum
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Bone up your ECs - can you get a job this summer?
Teaching religious school is just a day a week (or two)…and honor societies have little impact unless you can show you’re doing something - vs. just being in them…ie making an impact.
What I’m saying is - you need to bump up your ECs.
As far as ILR - it’s not criminal justice - but is multi disciplinary, will help you with law school prep, and give you a solid foundation.
Honestly, any major will help you with law school. ILR is the easiest (with hotel) Cornell school to get into but not easy - and many valedictorians will get turned down from Cornell. So it’s not a slam dunk for sure - and make sure you have targets and safeties as well.
Good luck.
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Thank you. I work as a sleepaway camp counselor over the summer. My ECs are my definitely my weakest, but there’s something every day between tutoring, horticulture, feminist club, court, court prep, religious school for me, and my student teaching as well.
What else do you suggest?
You’ll need to show impact for each of those on your app. In other words maybe person are doing a lot. Camp counselor is good.
But have to explain it better. Quantify where u can. Show impact.
I am not convinced that you really understand ILR (or business law for that matter), and that matters: ILR AOs know what they are looking for, and there is a relatively higher degree of student self-selection.
On the other hand, the HD major looks like a good fit for you.
You are a great candidate for either, and I am assuming you are in-state, which gives you a little boost.
As I’m sure you already know, you apply directly into each college, and HumEc applicants who want to do PAM or human development have to note that on the application as well. The acceptance rate for both ILR and HumEc was the same last year, about 17%. This has a lot to do with the fact that students are self-selecting into two very specialized colleges; it is still extremely competitive and the essays are hugely important. HumEc is, somewhat unusually, around 75% female students, presumably because of the design and nutritional sciences concentrations; ILR is much closer to 50-50, if this matters.
Each has its own core requirements (and note that ILR’s curriculum is changing somewhat starting with the class of 2026), but as a HumEc student you would be able to take ILR classes, and vice versa. If you made me pick one based on what you’ve told us, I think I would suggest HumEc. It’ll be easier to pursue your psych interests there, and I think your experiences so far are a little better aligned with their mission than with ILR’s.
Read as much as you can about both places and try to connect with current students, they should be able to tell you a lot. Best of luck to you.
My kid is a high school senior and was admitted to the College of Human Ecology as a Human Development / Psychology Major class of 2026.
You sound like a good fit for the program. As you probably know, a good number of Cornell Human Ecology students go on to law school.
Wow, congrats on an amazing ACT score! Do as much research about the Colleges of Human Ecology and ILR as you can to help you decide if one of them is right for you. Do not apply to either of them if in your heart they do not feel like a great for you.
If you have your Major through ILR or Human Ecology you can still get a minor through another college. The College of Arts and Sciences has a great minor for you: “Crime, Prisons, Education and Justice”.
I know nothing about the ILR college, but if you decide to apply to the College of Human Ecology, do your best to explain why you are a good fit - that is what they are looking for - a student who understands what the College of Human Ecology is and does, and how they are a good fit for it - based on what they have done in the past and what they hope to do in the future.
My kid is super excited to get started in August and a fantastic fit for the Human Development Major. I think that is one of the main reasons why they were accepted.
Good luck!
Thank you so much for this. I agree with you, my application and my passions are more aligned with HumEc. I’ve had my eye on that program since October, so I should go with my gut and not second guess.
Are you a Human Ecology student?
I am fascinated by that minor. I’ll likely spend the next few hours researching it, thank you so much!
I’m excited to know about a Human EC/HD student. Would you consider DMing me so I can ask a few questions regarding the application process and program?
Thanks!
I think you look more humec, and I think your court work is a great EC for this.
Thank you. Yes, I agree. I let someone get in my head about ILR. While I do love the business end of law, I will explore that more in law school.
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