<p>As a rising senior, right now, I'm leaning towards an EE major, but I'm not completely certain. I want to go into engineering, to be sure, but I also don't want to miss out on the non-engineering sciences and liberal arts in college. One of my teachers, a Cornell alum, advised me therefore to apply to the school of arts and sciences, as there would be the option for me to switch to engineering and as arts and sciences would be easier to get into.</p>
<p>I'm wondering if that's true. And I'm wondering if I should do that, as I do plan on going into engineering.</p>
<p>zoogies
You should apply to the college that best suits your interests.
Engineering and Arts & Sciences are both very selective and you need to decide which programs you are most interested in.</p>
<p>This quote from the Cornell Admissions FAQ page advises against applying to a college to try to gain an admissions advantage.
[quote]
Frequently Asked Questions About Admissions</p>
<p>Q: Which college at Cornell will offer me the best chance of admission?</p>
<p>A: That's not really an appropriate question. If you apply to a particular college solely on the basis of its acceptance rate, the chances are good that the selection process will work against you. It will be more difficult to show logical reasoning for making your application to a particular program or major. During selection, all seven undergraduate units carefully evaluate the "match" between an applicant's academic interests and the college to which he or she is applying. If you do not seem to be a good match for your chosen college, you risk being refused.
[/quote]
The Freshmen Admission Statistics by college show a higher admissions rate for the Engineering College than the College of Arts and Sciences.
Cornell Admissions Rate Fall 2005:
Cornell Overall <strong>27% <em>(for Men 26.5%, for Women 27.6%)
Arts & Sciences</em> 21.7% (for Men 21.5%, for Women 21.9%)
Engineering</strong><strong><em>38%</em></strong>(for Men 33.6%, for Women 53.8%)
<a href="http://dpb.cornell.edu/irp/pdf/FactBook/Admissions/Undergraduate/Freshmen/bycoll.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://dpb.cornell.edu/irp/pdf/FactBook/Admissions/Undergraduate/Freshmen/bycoll.pdf</a>
But the differences in the SATs of the students in each college is small.
-----------------------------Arts & Sciences------Engineering
SAT Verbal 25th Percentile<strong><em>650</em></strong>____<strong><em>640
SAT Verbal 75th Percentile</em></strong><strong><em>740</em></strong>___<strong><em>730
SAT Math 25th Percentile</em></strong><strong><em>680</em></strong>____<strong><em>710
SAT Math 75th Percentile</em></strong><strong><em>760</em></strong>_________<em>780
<a href="http://dpb.cornell.edu/irp/pdf/FactBook/Enrollment/Undergraduate/current">http://dpb.cornell.edu/irp/pdf/FactBook/Enrollment/Undergraduate/current</a></em>end.pdf
The Percent of the students in the top 10 percent of their High School Classes (of the 51% that report Class rank) are 83% in Arts and Sciences and 90% for Engineering.
<a href="http://dpb.cornell.edu/irp/pdf/FactBook/Admissions/Undergraduate/Freshmen/top10.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://dpb.cornell.edu/irp/pdf/FactBook/Admissions/Undergraduate/Freshmen/top10.pdf</a></p>
<p>If you really want to study engineering it makes sense to apply to that College at Cornell. You will have the opportunity to take classes in the other Colleges at Cornell in addition to your required engineering classes.</p>
<p>yeah don't play a statistics game unless you are equally attracted to the two colleges. Pick the best match for your interests.</p>