Got into ISU and SUNY Cobleskill. I want to study Animal Science, maybe specializing in poultry, goats, and/or organic ag. I’m a bit discouraged about the high acceptance rates of ISU and Cobleskill so I’m thinking of applying to Penn State. I’m also discouraged about how far away ISU is (over 1,000 miles) and problems with campus safety and student retention at Cobleskill. Then there’s Penn State, which is more selective, closer, has a solid ag program, but it doesn’t have the best reputation…
This sucks. I wish I applied EA to more schools so I wouldn’t be put in this situation…
Help
If you haven’t applied yet, Penn State might be tough to get into at this point; the priority deadline was November, and seats start to fill up after that.
ISU is better than cobbleskill.
You can try for Penn State (AG school not always the most popular) but this point odds are high you’ll get a branch campus.
What state are you in? What will each of these places cost you? How did these places end up on your application list?
What do you mean, precisely, by “disouraged about the high acceptance rates”?
Ifyou are in NYS, did you apply to Cornell CALS or to any of the NYS CCs that have articulation agreements for guaranteed admission to CALS?
Since you are currently interested in poultry, goats, and/or organic ag., did you verify that any of the places on your application list had decent programs for those? Ultimately, that is what is matters for your future.
I’m in NY. ISU (Iowa) is $22G, Penn State is $33G, and SUNY Cobleskill is $6G.
Unfortunately, my school doesn’t have anything in agriculture so the guidance counselors were little to no help. I limited myself to looking at state ag schools in the Northeast and I should have looked more in the mid-west. I also started the whole application process late because I had commitment issues with Animal Science as a major.
ISU has a 87% acceptance rate and I was looking to go to a more academic school.
I did apply to Cornell CALS (I also took a summer course in Sustainable Animal Husbandry there last summer where I got an A in the course and a letter of rec from the professor) but I was rejected. I’m planning on possibly transferring there next year, it’s my dream school. That’s how ISU got onto my list, it’s a higher rated ag school that’s more comparable in caliber to Cornell CALS than SUNY Cobleskill.
ISU and Penn State have sustainable ag, poultry, and goats. SUNY Cobleskill only has sustainable ag (it’s more of a community college).
Penn state is 33k instate -46k OOS.
Look at all the Midwest flagships still accepting applications.
TC3 has a transfer agreement with Cornell see if it’d be a cheaper option than cobbleskill. (They have an honors program).
Nebraska has a well-known AG school.
Definitely look at TC3. I can’t remember the feeder CCs from when I was a grad student in CALS back in the last century. Each year my department received several CC transfers. I seem to remember some coming from Geneva, but I might be wrong about that .
One of my fellow grad students was from New Jersey, and had gone to ISU to study ag as an undergrad. You are correct that it makes for a big geographical change! When you evaluate these options, be sure to include a factor for the cost and hassle of travel. You will need transport to Ames from the airport in Des Moines. I would not worry so much about ISU admitting 87% of its applicants. ISU has auto-admit criteria for in state applicants which means that a certain amount of self-selection takes place. Many students who don’t meet the auto-admit criteria just don’t apply there. They go to a community college instead. It also is important to remember that even when a big state U does admit a high percentage of the applicants, getting in Is one thing, but getting out in four years with a degree is another. There will be a whole lot of freshmen who don’t even last through Thanksgiving.
Reiterating what happymomof1 said re acceptance at Iowa State. It’s acceptance rate is high because applicants know ahead of time if they will be accepted. If the know they wont, they simply don’t apply. It is a huge draw for us but I fear it works against them with people unaware of what a great school it is. It has a very respected AG department, gorgeous campus (designed by same man that did Central Park), and some of the best job fairs in the country. It is definitely worth serious consideration.