are there any majors that are more competitive to get accepted into? specifically in the college of arts and sciences? i know that at my school’s rep visit, the cornell admissions person said that they accept people based on room in each major, but she didn’t say which ones were considered “Easy” or “hard.” thanks!
For arts & sciences, since you can’t technically declare a major until you get on campus, the selectivity across the college is the same. However, I have heard a CAS dean tell me that they do take into consideration what major you’re considering declaring, especially if it is a particularly unique one that doesn’t have a ton of students. She was also quick to mention, though, that you can’t lie about your prospecitive major hoping it’ll help you get in because that is extremely illegal.
@Ranza123 oh, ok, because i am planning on going pre-med so i was going to select a major like biological sciences or psychology. are one of the two majors “better” or “easier”? or are they both the same?
Easy is subjective and dependent on your academic strengths and weaknesses. Any major can be premed so long as you meet med school requirements
@IndoorCloud25 so are all majors looked at pretty equally? i don’t know exactly how to phrase it, but like one major won’t take more competitive applicants over another?
When you apply to arts and sciences you really don’t “declare” a major and I’m pretty sure you can list multiple interests. So if you’re interested in both bio and psychology, I would list them both! This is not true of the other colleges at Cornell, but CAS really does look at the applicant in terms of how he/she would fit in the college as a whole rather than in a specific major.
@Ranza123 actually you’re only allowed to list one; they say “Anticipated major within the college/school you’ve chosen (select only one)”. i don’t want to pick a major that people with 2400 SAT scores will also be picking, thus making me look underqualified (even though i’m not), if that makes any sense.
For admissions, CAS and CoE are the two colleges that I know for sure don’t lock you into a major nor do they really care what major you put in your application. For med school, the major you choose isn’t as much of a factor as scores, GPA, and extracurriculars.
Okay well just select your top choice, or choose “undecided” if that’s an option (I think it was when I applied, although I don’t remember). For CAS they really don’t judge you based on anticipated major like they do for the other colleges.
I think the key point OP is asking is - will my major hinge my admission further in CAS? Answer is no. That is what they say in forums, admission overviews and such. So, you should take that at face value.
@cd2015 that’s exactly what I meant, thank you!! I wasn’t sure if major affected acceptance because at my school’s rep visit they said that they have a certain amount of room in each major. Are you a current Cornellian?