<p>Well, there are no honors courses and there are only four AP's. I have taken/ am taking them all. That is why I have to teach myself AP Physics C. I really wish I could take more, but I just can't. In fact, I was the only junior to be allowed to take an AP class in many years: AP Physics B. Hopefully I will not get looked down upon for this.</p>
<p>I am positive this won't hurt you a lot, the only thing it might do is have them think well will he be able to handle the rigors of our classes if in high school he only had 4 AP classes and no honors. They might not be sure how you will be able to handle harder classes, which is why I think in your case your mid-year report will say a lot, if you get all A's and B+'s for your mid year report, that may make up for it, but if you are struggling like C's, C+'s and B's, then they may question how well you can handle their classes. However I am not on an adcom, and so I don't know how they will percieve that, try not to worry about it too much, you still have a good chance, and if you don't get in, you don't get in, im preparing myself for that fact, plus 70 percent of the people that apply don't get in, you won't be the only one. Good luck.</p>
<p>Yeah, I get trimester grades this week, and I am positive that they will be straight A's. To be honest, even my AP's are a breeze. I don't know how else to do to convey my intellectual abilities to Cornell or ability to handle stress. Do they take additional essays? I have already written one about my responsibilities at my job. I might submit that. In light of this, anyone care to give me a percent chance for the Engineering College? C'mon, you know you want to!</p>
<p>Unless we're on the admissions committee, which I'm sure no one is, then whatever we say is rather meaningless. That said, comparing your stats to mine, and the fact that I'm a student here, I'd say you have a good shot at making it.</p>
<p>I graduated from the physics program (A.B. Arts&Sciences) in 1990 and i'd say your chances of getting in are very high. The engineering school seems a little easier to get into presently (just judging from the admission stats), but the difference between the two programs is mainly the non-physics class schedule.</p>
<p>2 of my 3 roommates freshman year became AEPs and i was Physics. As far as physics classes go, we basically took the same classes until junior year and even after that there was a lot of overlap. (non physics classes - like math and everything else are a different story). unless things have changed, the main difference between the 2 programs is that if you are in AEP your schedule is basically determined for you like 85%. in other words, the engineering school requires you to take a whole bunch of stuff (engineering electives like computer programming, etc.) Physics is much more flexible. Also the electives you are required to take in A&S are naturally... liberal arts. I took music, sociology, history of photography, creative writing, japanese, and placed out of 2 semesters of german. on top of that are the required frosh writing seminars, which engineers have to take as well? (i think) mine were in philosophy and psychology. My "area of concentration" within the physics major was chemistry so I took 6 semesters of that as well. If you are interested in taking a foreign language or doing study abroad as an AEP, you can forget it. (either that or take an extra year to graduate.) You are going to have to take a lot of engineering elective crap (ok my bias is revealed.. :-)) as electives in AEP.</p>
<p>As far as grad school admissions, I don't think there is a big difference. It depends more on if you do an independent research project, and with who.</p>
<p>So in summary, the main difference is in the non-physics courses you take. I have not checked if things have changed recently, but that was my experience.</p>
<p>Thanks ihaveabunny! Can I ask what you did after Cornell? I emailed Cornell asking them what they think. I am certainly not into foreign language, although studying abroad would be fun! For the most part, I would like to stick to science, since there is so much to learn (engineering, computers, equipment, etc). My only concern is that I will not get admitting simply because I choose to attend the Engineering College instead of the College of Arts and Sciences. Well, any information you have on the future of these types of physics degrees (AEP and AB of Physics) would be very helpful. There are very few resources around here to help me out.</p>
<p>All three of us went to grad school (PhDs). Two of us are in academia. One works for KLA Tencor in LA. He does plasma simulations for semiconductor processing.</p>
<p>I think you are confused about one thing, though. The engineering school is <em>easier</em> to get into than arts & sciences. At least last year it was.</p>
<p>I personally don't consider any of the engineering electives to have anything to do with "science" as you put it, but if you mean more technical stuff then yes -- those electives will be more technical (and way more boring, imo :-)). If you are going to look for a job right after your bachelor's degree then AEP might be better choice because they might actually teach you something useful in those electives. haha. most of the bachelors jobs i've seen are more engineering oriented. in case you are confused about the difference between science and engineering, here is my 2 paragraph executive summary:</p>
<p>scientists want to know "why". if they build a machine, it only has to work... <em>once</em>. if the duct tape/wax/string/Rube Goldberg contraption falls apart 2 seconds after the paper's published, it dun matter! once they know "why", they think of another stupid (supposedly "deeper") question so that they'll go back to the comfortable state of "not knowing why". rinse. repeat.</p>
<p>engineers are comfortable thinking that they already <em>know</em> "why". (this really freaks scientists out.) if they build a machine, it has to work... <em>always</em>. not only that -- it has to work well enough so that more than 10 people will actually plunk down money to buy one.</p>
<p>Although the Engineering school seems easier to get to, according to the data, past discussions (on the old CC forum) had the consensus that it was actually harder due to a harder applicant pool--that Engineering applicants usually had higher stats and whatnot.</p>
<p>hmmm perhaps. didn't read that discussion, but here is the only data i can find:</p>
<p>the 2004 data alone may not be a good sample, (only 52% of applicants ranked that year.) and i have no idea if there are systematic effects, (like public schools are less likely to rank, etc.) but if you look back and average over the past few years the difference is clearly there; you are right. however, it does not seem to be nearly as big as the difference in admission rates. (25.5% and 38.0%) however, math scores probably matter a lot. no data.</p>
<p>i guess the only way to really know is to apply to both, but i don't think that is allowed. i think biology and cs majors applying to cornell have some of the same issues. (which school to apply to)</p>
<p>both eng and a&s seem to have the same problem: low yield. i think the original poster mentioned he applied to MIT. if he gets in there, i think it's a no-brainer :-)</p>
<p>Heck yeah it would be a no brainer, but I am assuming that won't happen. Cornell is a great match/reach for me. But I don't know if I'll get in. And to ihaveabunni, I am not really sure exactly who I am yet as far as that distinction. I really like learning about technology and how things work, but I don't want to get bogged down at a job spending years trying to make a better hairdryer or something. That job your friend has seems interesting. I just fear that I am not really smart enough to contribute much in academia, and would just be a prof at really bad college making 30k a year. I am very positive that no matter what I undergrad in, I want to pursue a PhD like my father. (and no, it's not to be better than him. It's just that academics is what I am good at, and I like school and learning. Why not go all the way?) In light of the fact that I want to recieve a lot of graduate education, in your opinion ihaveabunni, is it possible for a physics undergrad (BA) to go on to get a PhD in engineering or to get a PhD in physics and still work in a lucrative job in industry, perhaps supervising design teams, or researching for a company? Any info you have would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>the physics major is pretty flexible, but in some cases you have to take the correct supplementary courses. physics majors go directly into technical or engineering jobs, law school, business school, med school, and of course physics/EE/materials science/chemistry grad school. a guy in my lab in grad school actually went to law school <em>after</em> PhD and is now a patent attorney. (how depressing. by the time he got a real job he had to finish 24th grade...)</p>
<p>the best people to ask about this stuff are the department undergrad directors. it's their job to know this stuff. shoot them an email. the more specific the question, the better.</p>
<p>I'm bumping my chances post cuz I decided to apply to the college of...</p>
<p>Arts and Sciences!</p>
<p>Ha, I am at school and our site blocks most of these forums. Anyway, I was thinking about visiting before I get my admissions letter. Do you think that this is wise, taking into account my odds of admission? I got into Chicago early, deferred MIT. Do you think I have a 80%+ chance of admission to CAS? If so, then I think I will visit now instead of waiting till April. BTW, I am in Minnesota, and I am really excited cuz we just heard that we are getting out of school early! Yay Snow!</p>
<p>QOL at cornell is rated very highly. The new dorms are modern and shaweet
food is some of the best in the country
ithaca is a good college town, being kinda far from a city makes for a really vibrant campus social life, lotsa parties.
One of the best research institutions in the world, yes world, with some awesome professors.
ppl are supposed to be really cool, and have alot of fun in addition to working hard. Hear the guys look good and the girls are so-so.</p>
<p>your stats look really good, and ECs too. They want A&S applicants to have 4 years HS language though (not mandatory, just recommended). The writing score is still good, especially for someone who seems to gravitate toward math/sciences. If your essays present a science/math interest, that would be good. Make sure they realize frisbee is a real sport and you had a time commitment to it, because you're lacking in the athletics area unless thats big for you. If it is, then you're fine.</p>
<p>When is the Cornell Pre-Freshman Weekend for admitted students? I want to start planning now because I want to go to the Chicago weekend in April. I am just wondering if I should reserve a flight before my letter of admittance/rejection. I am kind of thinking that I have better than 50/50, so it would be better to take the chance and cancel a flight rather than hurry and book one. Just a thought.</p>
<p>One more question: Anyone doing the Summer Writing/Elective thing? I wanted to, but then I saw the price tag. No way.</p>
<p>My summer electives: world championships for Taekwondo and beach in Marthas Vinyard...haha</p>
<p>The "cornell days" thing hasn't been posted yet it's in april i think though.</p>
<p>I know how you feel dude, I hate PE. I took one semester but three are required so I'm taking a PE waivering course.</p>