<p>I'm thinking of applying to cornell class of 2015</p>
<p>I'm interested in studying business, and came up with two options</p>
<ol>
<li><p>CALS - AEM (which seems to be the closest thing to business)</p></li>
<li><p>CAS - Econ (seems like a safe way to go. I can do MBA later)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I was thinking of doing primary/alternate admission and apply to both. However, I have heard that doing such thing might hurt my chance of getting into either college. In my opinion, although the colleges are different, the majors are pretty much the same, so my interest in business won't seem diluted. Should I or should I not apply to both schools?</p>
<p>And also, I have heard that some schools' admissions are more difficult than some others. Obviously, the hotel management part sounds to be the most difficult, but what about the other schools? Is CALS harder than CAS? what are the admission rates?</p>
<p>thank you</p>
<p>AEM and ECON are two very different programs. </p>
<p>AEM and HOTEL are more similar.</p>
<p>Apply to CALS if you are a NY resident</p>
<p>I didn’t phrase my sentences correctly. AEM and Econ both seems to be looking at economics as a whole, with AEM more on the practical side. If I go for Econ, I’ll be applying to graduate business schools. </p>
<p>When I meant that they were similar, I meant they are relatively similar compared to some other mixes (such as Econ + Bio). The reason I asked the question is because I heard that if you apply to two very different programs Cornell thinks you are only interested in getting into college. Some people recommended that I apply to both AEM and Econ if I’m interested in business. </p>
<p>"Oh and btw I heard specifically that they DON’T want applicants to apply to another college if you are applying for HOTEL, since it’s a very specific program.</p>
<p>So, would it hurt my chance at either college if I apply to both?</p>
<p>AEM is probably the most competitive major in CALS. </p>
<p>The thing you need to understand about the primary/alternate option is that it is highly unlikely your application will be viewed by the alternate college. Each college has a few months to evaluate thousands of applications. If the primary college denies your application, they will forward it to the alternate college only if they feel your application is outstanding and merits a second look by the other college. In the last two years, I believe only 2% of applicants were admitted by their second choice college.</p>
<p>I guess I could see a conflict if you used the primary/alternate option with the Hotel school, but I can’t imagine it would negatively affect your application if you did CALS/CAS.</p>
<p>@dewdrop87</p>
<p>thank you very much for your insights! It really helped a lot. </p>
<p>I just have one more question tho. I thought that when you apply to a school, you are competing to GET INTO THAT SCHOOL. For example, I thought that if I’m going for AEM, then I’m competing with all applicants that are applying to CALS</p>
<p>however, you said that AEM is the most competitive major in CALS, which means there is separate competition for that major. Did I understand it correctly? So, even if I am applying to CALS, in reality I’m competing with AEM applicants only, which is pretty competitive. Is that right?</p>
<p>Thank you once again.</p>
<p>dewdrop87
where did you get these stats? can you link me up? I went to a cornell information session last week, and the informant dude said that u have equal chance of being admitted as an alternate or primary.</p>
<p>In A&S and ENG, you apply to the college only and you don’t compete for spots within a major.</p>
<p>In CALS, HumEc, ILR, Hotel, AAP, you apply for a particular major (or the entire school is only 1 major) and thus you are competing for spots with others who applied to the same major.</p>
<p>impetuous, your application will be compared to other AEM applications.</p>
<p>Expect the competitive majors within CALS (AEM, Biological Sciences, BEE) to have lower acceptance rates than the aggregate rates for CAS and ENG.</p>
<p>@ Caillebotte</p>
<p>well that’s pretty scary…</p>
<p>isnt competition fiercer if you’re from the tri-state area and shooting for CALS? not to mention if you’re from new york?</p>
<p>I’m an international student and I’m asian so I already expect some harsh competition.</p>
<p>I just didn’t know that AEM was THAT competitive.</p>
<p>Which one would I have a higher chance of getting in to Cornell? I really don’t mind either major. </p>
<p>option 1) primary : AEM alternate : CAS (econ)
or
option 2) primary : CAS (econ) alternate : AEM</p>
<p>i dont know how many seats are open for AEM at cornell…</p>
<p>i would also consider other top business schools…state schools too! uni texas is great for accounting…</p>