Questions about Cornell ILR?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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1

Hi! I am currently a Junior in HS, am very interested in politics/going to law school, and would love to apply to Cornell ED. I've attached most of my stats, with some questions below.

LOCATION: Pennsylvania
DEMOGRAPHIC: White Male
GPA (UNWEIGHTED): 3.9
GPA (WEIGHTED): 4.3 (4.7 in Junior Year)
ACT: 31 (E: 35, M: 30, R: 31, Sci: 26)
AP EXAMS: US History (4), English Language, Psychology, US Government, Environmental Science

EXTRACURRICULARS:

  • Speech & Debate Team (Captain-11, PA State Champion-10, Top 10 in Nation)
  • Democratic Club (Founder & President, 10-11)
  • Class President (9-11)
  • Bi-Partisan Political Club (9-11, President-11)
  • Youth Board Member of County’s United Way (9-11, Recording Secretary-11)
  • Future Business Leaders of America (9-11, Cabinet Member-11, 2x State Qualifier)
  • County 1st Place Poet Laureate (10)
  • Peer Counsellor (10-11)
  • National Honor Society (10-11)

VOLUNTEERISM:

  • Intern, County Executive (11)
  • Intern, State Representative (11)
  • ~150 Volunteer Hours with various charities

For some extra background, I originally planned on applying to Cornell’s College of Arts & Sciences for Government, but the more I hear about their School of Industrial & Labor Relations, the more I like it! I am really interested in labor rights issues, as I am very involved in my area’s Youth United Way, which is entirely funded by labor.

Some Questions:
1.) Does ILR seem like more of a fit for me than Arts & Sciences? I am interested in what both have to offer, but it seems like ILR would be a stronger fit? Thoughts?

2.) I see ILR is funded by NY’s state government. Are out-of-staters disadvantaged by this?

3.) I’ve heard that ILR puts more of an emphasis on ECs, essays, recs, etc. than test scores, and that CAS is more tilted towards test scores. Is this true?

4.) This year, Cornell is test-optional due to COVID. Does this mean it’s “test recommended” but they technically can’t force you to send scores, or is this truly a message that they understand applicants may be facing tough times, and won’t care whether scores are sent this year? I was playing around in the beginning of the year with the ACT, but wanted to get serious in the spring, and well, I don’t see any tests coming up for a loooong time…

Again, any advice/feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your input :slight_smile:

2

I’m an undergrad in CAS so I can’t speak to 2, 3, and 4, but in terms of your first question, the main difference between CAS and ILR are its college specific requirements. Also, keep in mind that you can normally only double major within your college so if you also have a strong interest in another discipline like bio or sts, it may be better to be in CAS, although I’m unsure if the interdisciplinary nature of ILR makes up for its lack of major options.
You seem like a good fit for government in CAS, the ILR school, and even PAM in HumEc so I would maybe pay attention to career prospects for each option/what alumni are doing and see what matches up to your own goals the best.