My DD2 and I just came back from visiting Cornell and my DD1, who is a junior. there. DD2 plans to major in fashion merchandise management through Human Ecology. She liked the school and the program but worries about the stress her sister is constantly complaining about. Her sister has always been someone who stresses but she also had much better grades in high school than this DD. DD2 has better test scores. I keep telling her not to listen to everything her sister says because they have different majors and interests and personalities. DD2 was told at the Human Ecology meeting that Cornell takes up to 46 percent of their incoming class through ED. She was also told that fashion majors are treated like recruited athletes when it comes to admissions. I guess because they are required to submit a portfolio which shows their talent in addition to everything else. Are there any fashion majors out there who could offer some advice??? Thank you.
fashion major no, advice yes… (hey, it’s the internet…)
Typically one’s major accounts for only about 1/3 of one’s courses.
Suggest look carefully at Human Ecology in-college distribution and credit requirements, and have DD2 think about how she would want to meet those requirements And ask DD1 to look into the likely “stress” associated with such program of studies. She must know somebody in Hum Ec…
My operating assumption though. is that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and if she wants a Cornell education she should expect that she will be challenged.
What you don’t want is for her not learn what she wants to learn, take the courses she really wants, because she thinks they might be too hard…If it seems like too much for her she might be better off going elsewhere.
There is no shame in that. My son, with great test scores, opted not to apply.
I guess something to think about is: Do her HS grades reflect her best effort? Is it likely that if she studied as hard as DD1 she would have had similar success? And can she do that?
Nothing helps improves study habits like getting your behind kicked freshman year. But not everyone relishes going through that. And for some people it doesn’t happen, or it is not enough.
@monydad DD1 is a Pam major in the school of Human Ec. Her problem is she suffered 3 concussions junior year of high school and has had memory, retention and focus issues ever since. DD2 is just as capable but didn’t really try. She regrets that now… We have looked at the major requirements and have compared them to other universities. The only problem she forsees is calculus and we told her she only needs a C to pass. Not to let one class make her decision. I think this her only chance at being accepted.
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I meant look at the college requirements, not the major requirements.
Because when my son did that, he found that there would be a number of credits he would have to take, outside of his major but within Hum Ec, and those other areas didn’t interest him. That was a while ago now, though. -
If need be, DD2 might be able to get credit for a calculus course taken at a community college over the summer. Of course one would need to verify that this is the case.