Which Cornell school should I apply to?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

Hi! I tried doing this at the “what are my chances” forum but I didn’t get any substantial answers.

I’m super passionate about both leading and community service, and history. So, I don’t know whether I should apply to the ILR school or Arts and Sciences school.

So, based on my stats, what school do you think I am best qualified or have the best chance applying to?

SAT I:
1410/2130
-Critical Reading: 800
-Math: 610 (working on getting it up)
-Writing: 720

SAT II:
-World History: Around an 800
-United States History: Around an 800
(My truest passion is history. I LOVE LOVE LOVE history!)
Class Rank:
-25 out of 222

GPA:
-Weighted: 4.67
-Unweighted: 3.79

Extracurriculars:
-I have about 300 community service hours logged in right now.
-Beta Club (President)
-Key Club (President)
-Dungeons and Dragons Club (President) (Founder)
-Cross-Country (Team Captain)
-Track and Field (Team Captain)
-AFJROTC (Deputy Corps Commander)
-Palmetto Boys’ State
-Interact Club (Historian)

APs:
-AP US History: 5
-AP Human Geography: 4
-AP Psychology: 5
-AP World History (self-studied): 5
-AP Art History (self-studied): 5
-AP European History (self-studied): 5

Awards:
-West Point Leadership Award.
-Academic Gold Medalist.
-Cross-Country Rookie of the Year.
-AP Scholar with distinction.
-Cross-Country all-Region athlete.
-Cross-Country County Champion
-Cross-Country Rookie of the Year.

Hooks:
-First generation college student

-Ward of the state during my middle school year due to my family neglecting me and creating an unsafe home environment (poverty, drugs etc).

-Homeless for a couple months before moving into a foster home in the summer before my ninth grade year.

-Currently in a foster home

Recommendations:
Probably all 8/10 or 9/10.

Financial Aid: Due to being a Foster kid, and not living with my biological mother, I qualify for full aid.

2

“My truest passion is history.” So apply to CAS and major in history!! It seems you’ve answered your own question.

3

@Ranza123 although I am really passionate about history, I am also nearly as passionate in leading and doing things in the community. I honestly would be fine with getting accepted to either. Problem is, though, I don’t know which school I’d be more qualified for based on my stats and credentials.

4

I personally wouldn’t say you’re more qualified for one over the other. I think it really depends which one you’re more passionate about, which would shine through in your essays. What kind of job do you see yourself having? What disciplines do you want to focus on while in school? Here’s a link to the kinds of things ILR grads did after graduation: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/sites/ilr.cornell.edu/files/ILR_bachelorTRIFOLD_2015_FInal_B.pdf

There isn’t a similar link for history students since history is a major while ILR is an entire college. I don’t want to speculate on what the majority of Cornell history majors do post-graduation, but some options would include law school, grad school, employment, etc. (though I guess those are sort of the options for every major). It appears that the majority of ILR grads go straight into the workforce (which surprised me; I would have thought more would continue on to law/grad school). They seem to go into HR, law, government, business, etc. kinds of fields.

So it really depends on you and your own interests/passions! Which college do you see yourself attending, what do you see yourself learning, what do you see yourself doing after graduation?

5

Perhaps looking at professors bios & research interests would help;

ILR; https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/people/faculty
CAS: http://history.arts.cornell.edu/faculty-department.php

6

@Ranza123 thank you for your detailed response. It’s just really hard deciding on either, since I’m passionate about both. And I wouldn’t mind either school honestly. So I was going to leave it up to which school I’d be more qualified and have a better chance applying to.

7

@csdad thanks!

8

For a purely stat perspective, you have a better chance at ILR. CAS admits have higher stats than ILR.

9

@2018dad Thanks for your response. Do you have the source for that as well?

10

I’ve got a link;

http://irp.dpb.cornell.edu/tableau_visual/admissions

11

@csdad thanks!

12

Although CAS has higher stats, ILR has a slightly lower acceptance rate.

13

I think last year was an unusual year for ILR. Historically CAS has a lower acceptance rate:

CAS
2015 14.78%
2014 13.47%
2013 15.16%
2012 14.49%

ILR
2015 13.82%
2014 13.91%
2013 16.19%
2012 20.53%

Or it could be the start of a new trend?

14

I am a current ILR student, so I can tell you some of my personal observations. If you choose to go to ILR, you can definitely focus on labor history. Also, if you want to do research, Catherwood, the ILR library, has the most extensive archive on historical labor documents in the world, except for potentially a university in Geneva.

15

@SJJunior that’s awesome! What I love about the ILR school is that not only does it emphasis the social sciences but it also encourages people who are leaders and organizers as well. That is something I have yet to find at my other schools. I just dunno if I’m a good “fit”. What did you like about the school and what do you think got you in?

16

Ask an admissions officer about the pros and cons of each school given your interests. I think you should look for the best match for your interests, not which is ‘easier’ to get into. You also have good hooks and a compelling personal story. Paired with your excellent achievements, the way you seem to have overcome adversity may make you a very appealing candidate to many admissions offices.

17

@ASJU9511 my favorite thing so far about ILR is the openness of the major. I had no idea what I really wanted to do, and ILR is great for that because you take a couple of classes in the different ILR disciplines and then you can choose what you want to concentrate on if you want to (it is not required to concentrate on anything).

In my opinion, I think I got in because of my supplemental essay. I wrote about how this one specific ILR class related back to me throughout my life. I wrote about many of my experiences and why that made that specific class perfect for me.

18

You should compare the requirements to complete a degree in ILR and a degree in history in CAS. I think that will settle it for you. The requirements are very different. Open an Excel spreadsheet and type it out.

19

@SJJunior wow that is awesome! As someone who is at ILR and is familiar with what it wants from its students, would you like to look at my essay? I can PM you.

20

@brantly good advice! I will definitely do that!