<p>Whats the difference between the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences? Does it matter which one I'm applying to? I'm leaning towards Agriculture and Life Sciences just because the application essay is easier</p>
<p>it doesn’t matter for the bio major specifically, but it will affect the rest of your educational experience. might you want to double major? be aware that you cannot major outside of your college, so you should apply to the one where your prospective double major would be. if you want to do an AEM minor (Applied Economics and Management) you would need choose CALS. in general, there are a lot more requirements for CAS in terms of distribution requirements (I don’t know exactly what they’re called, but it’s taking courses outside of your major.) for example, there is a language requirement in CAS while there is not on in CALS.
in terms of money, if you live in NY state, then your tuition would be significantly lower in CALS than in CAS. if you don’t live in NY state, then the two colleges cost the same.
as for acceptance, in CALS, you need to apply and be accepted to a specific major, whereas in CAS you can apply undecided. and, I suppose, you find one of the essays to be easier than the other.</p>
<p>I think those are the basic differences. if you have any questions I’ll be sure to check back to this thread. I’m a senior bio major in CALS btw.</p>
<p>If I apply to the College of Human Ecology, do I have to apply to a specific major as well?</p>
<p>I’m not really if I want to double major/what I would double major in. Which college do you think would be better if you wanted to go towards medical school? my friend said CAS but I’m not really sure</p>
<p>Human Ecology does not require that you apply to a specific major, but it does require that you demonstrate a strong fit to the college as a whole. I found this out by reading this nice page of tips put out by the college. <a href=“http://www.human.cornell.edu/admissions/undergraduate/process/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=77359[/url]”>http://www.human.cornell.edu/admissions/undergraduate/process/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=77359</a>
(the stuff about applying as an undecided major is at the bottom of the first column.)</p>
<p>as for the question about med school…based on my understanding of the med school application process (I’ve never been pre-med), I do not see any reason to favor one college over the other. I doubt there is any official breakdown of the med school results of bio majors from the two different schools, though, so I can only guess.</p>
<p>When deciding on college, the biology programs are largely identical, so you should apply to the college for all your other academic desires. If you do CAS, you’ll have to buy into the liberal arts curriculum, which as an Arts alum I absolutely loved. The requirements for CAS may seem daunting, but from my experience, they’re easy to fill if you are into taking a diversity of courses (each individual requirement is actually quite flexible). I wasn’t pre-med, but from the experiences of friends, I’d say CAS is great if you want to take a wide variety of courses. People in CAS who are most frustrated tend to be those who want to only stick to their majors when choosing all their courses. CAS also allows for a wide variety of double majors and/or minors.</p>