wrong course

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

hello, in a hurry I did something stupid :frowning:

I wrote the wrong course for my Cornell common app and submitted it. It should be biology or biochemistry but I picked chemistry and chemical biology.

What should I do?

2

i thought cornell doesn’t have a biochemistry major, at least not when you apply. i think you choose biology and then later on you can choose biochemistry as your concentration.

3

Hmm okay but I want to study biology not chemistry
any ideas?

4

@Sanazulfi It depends on what you wrote in your essays. If you applied to chemistry but wrote all about your love affair with biology, that disconnect might hurt you. But overall you applied to the College of Arts & Sciences right? As long as you applied to the right college it doesn’t really matter what major you selected, because in reality you don’t have to declare until sophomore year.

5

@cotopaxi yeah, I applied to the College of Arts and Sciences! Hmm well in my essay I tried to blend in chemistry as much as I could while also writing about my love for biology
would that be alright?

6

@Sanazulfi Without reading your essay it sounds like you’re demonstrating your interest in the sciences, so yes, that’s probably fine. As you might have read in other threads, Cornell really looks for fit. Test scores, GPA, etc. just get you away from the reject pile to the second stage pile. In that second stage is where they really read your stuff and try to imagine you as the individual and not just stats. If your essays are good, then the reviewers will be able to imagine you in CAS making a meaningful contribution regardless of major. If you think your essays did that then you have a good shot regardless of the accidental major you selected.

7

@cotopaxi thank you so much! I was just overwhelmed by the wrong major

8

It’s fine. For CAS you don’t need to be that specific in your major, much more flexible.

9

If you are really worried still, you could give them a call and ask them.

Tell them you were confused about “chemical biology” and “biochemistry” since they both sounded similar, and ask if it’s possible to switch. It shouldn’t be a big deal; they do sound similar.

10

@jfx246 thanks for the advice but i think it will be better if i just leave it alone :slight_smile: