jimes2

I was wondering how hard it is to get into the College of Engineering compared to the other colleges.

I have 2090 SAT (1490 on 1600 scale) and a weighted 99.96 GPA, do you think I have a decent chance?

GolfFather

Acceptance rate for Engineering is about 20%.
But be careful, comparing the various schools/colleges at Cornell is a touchy subject.
The rate for Arts & Sciences is 15%.
But that does not mean that Eng. is "easier" to get into than A&S.

Here are the numbers for all the colleges/schools at Cornell:

http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000003.pdf

faustarp

honestly I don't think that comparing the factual admissions rates in each school is particularly touchy. what can be a problem is when people don't consider what the different schools offer, and how that aligns with both their existing strengths and their future plans. I think the OP was asking for reasonable information though.

jimes2

The rates for males are actually nearly identcial (15.8% each) according to this information. Thanks for the response.

mathstarftw

Latest admission rates actually put engineering at around 17.5% and CAS at 14.5%.

Peppino

@mathstarftw

Where are you getting that data from?

csdad

In addition to the admit rates, here are the stats for each college:


http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000176.pdf
http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000177.pdf

Saugus

^
Does that seriously say there are TWO Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders in ALL of Arts and Sciences?

hudsonvalley51

Cornell Engineering is a tougher admit IMO than the raw admission statistics suggest. To some extent the applicant pool is self selective if our local experience is any guide. Generally the gifted HS STEM students in our area who hope to pursue engineering will not apply to Cornell unless they are in the top 5 in their class and have M&CR scores of 1450+. Top 5 usually translates into a weighted average of 101 or so. From what I've seen about 1 out of every 6 or 7 students is admitted.

Most students in our area who are admitted to Cornell are admitted to CALS. Those students are usually top 5% with high 90s unweighted GPAs and SAT scores of 1250+.
Remember, what I've stated applies to small, rural/suburban schools in one part of the Hudson River Valley.

cortana431

Statistically, yes the college of engineering , particularly for males, is more difficult to be admitted to due to the higher and different academic standards however a big part of the application process is Fit: for example, a math/engineering focused student with near perfect test scores and grades may have a considerably harder time getting into CALS than a student with distinctly lower, still respectable stats, but ECs geared more towards CALS and their major and essays that display their passion.

mikeyc765

The admissions statistics are misleading. You likely won't have a better chance of being admitted by simply applying to the college with the higher acceptance rate. An excellent Engineering candidate may only be a good CALS candidate and vice versa. The only thing you can really learn from the relative acceptance rates is something like an excellent ILR candidate has a higher chance of being admitted than an excellent CAS candidate.

mathstarftw

All the data you need: University Factbook
In particular interest is the freshmen admission statistics to the right.

zephyr15

I think it depends to a degree on what you want to study.

If you have a demonstrated interest in the Hospitality industry but have never taken an advanced math or science course, I'd think that the Hotel School would be easier to get into than Engineering. On the other hand -- if you really really want to be a Chem E and your interests demonstrate that -- Hotel School, not so much.