AEM used to be part of CALS, now it is a joint program between SC Johnson and CALS. When you apply to Cornell, you select a program (school) you want to apply to. In this case it is:
It is also the case for Hotel.
You would not apply to CALS and then apply to AEM. SC Johnson is NOT part of CALS. This is all fairly new, so it may be kind of confusing for people.
AEM’s admissions (even when part of CALS) were always low because most athletes chose AEM during ED. AEM was not a hard program relative to other programs within Cornell.
There is a lot of cross over between Hotel school and AEM. Many Hotelies ended up going into banking and consulting upon graduation. For years it was a back door to get a business degree at Cornell.
https://admissions.cornell.edu/apply/first-year-applicants/admission-requirements
https://dyson.cornell.edu/programs/undergraduate/admissions/freshman.html