Cornel AEM vs CAS Economics?

nagromis
Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:26:42 +0000

From many previous posts
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1060793807-post3.html

*An “oldie but goodie”…this explains some of the history. By the way, this student was finally rejected from Wharton (he was deferred ED) and ended up attending Dartmouth… he should be entering his senior year by now.

Also…as ishmaelstrom said, it is the “traditional business program”. I’d like to further clarify that statement - it is the only “AACSB Accredited” business program at Cornell, although there are other ways to study business. There are only two accredited business programs in the Ivy League - Wharton and AEM.*



AEM or economics?
Thread: AEM or economics?
12-19-2004, 12:01 PM #16
nagromis
Junior Member

Join Date: Aug 2004
Threads: 5
Posts: 100

BigJake: I’ve been reading your posts for a while now and I am impressed with how thorough your research is and how thoughtful your posts are. Personally, I am not comfortable telling a student where it’s best for them to apply, because I don’t think I can do so responsibly while only knowing them in sound bites from posts on this board. I am still keeping my fingers crossed for you that you get admitted into Wharton, because I know how much you like their program. I’m not advising you to apply to Economics in CAS or AEM in CALS, but it seems from the history of your posts that you are not entirely comfortable attending CALS. Choosing a college is all about fit; you have to decide where you would like to spend the next four years of you life. My advice to you would be to choose based on your comfort level, and it seems like you are most comfortable in CAS (Oops! I broke my own rule!) The answer to your question “If you’re in AEM, is there any connection to the agriculture school…i know that there are a couple of required classes you have to take but, for the most part, is it two separate fields really?” As an AEM major you are matriculating in CALS… you are most defiantly an Aggie! It’s not two separate fields, it’s one major under the umbrella of a college that houses many majors, including Communications, which is not generally associated with agriculture either.

I’ll try to give you a little history about why business is in CALS. The acronym AEM is fairly new. The business program in CALS has gone through many transformations. I could write a tome on this, but CALS started as the NYS land grant college (Google- The Morrill Act, July 2, 1862). Farmers attended that College - since farming was a big business in those days, that’s how business originated there. The first business program was called Agricultural Economics. Over time, the program grew and changed as the population changed. Today, you can still major in Agriculture Economics, but the major that you are inquiring about in AEM is strictly the Business major. As a side note, the College of Human Ecology used to be called the College of Home Economics. This was originally called the “Farmers’ Wives Reading Course” and was part of Ag until it became a separate college!

Back to AEM, one of the reasons why it has become so competitive to gain admission to is due to the accreditation. Contingent on accreditation, they had to lower the student/faculty ratio. I think I mentioned this to you in another post…this is the first year it was ranked in USNWR and coming in at #14 in undergraduate business programs is great for a first time ranking. It is also extremely popular because of its reputation as a strong program in terms of networking, recruiting and educationally. Wharton and AEM are the only two accredited undergraduate business programs in the Ivy League. I don’t know as much about Economics in CAS, but I’ve heard that they have excellent outcomes in terms of recruiting and graduate schools as well. Basically, students that want an “undergraduate business degree” would be interested in AEM, and students interested in business on a macro (broad) level might be more inclined to choose Economics.

On one of your posts, you asked about the flexibility of AEM. I mentioned in a previous post how many courses you can take in the endowed colleges, including CAS (up to 55 credits), so it’s flexible from that standpoint, but your interests seem extremely suited for CAS since you expressed an interest in studying history, political science, classics and foreign language. CAS is really a liberal arts college that is perfect for someone like you with a broad range of interests. On the flip side of that, I searched some of your other posts and noticed that you are doing science research and there is a strong science component in AEM as in every major in CALS. They might like to see your strong interest in science.

I think you should visit Cornell to get a feeling for these programs. Make appointments for the tour, plus info sessions for CALS and CAS. You might want to sit in on some classes. Perhaps you should call Cornell Careers Services to inquire about different career paths from each of the majors.

Hope this helps. You can’t make a bad choice. If you’re not happy, once there you can apply for an internal transfer. Hopefully you’ll be accepted to your first choice college, so this won’t matter in the long run!