Planning on eventually going to medical school. Both CHE and CALS have reduced tuition for NYS students, which is very appealing but doesn’t give an advantage to one or the other. All the cornell pre med stuff seems to be listed under CAS, though thankfully it seems to be available to all cornell students and ive ruled out CAS. But im stuck between these two majors and i need help since I need to finish a rough draft of my supplemental essays tonight!
HBHS Pros:
Seems more geared towards pre med
Easier (not easy!) classes, GPA boost
Nutritional sciences seems pretty interesting
Biology & Society Pros:
Very interested in the “society” aspect: feels like a good foundation for a professional career, I am genuinely interested in it, and a lot of my ECs are related to a bio-social/community connection.
I feel more attached to CALS than CHE
Oh and I should probably mention that the odds of me actually getting into cornell are low. I think i put up a good fight (see previous posts for stats) but 1) its so selective for everyone and 2) things are out of my control after a certain point. Thankfully, I’ve already been admitted with money to colleges I would seriously consider attending, and I have applied to 5+ other schools as well.
Thanks!
Edit: Should probably mention what im looking for!
Good community (supportive, competitive but not cutthroat)
Not a gpa destroyer
Genetics, Philosophy, Cell Bio classes (i think these are offered at both but not sure)
Well obviously a lot of its me. But theres factors outside of my control. And while 95% of it is the work i put in, im not asking about that, im asking about the 5% thats not in my control.
I recognize you from my other posts. While I appreciate the help (and i apologize for being snarky myself in my first 1-2 posts), it gets on my nerves a little when people say stuff like “well its actually about you!” as if I know nothing about how college works.
Yeah, I don’t know nearly as much as some other people, im just in high school. But I know some stuff.
Oh, and I did the research, I have all the pdfs rn. But im juggling this, doing a project, and starting to study for my midterms. I don’t think its a sin to ask for some extra opinions, and I don’t think that makes me uninformed
I already did speak with a bunch of students. And i got mixed opinions but the general consensus was that HBHS was a bit easier.
I very clearly stated that I don’t expect it to be easy. Im just saying easier, generally. Like how AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC are both difficult for the average person, but most people would say calculus AB is easier as there is less material.
I was just asking for extra opinions. Like I don’t know how selective each college individually is: people post percentages but it doesn’t seem backed up by anything. Maybe some here knows? And—as I said before—there shouldn’t be anything wrong with asking for extra opinions on a forum dedicated to college admissions and I really shouldn’t have to go on the defensive right off the bat.
Naviance is unhelpful. Only helpful for schools like bing where everyone from our school who meets a certain GPA and SAT gets auto accepted. For many T100 (I don’t like using that term because rankings are subjective but whatever) schools, once you hit a certain SAT it can really go either way. An even amount of red x and green checks in the same place as me isn’t helpful: I don’t know the year they applied, what college/program they applied to, or what their ECs/Essays are. Obviously having that information would be a huge breach of privacy but you get my point.
Counselors are okay but im working on this essay tonight, I need this decision by tonight, and I can’t summon them with a click of a button. And when we do meet, they usually just direct me to naviance which is unhelpful for the reasons stated above.
Im just asking for opinions and you immediately jumped to implying that I never actually asked a student or did any research. This is insulting and unhelpful. “Well actually turns out YOU have to put in the work!” I don’t wanna be immature but no duh sherlock. And I don’t know which one I like more.
I think its reasonable to assume that you didn’t think I knew much at all considering your first direct to me was “just talk to students” and then “just google it.” Im a senior, its December, I know you need to do research and I know what naviance is.
I respect that you’re trying to be helpful but maybe its better not to jump to immediately questioning the kid. Ive talked to other people on this forum outside of the platform and a lot of people get annoyed when they ask for advice or chance mes and people immediately go to asking them about personal finances or just stating the obvious. This shouldn’t feel like an interrogation or interview but it sorta is sometimes, even though I know that isn’t your intention.
Oh, and if you’re wondering I was looking for things like “my ____ takes this major and says it’s ____ because ____” which someone who Dmed me so generously provided. Or some stats I may have skimmed over, such as job placement for people who decided medicine isn’t for them.
Again I appreciate the intentions but I don’t need stuff like “just look it up.” Call me fragile, but it’s sorta irritating and I guess im not the only one that thinks that.
If you have to deal with people who genuinely never thought about actually looking the school up when applying, then I am sorry about that💀
I don’t think theres a need to continue this conversation further. If you don’t have the information im looking for that absolutely fine, but it should be basic decency to actually read what I type when responding, considering I read yours and considered how you are an adult advisor here.
So, jumping in here. Your question as I understand it is “which of these two schools at Cornell should I apply to”. To preface this, D25 is also applying to Cornell and their various schools, with their individual application requirements, as well as other restrictions certainly creates some challenges. For example, D25 is looking to apply to a niche biology program which can be assessed through either CAS or CALS. But application and graduation requirements are different and, as you point out, she felt attached to one more than the other.
So, since you need to choose one or the other, I would suggest following your gut:
If you feel more attached to the program, your essays and application in general should be better which should help you achieve your ultimate goal. And, if it turns out to be true (that you click better with the CALS program), then you will also probably enjoy college better, get more out of it, and have a better outcome.
Regardless of which you choose, good luck!
Also, you reference above some career outcome information. I’m not sure if you’ve found it yet or not, but Cornell publishes online a very robust searchable database on career outcomes.
You’re right: thank you! Going to go with my gut and go Biology n Society at CALS🙏
Ive seen some of cornells career stats—which are pretty impressive—but i was looking for something a little more specific such as how people do taking biosoc specifically after dropping premed. I remember they gave a list of careers but nothing too specific. In hindsight however this was sort of a dumb question.
I see someone is currently typing and I don’t want to cut them off so Ill leave the post up for now, but I will prob delete this post since I have my answer
So, the pre med requirements are going to be the same classes, regardless of if you are in CHE, CALS, or CAS. Everyone takes the same bio, chem, calc, genetics, etc… You can get into med school from any college at Cornell.
You can reach out to the Health Professions Advising Center to see if they have the statistics for med school acceptances by college and ask if there is a difference. prehealthadvising@cornell.edu I
IMO, you need to look at the college specific requirements and see which speak to you more AND which college you think better aligns with your interests and your HS ECs.
Look at the Vision statements of both colleges. Does one speak to who you are more?