<p>Does anyone know which school is harder to get into, and why? Also, what specifically does ILR look for in applicants?</p>
<p>lower acceptance rate = arts and sciences.
easier to get into = depends on the person/interests/activities, etc. but one better show interest in whatever program one applies to.</p>
<p>I think your odds are better if you apply to the college for which you can best relate your interests and high school experiences. Stats indicate that incoming A&S students tend to have slightly higher academic credentials, while ILR emphasizes that they are particularly interested in people with demonstrated leadership and public service potential. I think accurately citing a good reason for you and ILR to be a good fit would go a very long way in the admissions office. Although admit rates at A&S are also lower, ILR probably has more self-selection, as evidenced by higher yield rates. Overall, I think the differences in selectivity between them are small and depends on the applicant, and it truly does make sense to apply for whichever program interests you most.</p>
<p>Here are stats, you decide:</p>
<p>Arts 18% admissions rate, 1960-2260 SAT midrange (25th-75th percentile of those who attend)</p>
<p>ILR 28% admissions rate, 1890-2140 SAT midrange</p>
<p>Arts, nearly 15,000 applicants </p>
<p>ILR, under 900 applicants</p>
<p>would you say that Ilr, while specific, provides a solid liberal arts education?</p>
<p>Re:RedCrimBlue: Yes, Arts has a lower admit rate and higher SAT midrange for accepted students. Sure they have more applicants, but also A&S’s class size is much larger.
However, the statistics are highly misleading. Suppose matriculation rates–that is, how many of the accepted students actually accepted Cornell’s offer-- is the best measure of the college’s quality. This isn’t unreasonable. A&S has a matriculation rate of 38%, while ILR has a matriculation rate of 65%; so sure more people apply to A&S, but apparently the ones who got in used it as a Plan B. So don’t be mislead by the numbers posted by RedCrimBlue. So while A&S seems to shoot for people with the highest stats, the numbers suggest that ILR is more interested in the people who are a good fit, and those people appear to be more likely to perceive ILR as a good fit too. It makes sense-- A&S has more of a liberal arts orientation, while ILR is looking for someone specific. Indeed, Hotel and Architecture programs also have very high matriculation rates, and low scores; like ILR, scores are less indicative of fit than what you’ve accomplished outside of school.
Cited: <a href=“http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000003.pdf[/url]”>http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000003.pdf</a>
As to abanks’s question-- no. You could use your ILR electives to study the liberal arts at A&S, but the ILR curriculum will give you a well-rounded education in the social sciences education, examining interdisciplinary approaches to the study of labor issues (labor econ, organizational behavior, human resources, labor law, collective bargaining, international comparative labor, etc).
If leadership activities are your strong suit, and you’re interested in the social sciences, ILR would be a great fit. If leadership activities aren’t your strong suit, but you’re an old-school academic, with a great gpa and test scores, and are interested in a liberal arts education, A&S would probably be better (and I think you’d be more likely to get in than to ILR).</p>
<p>so what extracurriculur activites would line up with ILR?</p>
<p>For myself, among other things, I was captain of my competitive policy debate team, had lots of fundraising and community service experience, and wrote my International Baccalaureate thesis on labor movements in Latin America (and got a great and highly relevant recommendation out of my advisor for this, as well). I think these are the types of activities that were aligned with what the ILR admissions office was looking for. Some other leadership activities (chess team captain, active in theater and dramaturgy) probably meant less. I also probably bulldozed my way into ILR with much higher academic scores than most (about what A&S’s 75%ile is now, and about top 3% or so of my crappy high school).
A number of my friends at ILR came from working class backgrounds, and my guess is that they had pretty hefty family obligations growing up. To be honest, we never talked about what our apps looked like; it seems like the distant past once you’re already there. Of course, this is all anecdotal, but I also know someone on the admissions committee and he emphasizes that they look for high enough academic credentials so you can handle the workload, and then they look for the people with the best intangibles. Of course, A&S will look for leadership activities as well, but I think ILR puts a special premium on them.</p>
<p>do you enjoy ILR? what do you want to do after you graduate? do you think having an ACT of 32 (75th for arts and sciences) will allow me to “bulldoze” my way in?</p>
<p>I loved my time at ILR. In particular, I was very closely mentored through research assistanceships, and enjoyed the social-side of academics at ILR (the study groups, the faculty interaction, the student tutoring, etc). I suppose this takes away the “confidential” part of “college confidential,” but no matter-- I ended up a PhD student at my top-choice grad school, and was also offered full rides at my other top choices as well. Since some of their acceptance rates were below 4%, ILR really kept doors open to me. I also found that ILR was very highly regarded in the relatively small circle it occupies, so when I interviewed at PhD programs they were excited to pick my brain about it. ILRies also do exceptionally well in law school admissions. I would have been happy at A&S too. Of course, the advantage of Cornell (both ILR and A&S), and other top research universities, is that there are enormous opportunities, but they need to be grabbed!</p>
<p>As a disclaimer, I’m also a biased sample, since I come onto these boards to share my thoughts about ILR, since I loved it so much. </p>
<p>I think a 32 ACT is about 2130 on the new SAT, which is about 75%ile for ILR but not quite 75%ile for A&S. Unless you’re valedictorian, my guess is that a 32 ACT isn’t enough to bulldoze your way into ILR through academic credentials. Still, I think if you have good extracurics, a good essay, and a GPA commensurate to your SAT, my bet is that you’d get a thick envelope from either ILR or A&S!</p>
<p>alright, thanks for all of your help. More questions if you are willing to answer them. Where any of your classmates interested in business or mostly just law? What do you know about placement into business programs?</p>
<p>Usually you apply for an MBA after several years of work experience. Since I’m a recent graduate, I don’t know anyone who applied for an MBA, but some likely will within a few years. Here’s some useful info: [ILR</a> Undergraduate Admissions: Careers](<a href=“http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/admissions/careers/]ILR”>http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/admissions/careers/)
Looks like relatively few (5%) eventually get MBAs, versus about a quarter who get JDs. Plenty of ILRies go into business-y professions though.</p>
<p>thanks again, one more, when you were there did you identify more with ILR or Cornell in general? In other words, are ILR’ies all friends with eachother etc. or did you feel pretty connected with the rest of the University?</p>
<p>Good question. I was pretty connected to the rest of the community. I was in a fraternity and in the undergrad research community. I have a lot of friends from ILR since we shared so many classes, but almost all of my close friends were made outside of classes, and they were pretty representative of Cornell as a whole. You’d have to make an effort to segment yourself off from people outside of your college, which would be ridiculous. Academically, I identify more with ILR, but socially, I identify as a Cornellian!</p>
<p>yaaa ILR represent! lol. ps at this point in my life I’m thinking about going on to get an MBA and I’m not alone in seeking a business path (Altho u are right that there are lots of law people)</p>
<p>Arts 18% admissions rate, 1960-2260 SAT midrange (25th-75th percentile of those who attend)
^^^ why does that sound a little bit high?^^^^</p>
<p>the real story for ILR admissions is not who gets in, but rather who does NOT get in (my boss in admissions told me this). You’d be surprised at the number of 2300+ SATs they reject in favor of applicants that they deem to be a better fit.</p>
<p>“What do you know about placement into business programs?”
dude, honestly, how many times do we have to answer this question.</p>
<p>well I am split between law and business…I guess I will have to figure it out if I get in, but ILR seems like a perfect program for a person who is conflicted, right?</p>
<p>you’ll have 4 tough years ahead, if you screw those up then I wouldn’t worry too much about picking law or business. Career will happen later.</p>
<p>gomestar, what sorts of activities/qualities would an applicant have to display in order to be considered a good fit?</p>