Cross-posting my reply to another post from @intlnyu here:
You say that Poly/Tandon/whatever’s most recent acceptance rate was 31%? CAS’s acceptance rate was under 25% in 2010, when I was accepted, and it has only decreased since then. It is simply a fact that CAS has a lower acceptance rate than the school of engineering. It is also a fact that CAS is harder to get into than both Gallatin and Steinhardt. None of these facts take away from the fact that the school of engineering, under any name, is still an excellent school.