Whats the difference between "school" and "college"

Colleges & Universities Cornell University
1

I know that cornell ILR is called the school of ILR, but Arts & Sciences is called the college of Arts and sciences… Whats the difference?

2

Cornell University is comprised of 7 Undergraduate Colleges (Arts and Science, ILR, Ag and Life, Engineering, Hotel< Human Ecology, Architecture) and 5 Graduate Schools (Cornell Grad, Johnson Business, Law School, Vet School and Med School. Each school/or college has its own admissions process.

3

The colleges within Cornell University are larger population-wise (compared to schools) and often offer multiple majors in a wide array of disciplines. The schools, on the other hand, often offer only 1 major in one discipline.

4

@2018dad , but cant you transfer amongst schools?

5

http://www.cornell.edu/academics/colleges.cfm

ILR, Hotel, and Hum Ec are schools and Arts, Ag, Engineering and AA&P are colleges. ILR, Hotel, and AA&P are close in size; AA&P may be smallest, but all fairly close.

Hum Ec offers seven majors, ranging from Bio to Policy Analysis. ILR & Hotel are more narrowly focused but still offer options.

Engineering is just engineering, although there are several types offered. I could go on, or you can click through the link I posted above.

One can transfer from any one school or college to another, but that process is not automatic, and probably most difficult to transfer into Engineering and AA&P due to the sequential, structured coursework. Any student can take a class in any of the seven U/G colleges & schools and even some grad schools.