How “x” does academics: x = Cornell

Posted by Polina

You’ve probably already heard the saying… “Cornell: the easiest ivy to get into, the hardest to get out of.” Somehow Cornell has acquired this rep of having a brutally impossible curriculum and a super intense academic environment. While, yes, Cornell is not a walk in the park for the most part (excluding a few majors), it’s not impossible and, from what I gather, it’s pretty similar to its peer institutions in terms of academic rigour. Don’t let the rep scare you out of applying or coming here—there’s not a lot of truth to it.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s move on to the actual majors and programs at Cornell. So, this can get very tricky, especially at first. I’ve already been here for over two months, and I’m still continually hearing about new majors and programs I had no clue about. Cornell is so unique in the plethora of academic opportunities it offers that it can really get confusing, so let me explain:

Unlike most universities that tend to consist of maybe two or three different colleges at most (usually an “arts and sciences” school and “engineering”), Cornell is broken up into a whopping seven undergraduate colleges, all with unique majors, programs, and academic requirements. The colleges also vary in size, acceptance rates, and even in stats of accepted students, so this may be something to look at when applying. Here is a list of the seven schools:

Arts and Sciences: This college has your typical majors and subjects like math, sciences, English, history, etc. It has the broadest range of majors and also the most majors to choose from. I think this is the only college at Cornell that let’s you apply undecided. So, unless you already have an idea of what you want to major in, this is the school you would probably apply to. The requirements are pretty loose, with no core curriculum, and most students take between four and five classes per semester.

Engineering: The Engineering program at Cornell is known to be pretty intense. Perhaps this is where the stereotype I mentioned above comes from. However, if you know that engineering is what you want to do, it really doesn’t get much better than a Cornell Engineering education. Cornell Engineering consistently ranks as one of the best programs in the country, and you are pretty set if you can get through four years of it. While the work is challenging, again, don’t let it scare you away from applying. It’s rigorous, but for most people it is manageable. I have many friends in this school, and they still have plenty of time to do nonacademic things. In fact, just the other day, it was one of my engineering friends that tried to lure me into going out with her on a weekday.

Architecture, Art, and Planning: I will mostly focus on the architecture aspect of this school because I don’t know much about the rest. This is the smallest college at Cornell, and the architecture program is highly selective. Each class of architects consists of only about 60 students. This is another one of the highly rigorous programs at Cornell. One of my floor-mates is an architecture student, and there are definitely nights when she practically sleeps in the studio. However, this definitely doesn’t happen everyday, and the architects seem to really enjoy what they are doing, despite the intensity of the work. So, if you know you definitely want to be an architect, Cornell’s program is top-notch, and will prepare you superbly. Also, since it is a five-year program, you will leave with a masters degree, and will be ready for work straight out of college.

Human Ecology: This is one of the smaller colleges at Cornell, and it consists of several relatively unrelated departments and majors. In this college you can major in: Nutritional Sciences, Human Development, Policy Analysis and Management, Textiles and Apparel (fashion design), Human Biology, Health, and Society, and several others. The majors in this college are pre-set, with less elective room than say, Arts and Sciences. However, if any of these areas interest you, Human Ecology has some very unique and strong programs that are worth exploring.

Industrial Labor Relations (ILR): This is known as the pre-law college. From what I have heard, most of the students in this school plan to hit up law school after Cornell, so if you plan on becoming a lawyer, this might be a good school to apply to. Not to say that this is the only thing ILR students do. There are certainly other options besides a career in law, following ILR. Even I’m still pretty clueless about what they actually do, so here is a quote from the website, to give you an idea of what this college is all about: “Programmatic specialties include personnel and human resources management; collective representation, labor law, and labor history; labor economics; organizational behavior; international and comparative labor; and social statistics.” Some people joke that ILR stands for “I Like to Read” because of the heavy reading component of this program.The Hotel School: This is a very unique college at Cornell, which basically deals with everything in the hospitality business. Many of the world’s best hotels are run or managed or owned by Cornell grads. Although its called the “Hotel” school, a lot of people don’t end up going into the hotel business, but instead, apply their skills to other usually business-related careers.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS): While, yes, the first reaction to hearing this name is, what… “Cornell teaches farming?,” it’s really a pretty cool college. A lot of people in this school are pre-meds (some pre-meds are also in arts and sciences), so this is a pretty hardcore science-y college. If the sciences strike your fancy, then this might be a good school to consider, especially if you’re pretty sure that the “arts” part of “arts and sciences” just isn’t your thing. Also, a crucial point about this college that a lot of people neglect to realize is the Cornell undergraduate business program is part of this school. This program is called “Applied Economics and Management” (AEM), and has to be applied to specifically during the admissions process.

So that pretty much sums up the different colleges at Cornell. I’m sure there’s lots of programs and majors within each school that I either have forgotten to mention or don’t know about yet, so once you identify which college(s) seems to suit your needs best, I would investigate more closely, and you may just find the perfect major for what you want to do. Some of the colleges even let you design your own major. And don’t worry about picking one of the specific majors. Cornell allows you to transfer out of and into different colleges. So, if halfway through your physics major, you all of a sudden have an epiphany that you actually were meant to be a fashion designer, you’re pretty much set because Cornell will let you transfer into Human College and you will be able to fulfill your life’s destiny. For the most part, it seems like with decent grades and some effort, most people who want to transfer between schools are able to.

In terms of class size, I think Cornell does things like most medium-large universities. Most introductory classes are pretty big lectures with probably a couple hundred people, although it is hard for me to say, since I have only taken four classes so far. Thus far, the class sizes have been perfect. The classes that need to be small and that require more personal attention, are small. Most large lecture classes have some sort of section, either optional or required, so you won’t feel completely lost. Also, as you get into higher level classes, they start to get smaller.

While Cornell is a big school, especially compared to most of its peers, there is plenty of guidance here, and once you get the hang of things, it’s pretty easy not to feel lost. There are so many different resources and people that are truly eager to help you with anything, especially figuring out your academics. Every freshman is assigned a faculty and a student advisor, both of whom you meet with to figure out your schedule.

So in conclusion… Cornell is not unbearably impossible. If you are looking for a full education, with limitless academic opportunities (as well as social and extracurricular ones), Cornell is the ideal place to be. Undergrads at Cornell get A LOT of attention, and it is hard to imagine anyone being unsatisfied with their Cornell experience, due to the sheer number of possibilities you’ll find here. I’d love to answer questions if you have any, so leave a comment.