Author: Claire Baum
Life on the hill will probably be quite different by the time the class of 2020 joins us. They’ll have new food trucks, academic buildings, collegetown bars, and maybe Cornell will have finally gotten a snow day. However different life at Cornell might be, applying to Cornell is guaranteed to change in the coming years as the admissions office abolishes the alternate college option on the university’s application.
For decades, Cornell has allowed prospective students to apply to two undergraduate colleges of their choice, requiring separate supplement essays for each. Students have typically been given the option to apply to a “primary” (first choice) college and an “alternate” (second choice) college. Though this option has been available for years, applicants are only required to apply to one college. Cornell’s admissions office has since come to realize that this option results in a tremendous amount of paperwork without many realized benefits to the students.
Although a substantial portion of Cornell’s applicants do choose to apply to two of the seven undergraduate colleges, very few are actually offered their alternate choice. Furthermore, admissions officers are presented with both essays at once. If the applicant applies to two very different colleges, the supplemental essays may convey conflicting academic interests. For example, an essay geared towards the College of Engineering will almost certainly conflict with one meant for Hotel Administration.
It was for this reason specifically that I only applied to Animal Science in CALS. Ironically, I have since switched to ILR. There is no consistency between what I thought I wanted to study as a high school senior and what I study now, three years later. As a college applicant, I would not have had the experience or exposure necessary to apply to the ILR school. My academic background and work experience was much better suited to the Animal Science major. One of my favorite aspects of this school is that you can pursue interests in any area. High school students don’t sign their lives away when selecting a major or college upon entry. If they change their mind, they will still be free to apply to internally transfer.
Getting rid of the primary/alternate option will not affect an admitted student’s ability to internally transfer once he or she arrives at Cornell. Furthermore, admissions officers will still reserve the right to offer admission to a college different from the one the applicant originally applied to. The admissions office hopes and intends for these changes to benefit both the officers and the prospective students.
