How strongly does your decided major affect your admission into a University?
I am currently a Junior in high school and some time back, I decided that I wanted to major in Finance or Economics. After looking into a variety of Universities and Colleges on US News, I saw a category called popular majors. I assume this is because that particular College or Uni. has a great department for that specific major. Does my designated major on my application affect my admission into a school if that is not a popular major to be taken there? For example, I want to pursue Economics, so if I apply to lets say MIT (this is completely hypothetical), do admissions officers perceive my application differently, and how so? #college-major #university #college-admissions #college-selection #college-applications
2 answers
Stephenie Lee
Stephenie’s Answer
Great question. Guidance counselors and other educational experts will vary in opinions regarding this question. Some often say listing a major is a big advantage, that it can't hurt, while others will argue that it will hurt your application more than help it.
You can major in Finance and still be a MIT student, so this does not hurt you. However, if you are going to declare a major, do not do it for the sake of getting into your dream college. Don't declare a major in Finance if it clashes with the information on the rest of the application. Colleges know that some students who declare a major will end up switching their major during college. If you have an interested major that ties together with your academic success in a particular subject or related extracurricular activity, go ahead and declare the major.
College Admissions want to know who you are, so if you decide to declare a major, make sure it clearly conveys your interest and who you are. Otherwise, there's no huge impact if you do not declare a major on your college application. You have a little time to figure this out after you matriculate into college.
Thank you for the information! This definitely clears up some questions I had about this.
Prithvi
Daniel’s Answer
In short: colleges are all different, but choosing a less popular major at your colleges of interest can actually be a good thing. You may have heard the story about colleges wanting a tuba player and so admitting a student who can fill that niche. That's somewhat apocryphal, but the idea still applies to less popular majors. The colleges want to fill those majors!
Also: research your colleges and programs of interest to determine whether you will be directly admitted into a major, or directly admitted into the college/university, and if you will have to apply for admission to your major once you've been accepted (or even enrolled for a year or two) at that school. Most universities will admit you regardless of your preferred major if your application is strong. Some of those schools won't admit you directly to your major, however. They'll expect you to apply for admission to that program once you have shown your quality in college.
Thank you for your answer! I'll keep a lot of this in mind when I apply later this year.
Prithvi
Daniel brings up a great point. If you are a student who does have activities where you've worked with bugs and then you decide to declare that you are interested in Entomology (Study of Bugs), admissions will have a higher chance of wanting to admit you to fill that major...but once again, make sure what you claim is consistent with the rest of your application...
Stephenie Lee
Thanks for your help Stephanie and Daniel I really appreciate it even though I didn't ask this question myself! :)
Nada