Applying to a major other than the one you want

Applying to College
1

Hi everyone,

I am an international student, getting ready for applying to US universities. I had a question about applying, but first here’s my case: I would like to major in scientific/engineering fields (physics, engineering physics) but I’ve only gotten interested in them lately, so I don’t have any extraordinary things to say about them, like I didn’t build a nuclear reactor in my garage or didn’t competitions or anything. I do have good grades, but nothing exceptional. I am currently taking courses from Stanford (EPGY) and I expect to send a transcript for the Calculus AB (with an A/A+) (note: I am home schooled since 2014, or my 11th grade).

On the other hand, I happen to be very talented in the humanities. I typically score in the 750-800 for critical reading and writing and I am expecting to get this kind of score in the literature subject test. I’ve always had excellent grades in humanities and I speak four languages (bilingual French/Arabic, English obviously and German (learned on my own). However I don’t want to major in humanities (at most a double major or minor), it’s not what I want to be doing for the rest of my life.

So what I was thinking was: should I apply to a college as if I am intending to major in a humanities subject (thus increasing my chances) and then when I get to the college switch majors? Is that considered a bad thing? Does it work?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this.

2

Just be honest.

3

First, most people put down ‘undecided.’ It’s not held against you. Many students change their minds after they arrive and admissions knows it, so they don’t tend to assign much (or any) weight to you stated preference. Third, there is absolutely no requirement to ‘declare’ a major until the end of sophomore year (unless the school has a specific program to which you are applying at the same time you are applying for admission - this is sometimes the case with engineering or business.)

Can a major ever give you an advantage? Possibly a small one if you have chosen a major for which they have view students and many faculty (Classics is the typical example), but you would then have to provide a wealth of information demonstrating your long-term commitment to study in that area and again, they know people change their minds.

I’d suggest you go with ‘undecided.’

4

If you are applying to a university that has separate schools for different majors (School of Engineering, School of Business, etc) you may not be able to get into your desired major later if you didn’t apply for if up front. It varies by school, but if you apply for humanities and then want engineering you might have to go through an internal transfer process and you can get turned down. I would suggest applying for the major you want.