Hi everyone, lately I’ve been debating what I should major in (BME vs. something on track for law school). That aside, I was wondering what schools look at your prospective major (like I’ve heard Yale does?) and what schools don’t. Would anyone be willing to tell me which schools place a lot of emphasis on specific your intended major and which schools don’t care as much? Thank you
Unfortunately, this information is not generally listed in a standardized manner.
Many schools have some majors (or divisions, like the engineering or business division) which are at capacity, so they limit the number of students in those majors to avoid overflowing the department. A web search for “[school name] change major [major name]” may show that entering the major requires a high GPA or competitive admission process in this case.
Other schools have ample capacity in every department to accommodate students changing majors freely. These schools are unlikely to have any formal admission selectivity differences between different intended majors, although holistic evaluation may be affected by whether you essays and such are consistent with your indicated intended major.
Law school does not require any specific undergraduate major or course work, so you can major in BME or whatever else you like while being pre-law. Of course, you need to get a high GPA and LSAT score if you want to go to a high ranked law school to have worthwhile law job prospects.
I agree…it is on a school by school basis.
Some schools, like The College of New Jersey make you declare a major before you apply.
Some, like Case Western Reserve University have a single door admission policy where you can apply no matter what major you want and can transfer as you please.
Other big schools may have limits on Engineering and Nursing and Business, but be open to all other majors.
So if you like BME and pre-law…check out CWRU!
You should also be weary of universities that offer certain majors in one school or another. For example, you have to apply to either their Arts and Science or Engineering school depending on what major you want
Schools that admit you directly into specific major will certainly consider what major you put down on the application. UIUC is one of them.