<p>Hey guys... I was wondering if applying undecided will hurt my chances at stanford, or any other school i am applying to. I was thinking about just putting something down but i dont think i will because i dont want my freshmen schedule year to follow a specific major yet since i honestly have no idea what i want to do..</p>
<p>any one have any advice? what have you seen/heard/observed?</p>
<p>xx</p>
<p>I'm not an expert on the situation, but generally most people Ive talked to said that it looks better to put down a major. Although I don't agree with the reasoning that an 18 year old should know exactly what he wants to do with his life, it seems like most colleges like to see their applicants pick a specific major. I've heard this from most of my teahcers/counselors; don't worry though,you can always just put down one major and then switch it in college if you don't like it.</p>
<p>ive also heard that, but then i heard its better to be honest... and also a couple things:
-your freshmen year classes must reflect your declared major
-applying with some majors makes it harder to get in, like engineering, biology, chemistry, etc because sooo many people with those majors apply.. (esp @ stanford)
correct me if im wrong :) i really am lostttt my app is due saturday and i dont have any of my stuff done!!!!!!!!!! :(</p>
<p>^You are wrong. </p>
<p>Stanford does not expect you to declare a major till the end of your sophomore year. They value broad liberal art education , and thus encourage (and require) you to take classes in variety of fields.</p>
<p>
[quote]
your freshmen year classes must reflect your declared major
[/quote]
that is absolutely false. You don't HAVE a declared major your freshmen year. Some majors that require taking classes in sequence will be hard to complete in 4 years unless you start working on it from the beginning. If you are interested in CS, engineering, etc., you have to plan ahead to keep your options open, but you are not limited by anything you put on your application in choosing classes in your freshman year.
[quote]
applying with some majors makes it harder to get in, like engineering, biology, chemistry, etc because sooo many people with those majors apply
[/quote]
that is false too. Although Stanford is looking for diversity in its admitted class, listing some obscure major can only help you if that interest shows strongly in your application.</p>
<p>In short, your best bet is to stay true to yourself and your interests. And it is fine to be undecided.</p>
<p>wow i really have gotten my info from the wrong sources huh lol
thanks for the help nngmm!!! you got the stress off my back ;)</p>
<p>it’s ok to be undecided</p>
<p>i put undecided.</p>
<p>It’s okay to put undecided, but I heard that sometimes it’s harder to write the essays then. Because you don’t have a solid subject/ground to take, it makes it a bit harder to really write your interest in a school for (for example, I’m interested in political science and music, thus i talked about specifics in stanford for the two fields that stanford provides for activities).</p>
<p>^Others may write in their essays how they value the freedom Stanford provides to explore many different fields as underclassmen, which will aid them in deciding a major and potentially a career path. Therefore undecided would fit in very well with that type of essay.</p>
<p>you guys realize this thread was started in '08? CC dinosaur up in here - I’m guessing the OP has had his/her question answered :)</p>