Are chances to be accepted affected by prospective major?

<p>Title says it all. If a kid, say, wants to major in (insert random major), could that put him at an advantage or disadvantage to a kid who wants to major in (insert other random major here)? </p>

<p>If so, what would be "easy" majors and "hard" majors? I know it is very difficult to get in no matter what major one chooses, but I'm also thoughtful that it is possible that perhaps less-popular majors with equal class space could be easier to get in to.</p>

<p>To my knowledge, you can’t even specify a major anywhere on the Harvard app. The supplement only asks for a general field, and the Future Plans section for Harvard’s version of the common app doesn’t even ask for academic interests…</p>

<p>Thanks for the insight. So to cater it to Harvard, could the general field selection come into play? I think that still gives them at least a good idea of what the student is probably going to study.</p>

<p>I think if you’re really well-rounded and your app doesn’t highlight a specific major/field, you might do well to go with undecided. If you specify a field, adcom might think it’s coming out of nowhere. But if your app shows most of your activities dedicated to scientific research, then you’ll want to emphasize your passion and fill in one of the sciences as a potential field of study.</p>

<p>Just make sure that whatever you choose, the adcoms understand why you’ve chosen it.</p>

<p>Ya your application should really show what you want to major in by default if your going into sciences or math… something like anthropology or urban studies im assuming you can’t really be strong in that area before college… basically major doesn’t matter… but if your applying as a math major, you better have all top scores in math and extra currics that show ur passionate about math… the same for science…</p>

<p>If you have a very strong resume in Slavic Languages and Literatures, it will be easier to get in than if you have a very strong resume in biology. There are fewer candidates in the former, so it’s easier to stand out. That effect is based on resume, not the intended major listed, however–the effect would stand for both of those resumes if they both listed “undecided,” but if I, myself, hadd listed Slavic whatever, with 0 coursework or extracurriculars in anything related, it wouldn’t have helped, and might have hurt.</p>