Hi, I was just wondering if majors including biology, microbiology, molecular/cellular biology, and genetics are considered competitive at top STEM schools and liberal arts schools. I have read that your decided major could impact whether you are considered competitive enough as an applicant for the schools’ programs for each major, so I was wondering about those.
You would need to do your research and understand which schools accept by major and which do not. The UCs are one large group of universities that do accept by major. But many colleges do not accept by major and for those schools the difference between the majors you listed would most likely not be any factor in admissions.
Honestly, I’d apply to those majors even if the school admits by major. It’s extremely hard in most colleges to transfer from an uncompetitive major to a much more competitive one, so even if you got into a good college, do you really want to be stuck with a major you don’t enjoy? Just put down what you love to do and it’ll show. Don’t worry about the intended major.
Depends on the college whether those majors are oversubscribed and therefore more competitive to get into (either at the frosh admission level or after enrolling).