I was under the impression that majors are, for the most part, declared in sophmore or junior year.
My husband insists our daughter would do better in the admission process if she stated she was pusuing a STEM major (because of a need for more women in those fields.)
Right now her interests cover both STEM and Economics.
Can someone help me understand how choice of major impacts admissions?
It really depends upon the school. Many schools accept students whom do not have to declare a major until the end of Sophomore year. Harvard is one such school.
But there are other schools that admit by major as an in-coming Freshman and due to the competitive nature of some of these schools and majors, if a student is not a direct admit into their preferred major, it can very difficult to switch majors later. An example is Engineering/CS at many of the California UC’s.
You should be able to look up the admission process for any schools of interest on their website to see how your daughters major will impact her admission chances.
Best answer…it depends.
At some schools, some STEM majors like engineering are very competitive for admissions.
What exactly is she interested in studying STEM wise. That covers a LOT of majors.
I guess I am not asking so much about “direct admit” programs. I am asking about a school like a general top 20 LAC with no direct admit to major. Is there any benefit to being more interested in one major over another in the admission process?
@thumper1 - Biology/Genetics
Bio and Genetics will group her with PreMed hopefuls…VERY stiff competition. Also, biology is dominated by women now. She would get no special consideration. If she is more interested in economics, there will be less competition there. Math is actually a decent hook for women. Go with economics.
I don’t think being a woman will give her any edge at all in biology or genetics.
Note that women make up a majority of those who earn bachelor’s degrees in biology these days. If a college considers gender ratios in (intended) majors as an admission factor, then a female applicant indicating biology is unlikely to gain any advantage.
Among STEM majors, it is mainly CS and engineering majors where women tend to be the least represented. Math and physics show female underrepresentation to a lesser degree. At the other end, health professions (e.g. nursing), education, and psychology have female overrepresentation.
@ucbalumnus The quesion is - does that make a difference in admission?
“That” refers to? Effect of intended major in admissions in general (see link in #7), or gender over / under representation?
@ucbalumnus Gender over/under representation.
As others have posted, it all depends on the school. This can change as well. UW-Madison seems to now want students to have a major in mind even though students are admitted to the university as a whole and can change majors once there. I think their current thinking is to have students motivated to plan for their future even plans alter once the college experience happens.
Your D will serve herself best if she chooses a field she likes, not one she (or your H) thinks will improve her chances of admission. Her choices of colleges will reflect her interests and available majors/classes in those. Whatever she does she should NOT try to game the system. The best schools for her will admit her because they offer her what she wants. Being at an elite school that does not give her the best opportunities in her chosen field is not the best choice for her.
She needs to look at opportunities in both economics and whichever STEM field(s) she most likes. Chemistry, math, computer science, physics, various biological majors and engineering majors are all separate fields. The best school in one may not be the best choice for a different major.
I doubt she likes all STEM fields equally. I didn’t- like chemistry, not physics… Various biology majors appeal to many premeds and seem a dime a dozen to me (I was a chemistry major and became a physician- know a math major who became a physician- both of us women back in the days of few but increasing numbers of women MD’s).
SHE needs to figure out more specific interests and plan colleges in view of potential goals. Her interests could be best served by a public flagship instead of an LAC depending on her major.
btw- despite what the “rules” are, the major needs to be chosen (and the criteria met) by the time one graduates (again, depends on the school) so it can be on the diploma…
If:
then it may help to be underrepresented in the major or hurt to be overrepresented in the major.
Addenda. Actually she will do best in the admissions process if she has some defined goals. These are not etched in stone, she can make changes later. She will come off stronger if she has a purpose to attend a college than if she has nebulous STEM goals. It is possible to want economics and/or a science and make a final decision after some college courses. Having reasons to choose her major will help her choose appropriate schools. Remember, it is not the prestige of the U, but rather it is the availability of the education that meets her goals that matters most. Sometimes the better departments in some fields are not at the elite schools but at other top tier places.
@wis75 No worries - we are not trying to push her into something to improve admission. Nor are we focused on prestige. It was just a conversation between my husband and I. We were simply wondering if there is an impact on admission based on certain major choices.
My observation is it can make a difference. But usually only when the major is somewhat unusual and under-subscribed (a university with an undergrad program in Egyptology which last year had five kids graduate with that major) AND where the application clearly demonstrates a strong interest in that area (kid volunteered at a museum giving tours to 3rd graders, wrote a curriculum for middle schoolers on how to understand the ancient world, taught herself Sumerian to be able to reach ancient inscriptions).
Your D is in the best position to know whether her goals are specific enough, backed up by what she’s done and what she’s interested in, to make this possible.
Econ major- does her HS participate in the federal reserve challenge and did she make the team? Is she taking whatever econ courses her HS offers and did she do well in them? Got a letter to the editor published in the business section of your local newspaper?
That sort of thing. If it were just a question of picking an obscure major to “stand out”, it would be a cakewalk!
I will add to the above, which I agree with, that possible major choice can be a part of her “story”. If her class choices, (maybe more extra curricular choices), support a strong interest in Genetics or Econ, stating a desire to major in that can tie it all together. If she wants to go into business has she interned or started a biz or anything connected, if that’s her Econ interest. Or joined whatever club at her school might be relevant. Same with genetics - does she take advanced science courses, read about the subject outside of school, whatever.
Also, even though Harvard doesn’t admit by major I think it helped my son to be an obvious CS major the year they had announced they were starting an engineering school and greatly expanding their offerings. I’m saying this, because the head of the CS department called and tried to sell Harvard on him. I doubt it would make much difference 10 years later, they have more than enough CS majors!
Harvard still isn’t a top CS school, I can think of many schools with better CS and equally good other courses and experiences.