Oh also, there is something you can still do to show at least some interest in Physics. If you plan on college visits, make an appointment with an advisor in Physics department. It will be a good opportunity for you to learn about the major, overall feel of the department and career opportunities after college. Physics program is rather small at most universities/colleges with less than 25 graduating with physics majors each year so your visit will be helpful in decision making once you gain acceptance. Make a point of mentioning your Physics department visit to the AO in a letter once you turn in your application.
I know majors aren’t binding but do AOs value different parts of the application more when evaluating a student with an intended STEM major vs a Humanities one? I mean, they have to, right? My math scores and ECs aren’t as strong as my Humanities ones, so my STEM application wouldn’t be as strong as my Humanities. The test scores aren’t that far apart (probably scored higher on Math 2 than Literature as well), however, my ECs and Recommendations add up and create a clear advantage in humanities. With the college that I’m REA to (Princeton), every detail counts.
Yes. There’s a lot of commonality, but the experiencs, attributes, and strengths that filter stem applicants are different than for humanities. There’s overlap in the basics, but the skill sets required in stem majors are different.
But behind all this, an on-target app/supp for a tippy top requires awareness of what matters. They look at your whole. Right, a 34 vs 35 isn’t a showstopper. But the the 32 M subscore will be noticed, for stem. And 3 and 4 AP scores in stem are a big flag. Plus the lack of stem ECs can neither attest to this interest, nor how you willingly dove in, much less the particular attributes. And you might not have a stem LoR which, for a tippy top, is a pretty basic need, in any field.
You’re talking some mighty tough schools to get into. And in mid-Oct, still thinking this through. Over the last few weeks or less, you’ve jumped around about early apps to Columbia, Princeton, Chi, Harvard and Stanford. You need to settle on what it is, how you match and how to show that you get it.
For a tippy top, the immense competition from highly prepared kids, you don’t get to just nicely amble up and say, “You’re my dream school, I really want you and I really want to study this field.” It has to make sense. It should “show.”
Yes, college is a time to explore. But first you need an admit.
lookingforward, how much would an economics major be impacted by my weakness in STEM? Like you pointed out, I’m still running through possibilities, and economics is something practical that has piqued my interest recently as I’m taking AP Macroeconomics as a senior. I’m not settling on any majors yet, obviously, however, would economics be as impacted as physics?