Hi. Our D '25 has been accepted into LMU, CalPoly and UW and was originally interested in pre-vet/animal sciences. She is also wait listed at UCSD for marine-biology. She is now thinking she would be more interested in marketing and getting an MBA eventually. We are rather confused on how to guide her now. Anyone have a thought on UW and how easy it might be to change majors there to Psychology or to the business school vs at SLO or at LMU? We are California residents so SLO costs the least, but would be glad to help cover the difference in cost to UW or LMU if they are a better school to change majors/ build towards a career in Marketing.
Thanks for any help.
Hey! I’m also a senior who was accepted into UW for the class of 2025, so I don’t know how helpful I can be, but here goes. I was interested in their biological sciences major, but that major at UW is “capacity-constrained” or impacted. This means that even though i was admitted as a pre-science major, I would still have to apply later in my sophomore year to get into the major, and even then i’m not guaranteed to get in because it’s a competitive major. This is why I will not be going to UW, as I don’t want to have to transfer later because I couldn’t join my major, and I am also from California so it’s not like its worth the tuition.
I looked it up, and business/marketing-related majors there seem to be in the same capacity-constrained vein. She might just want to choose a different school if she doesn’t have her heart set on it. It is also pretty easy to change majors just about anywhere if you’re in your freshman year (as long as it isn’t engineering related probably), as all students have to take gen ed courses then anyway
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Thank you for your time and thoughts and best wishes to you as well.
At both Cal Poly and the UW the move into a business major is going to be difficult. Business is impacted at both schools. At the UW, there are spots for getting into business after the direct admit freshman, but it is very competitive, and Cal Poly is known to be a place where it is very difficult to change majors. If this is the plan, LMU would definitely be an easier place to pull that off.
Added: I just looked it up, psychology is also a capacity constrained major at UW.
In terms of Cal Poly and switching majors, after speaking with several students, I don’t believe it’s that difficult, unless you’re switching into CS/Engineering.
The process takes about two quarters.
SLO will base your switch off your MCA score when you originally applied as a freshman and whether that score would have gotten into OCOB (College of Business). If you satisfy that requirement, sign a “switching majors” contract with your advisor, then as long your grades in the classes you take 1st Q and/or 2nd Q at SLO satisfy the transfer requirements, you should be able to switch into business.
UW is a fantastic school and we have many family members and my kids have many friends who attend. However, one of the reasons why my kids never chose to go there is that it is very competitive to get into your chosen major. Unless you get direct admit, I wouldn’t go there, otherwise you could be wasting your money. As an out of state student, I would recommend you choose an in state school, that way if you change your mind on your major it won’t be costing you as much. Take some business classes , if you really love it, perhaps apply to UW as a transfer. Foster School of Business at UW is top notch!
Good luck with your decision!
Spend a little time looking up the pathway to a top MBA program in order to better advise her. They generally want a few years working experience at jobs with increasing responsibility, so a key for that is what she does undergrad in order to land one of those jobs. That means finding internship positions while in school to be a strong candidate after finishing her undergrad degree. It’s also a good idea to join career-related clubs to network and find out what the successful students in class years ahead of her have been doing.
Thats what I have read also. Thank you.
MCA scoring may be another tricky issue this year.
Anyway think you for your input.
That gives some clarity about UW. Thank you!
That’s an approach focused towards the end goal. Thank you!