When applying to CSU schools, I plan to select an impacted major as my first choice (for the schools where my major interest is impacted), but a non-impacted major as my alternate. I know that impacted majors mean increased competition and it’s harder to get into that
major. If I applied to an impacted major and didn’t get in, is it likely I can still get into the school with my alternate major?
Also, can somebody explain to me what “pre-major” is? I’m not applying to colleges for quite some time, but I’m looking into many different options and trying to gain a greater understanding of the CSU system.
The only CSU that routinely considers your alternate major is Cal Poly Pomona. SLO has also accepted some applicants into their alternate major in the last few years, but not many. Do not rely on the chance you are accepted with an alternate major unless you are applying to CPP.
A pre-major means that you have to meet a certain GPA while taking lower division pre-req courses for your major, before you are actually allowed to continue onto your upper division major. All majors at SDSU are “pre-majors” and each major will have a list of courses with expected GPA needed before you are declared a student in said major.
Here is an example for Business Admin at SDSU and the courses required as a Pre-Business major:
You must complete the following 9 prep courses (8 for Accounting majors) with a C or better in each (no C- and no CR/NC grades allowed)
ACCTG 201: Financial Accounting
ACCTG 202: Managerial Accounting
ECON 101: Principles of Economics (Macro)
ECON 102: Principles of Economics (Micro)
FIN 240: Legal Environment of Business
MIS 180: Principles of Information Systems
RWS 290: Business Communications (formerly BA 290; not required for Accounting majors)
MATH 120 or MATH 150: Calculus for Business Analysis
STAT 119 or ECON 201: Elementary Statistics for Business or Statistical Methods
If you took or are currently enrolled in one or more of these courses at another school, the course you took must be approved by SDSU as equivalent to the SDSU course before you can declare your upper division major. Please visit www.sdsu.edu/tap for course equivalencies.
You must have a 2.90 overall GPA.
SJSU considers alternate major: http://www.sjsu.edu/admissions/impaction/
Thanks for the update @ucbalumnus
Good to know.
@ucbalumnus @Gumbymom so would Pomona and San Jose be the only 2 CSU campuses (currently) truly considering alternate major choice if applicant doesn’t get into their first?
You would have to check each CSU’s admission web pages to see how alternate major is considered. However, if your first choice major is not impacted at the given campus, then your alternate major is irrelevant at that campus. The same goes for if your alternate major is more impacted than your first choice major at that campus.
I also applied to SJSU for Electrical/ Industrial Engineering. When I looked up the impaction for transfer student on
http://www.sjsu.edu/admissions/impaction/impactionresultstransfer/index.html#IndustrialSystems
its says that for Industrial Engineering: “This major had the enrollment capacity to admit all eligible applicants for Fall 2016.” Hope I can get in because I really want to go there 