<p>I'll be declaring as a history major on my application, will that help me at all? One of my friends up there said there are far fewer history majors than other majors, perhaps upping my chances a bit. Were they right?</p>
<p>The College of Letters and Science does not admit people by major. Hence, trying to 'game' the system by declaring a less popular major is not an effective strategy. After all, if it did work, then everybody would declare some small major just to get themselves admitted, and then immediately switch to what they really want to study once they've been admitted. </p>
<p>The only edge you might get (and I stress the word 'might') is if you can demonstrate through your application a true dedication to the major that you are declaring. For example, if you have strong EC's, essays, and teacher rec's that indicate that you truly are a history buff, you might be able to get a slight edge. But that has nothing to do with the history major per se, but rather with a general dedication to a particular academic disciipline. Another applicant could demonstrate strong dedication to a highly popular major like EECS and get the same edge.</p>
<p>sakky's right: since most students change their major 2-3 times over four years, L&S really doesn't care. But, if you do have a passion for history that comes thru your app, by all means mark it down.</p>