<p>Hi, I was wondering if it's more beneficial to declare an intended major on college apps or to say undeclared. Of course, if you were 100% sure of major, there's no hesitation. But what if you are 70-80% sure, but you want to keep your options, and also maximize your chances of admission? Is it true that it is harder for students who pick a popular major (not necessarily impacted) to be admitted? Finally, I heard that colleges don't like when students declare pre-professional when applying. Is that true?
I know, lots of questions, so thank you for reading/replying!</p>
<p>It depends on the college. You need to find out for each college whether it admits by major or admits freshmen into a big undeclared pool. Colleges that admit by major likely require applying to change major into an impacted major.</p>
<p>What ucbalum said is true. If you’re applying to a school that admits by major, obviously major is important. If you’re applying to a college that doesn’t, it’s a different story. I’ve heard firsthand from admissions people that they generally assume that you won’t end up majoring in whatever you say you’re majoring in, and that they pretty much ignore your declaration. To paraphrase, one said “75% of people change their majors, and the other 25% stay in their major for completely different reasons than they had coming in.”</p>
<p>What I’m saying is that it’s probably not going to affect your chances.</p>