<p>Does applying to the school with a less popular major listed as your field of interest increase your chances? If someone applies for a major not many people are interested in, would they have a leg up on people who say they are interested in political science or psychology or economics?</p>
<p>(This is the same question that Insecure101 posted in the Princeton forum.)</p>
<p>I have always wondered this too!</p>
<p>Only if you do something TOTALLY obscure like nursing. Remember this is not usually good because the chances only help you A LITTLE bit and sometimes you cannot transfer out (if you mess up a bit on gpa) so you're taking a HUGE risk for such small chances. </p>
<p>Imagine if you had to go through nursing for 4 years, you basically wasted 4 years + money + your life.</p>
<p>What about a major like entomology or medieval studies or something obscure like that?</p>
<p>Sure but once again it depends on which school and how hard/easy it is to transfer out of that major. For example, its about impossible for NYU CAS majors to swich into NYU Stern. Many who go to NYU to do this simply cannot transfer out and therefore are stuck.</p>
<p>No. </p>
<p>1) Majors usually don't play a big role in admissions. Adcoms know many people will change their majors, so it's not a very reliable way of filling the freshman class.</p>
<p>2) You need ecs to back it up. Saying you're a classics major when you're involved in Science Olympiad and volunteering at a hospital is fishy. </p>
<p>3) You can't guess what colleges are looking for.</p>
<p>4) If you feel your chances would be hurt by putting down a major, put down "undecided."</p>
<p>
<p>In addition, the elite colleges for which you're probably considering lying about your major are also the ones that do interviews. What exactly do you plan to say when you're asked in the interview about your interest in that obscure field? </p>
<p>"Um, it sounds cool" isn't going to do anything for you except cause the adcom or alum interviewer to doubt your veracity. If you select a major -- any major -- adcoms or alum interviewers will expect that you'll be able to state clearly why you're interested, and you'll also give some strong examples about how you've pursued that interest. Presumably if you've picked a major out of a hat, you'll have nothing to say, and you'll look like an idiot in the interview.</p>
<p>Even if you apply to a college that doesn't intereview, they'd still expect that if you have some exotic interest in a major, it would be demonstrated by your ECs, essays, recommendations, coursework, etc.
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>wait... so what you put down on your app is what you're going to major in? I put English, but i wasn't reallly sure... i mean, i might want creative writing or something. Does it really matter?</p>
<p>Of course not. You usually don't have to declare a major until the end of your freshman or sophomore year. I'm still deciding on my major(s).</p>
<p>However, there are exceptions, like BME at Johns Hopkins.</p>
<p>well...my friend got into UCB by declaring his major as Jewish studies...lol</p>
<p>It would suck big **** if he had to continue that major...</p>
<p>male in nursing
female in engineering</p>
<p>thats all i can think of right now.</p>
<p>bobbobbob has a good example. However, these are not so much majors in the "Arts and Sciences" college as totally different colleges within the university.</p>
<p>I have read in at least one college guide that applying for a "obscure" major in the college can increase your chances if they are trying to expand the program. I would think that you would have to have a strong interest with EC's to back it up. Also, I doubt if this happens very often simply because the situation with an "obscure" major doesn't happen that often. Also, if a super-elite college has an unusual major, then everybody in the country is trying to get into it because it is the best place to go for the major anywhere.</p>
<p>it would be very difficult to game the system in this manner. as others have noted, if nothing else on your application indicates this interest, it can be perceived as either insincere or uninformed. also depends on how the school views that program itself -- it may make them wonder why you are applying to a college with such a small program in what you supposedly want.</p>
<p>Well, say you have the backround for the Major. Then what? (Like EC's etc.)</p>
<p>:indian</p>
<p>unless students apply to a specific college (like engineering, college of chemistry), most kids who apply to the UC's apply to Letters & Science, and that college/school does not care what you put down as an intended major or even if you leave it blank.</p>
<p>similar to dufus, I have also read where an obscure major can help if the college is growing the program, but gotta have EC's and test scores to back it up. For example, it's not too smart to apply to a Russian History dept with a 560 on the World History Subject Test.</p>
<p>But, if Russian History is your passion, then by all means mark it down -- the dept would love to have you over the next prelaw app.</p>
<p>So conversely, is it better to mark "undecided" instead of pol sci or econ?</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm curious too. I was a little worried putting down Econ for my major (and I am NOT planning to go into business!)</p>
<p>If your activities and background make being a prospective major in a very uncommon department logical, then do it. If you have a passion for an uncommon area, put that on the app. Of course it helps to have a unique background and be one of very few applicants applying to an obscure department. For example, if you've gone on archaeology digs for years and have a recommendation from a prof who you did that under, then put archaeology. That would certainly give you a better chance at a school than just putting a genero major that virtually any set of academics and ECs can be used to support.</p>
<p>If there isn't compelling evidence to show your passion, then put undecided or something else which reflects your EC and academic record.</p>
<p>well put, hyperpuritan...</p>
<p>I think you're right. It would make sense for colleges to look for certain "types" of people when making admissions decisions, of course. They have a job to keep every area of their campus vibrant and diversified. One revelation that I had about college admissions this past year or so is that you're ONLY ever competing with people who are similar to you. Similar demographic, race, interests, activities, etc. With that said, I think that if you are truly interested in something different, or "obscure", it could definitely be a hook if you back it up with proof that you're passionate about it.</p>
<p>An unusual choice of major can help only if you have demonstrated interest in that subject. Otherwise it is more likely to hurt you because it will be viewed as trying to beat the system, something of which the adcoms do not approve. Major is a small factor in admissions and rarely comes into play at all, so putting down a popular major (such as English or Political Science) won't hurt you in any way, nor will putting 'undecided' hurt you.</p>