Pretty much what the title says. I want to apply to Barnard as a computer science major, but since Barnard is a liberal arts school with a VERY new CS department, I was wondering if it would hurt my chances. Does anyone know if they admit specifically to departments, and the rates for each department if this is a thing? Thanks in advance, love the CC community.
The third most popular major for the Class of '23 was undecided. I’m under the impression that your intended major bears minimal importance, as you are not admitted to a major, and your major is subject to change.
OP needs to understand, first, whether she’s a good match for Barnard, with a 3.3 gpa. And whether she has the pattern of courses, grade strengths, and ECs they’ll like, for CS, plus the right others.
The top colleges can look at the stated possible major and then for the right background, academic and other, for that. They know kids change, but it’s a snapshot of your thinking.
I’t not just what major may have less competition. Even in undecided, they look for an idea, based on your record. Eg, some undecided kids clearly lean stem-y. And if you don’t seem to have any clear-enough interests in your record, that can be its own problem for a competitive college.
To answer the question you actually asked, first year applicants are not admitted by department or major, so there are no acceptance rates based on department or major. Demonstrating your interest in STEM and/or computer science will help support your overall application by giving admissions an idea of what you have done to date and what you want to study. We can’t really know if emphasizing one over the other, or indicating that you intend to major in one or the other, will affect your chances. That would depend on who is reading your application and if there is any special push to admit applicants with those specific interests as opposed to those with different interests. Nothing in the admissions website suggests majoring in STEM will be viewed more favorably than majoring in Computer Science.
“first year applicants are not admitted by department or major”
Unless a college has a college of engineering or direct admit business program, etc, they are not “admitted” to those programs.
But yes, at other colleges, expecially top tier, you can be reviewed for your major. Or “by major.” It is not ignored. How do you suppose they review qualifications or achieve balance in majors or by gender, etc?
A lot of folks who experienced universities with specific colleges of study say others don’t care about majors, don’t review your suitability. But sure they can. It frames a big part of the review.