<p>I've heard this can be an effective strategy. </p>
<p>But would I be able to switch to the major I'm actually interested in pursuing? </p>
<p>For example, declaring Germanic Literature or something and then switching to International Relations.</p>
<p>freshman or transfer admissions?</p>
<p>Hmm I’ve heard this too! Lol
I don’t think it’s BECAUSE of a nonpopular major you get accepted, but with good stats and not typical major you’re more likely to be accepted. Lol buut I derno.</p>
<p>I know a guy that got into Cal Poly SLO with a major in Agriculture. I can tell you that he was a dumb jock that partied too much. Yet, I know a guy that got rejected with better grades, but the only difference was he applied as aeronautical engineering. He too was a jock, but not a partier.</p>
<p>Of course I don’t think an obscure major is grounds for an automatic acceptance…</p>
<p>But I’ve heard it helps. It’s a leg up.</p>
<p>And I’m doing freshman admissions. </p>
<p>Although, on the topic of transferring: I’ve also heard that it’s far easier to get into a school if you transfer in after maybe a semester or two somewhere else. </p>
<p>Is this true??</p>
<p>If that’s the case, I am maybe considering transferring into a more difficult school (like Georgetown) from a school that I’m more confident in being accepted, like American University.</p>
<p>its much easier to transfer in, i got into university at buffalo with a 2.7 at a community college (****ed up bad), i had a 75 gpa in high school(never had ambition), wouldnt have a chance out of high school but getting accepted with my community college grades. if it helps im also a chemistry major.</p>
<p>I know that UCs and CSUs look at the majors when admitting students. I know for fact that the Ivies don’t care unless you are applying to particular schools like Cornell Engineering</p>
<p>It depends on what school you’re looking at. Some schools, yeah, it’s definitely easier, but others, way harder. The better the school is, usually the harder it is to get in as a transfer because the really good schools have excellent retention rates.</p>
<p>You still have to show interest in that major too.</p>
<p>Depends on the school. Many schools, such as JHU let you pick any major one you get accepted (except BME). So what you declare has no bearing on what you can major in. </p>
<p>Other schools like Cornell and Penn admit students to specific colleges. I.e. If I get accepted to Penn SEAS, I can’t just switch to Wharton. Is it a good strategy to apply to a less competitive major and then try to transfer in after a year or so of high grades? It’s hard to say.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that Cornell’s hotel/hospitality management program is the easiest of the Ivy’s to be admitted, and then the student switches later, so in some cases when a college is trying to sell a certain program then an applicant may stand a better chance of being admitted (no offense to those in hotel management).</p>
<p>I have also heard that Brown has too many intended bio major applicants and it decreases the chance of admittance. This isn’t to say that it’s a good idea to declare an obscure major, but yes the intended major of study can affect chances of admitt.</p>
<p>No, won’t. Colleges aint that stupid 
.
They know you can change once on campus.</p>
<p>Does anyone think the switching major strategy would work at Georgetown, Brown, JHU, UChi, Tufts, Boston College, Colgate, NYU, or Middlebury?</p>
<p>The major I’m actually interested in pursuing is International Relations. But I know that at schools like Georgetown, that puts me in a biiiig group.</p>
<p>Well, adcoms might see right through you if they look at your application and say, “Oh, look at all of these Engineering ECs!” and then look at your intended major and go, “Wait…Spanish Literature? This student hasn’t taken a single Spanish class…”</p>
<p>I mean, that’s just an example. At some univeriesites it won’t make a difference because you’re admitted to a school in the university (ie, the school of Nursing, the school of Engineering) and you can easily switch your majors within the school. However, it’s much harder to try to transfer out of your school, and it’ll be hard to meet credit requirements (graduate on time) because you’ll be missing certain classes that are important to the major you’re switching to.</p>
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<p>This isn’t entirely true. While at most Ivy’s you aren’t applying to a particular program (the exception being schools like Penn and Cornell with multiple undergraduate schools), adcoms certainly consider your major. They do know, however, that college students are likely to change their major once at college, and because your major choice isn’t binding, they don’t put too much stock in it. </p>
<p>The exception is if you have a history of interest and accomplishment in a less popular major. Yale, for example, wants to build up its sciences; other majors are just less popular across the board.</p>
<p>Barring differences in what school you apply to within a university, putting down an obscure major can help you only if you have a demonstrated interest in it, i.e. ECs or awards. It also would help for you to explain your passion for that subject in your essays. They know that students will likely change their major, but demonstrating your desire to enter that field can help, if not because they intentionally are trying to bolster under-enrolled majors, then because you simply stand out more when you demonstrate an uncommon/rare/unique interest. And of course standing out in any way is helpful.</p>
<p>edit: basically what glassesarechic said. Yale is a good example, because it sends likely letters to exceptional students in science, and even has special admit days for them months before their general admitted student days.</p>
<p>Well assuming adcoms couldn’t “see through” my strategy. My ECs and awards show I do have strong interest in the German language and in literature. So I see it as believable that I could major in Germanic studies or something. </p>
<p>Does anyone think it would be too difficult to transfer out of my university’s school, to get into the school I really want? </p>
<p>How quickly would I be able to transfer into my desired school?</p>
<p>When I told my interviewer at University of Rochester I wanted to pursue a major in Film Studies, I was incredibly shocked by how excited he was. Apparently it’s not a very popular major at the school, and they’re constantly encouraging other students to take it. We spent a good ten minutes of my interview just talking about film and why I wanted to study it and the kinds of classes UR offered in it. As a member of the Class of 2015 UR page, I haven’t come across a singe person yet also majoring in Film. So I think declaring Film Studies as my major made me stand a lot amongst all the pre-med and science majors, and gave me a bit of an advantage in the admissions process. Am I saying UR only accepted me because I wanted to be a Film Studies major? No, but in all honesty, I think it would have been a lot harder for me to get in if I were just another Biology major.</p>
<p>If you are trying to enroll in an oversubscribed class, being a declared major in that area will likely give you preference to get in. So if you need to take particular prerequisite classes, particularly sequential ones, trying to game the system may come back to bite you. JMHO.</p>