Does it matter a lot what you put down as your intended major?

Applying to College
1

Do highly selective colleges (HYPSM) look a lot at what you put down as your intended major? For example, if I intend on going to med school, is there really a big difference between putting down Molecular Biology vs Biochemistry vs Neuroscience as my major? Will it be more difficult to get in if I choose a popular major like Biology? Colleges probably realize that you can easily choose to major in something else once you get in, so how much does this matter?

I’m just a bit lost since some of these schools have so many majors to choose from and I don’t know if it’s worth spending the time to research every single one and scrutinize my choices.

2

Some schools admit by major and many do not. You need to check each schools website to see how they determine admission.

3

All those are bio related, shouldn’t make much difference to pick one vs another. The expectations are basically the same. But even colleges that don’t officially admit by major can look at it and try for some balance among different departments. Some supps will give you a chance to explain and you can note the others.

4

There are a few types of schools

  1. Admits by major
    You’re admitted into a specific department. For these your intended major will matter.
  2. Admit by school
    You’re admitted into a specific school (Arts and Sciences, Engineering, etc). For these your department will matter insofar as it affects which school you’re being admitted into.
  3. Admit regardless of major
    You’re admitted into the college/university regardless of major. For these your intended major doesn’t matter in terms of admission. However, I imagine, it’ll be looked on favorably if your intended major lines up with your classes and ECs.
    There are “hybrid” schools, but this outlines the broad categories.
    You should research how your intended schools practice admission and go from there.
5

Also, changing major after enrolling may be difficult if the new major is popular. This is more likely true in case 1 or 2 in reply #3, but even case 3 colleges may have some capacity limited majors.

6

There are also schools that do not allow major selection until end of first year.

7

For those five schools, it doesn’t Matter

8

Highly selective colleges can look at the possible major you state and take it into account. This is admissions, not the later selection. You say, MB eg, and they’ll look at your math-sci record, incl activities. It’s not necessary to have a separate college (eg, CoE) or admit into a specific dept. It’s part of holistic.