<p>Let's say the major is impacted, or the intended major is very competitive/popular (engineering opposed to cultural studies). If I chose this major, would it be harder to get into the school, or does it play no role in the admissions process?</p>
<p>I ask specifically about the UC schools, but am interested in how it pertains to all of them (privates).
Thank you.</p>
<p>For some majors (eg engineering), you will have to apply to a specific school within the university. For majors within the same university, however, your intended major will have minimal impact on admissions.</p>
<p>So should I put the major in the school that is harder to get into as my primary major, and one in a school that is easier to get into as my alternate?</p>
<p>No, you should list the school you would like to be admitted into, or you risk getting stuck in a college without your intended major. If, for example, you apply to the College of Arts and Sciences, you can’t major in engineering. You would then need to reapply as a transfer to the engineering school to major in engineering. </p>
<p>In short, you can’t beat the system by choosing a less selective major, because your other intended major is in an entirely different school, with an entirely different admissions process.</p>
<p>I checked this website on the broader subject of whether UCs admit based on intended major. The answer I found is that a University may have several “schools”. For example, UCLA has Engineering, which is separate from Arts & Sciences, which is separate from Architecture. Within the College of Letters and Science, admissions decision do NOT consider which of the 40+ majors within that school the applicant intends to major in. Chances of admission are identical putting Biology as an intended major vs. Spanish.</p>
<p>What I don’t know is whether the intended major (or lack of major) ticked off on the application form is cross checked with the Essays to see if the applicant is presenting a coherent picture of themself.</p>
<p>I’ve heard of some isolated cases where a college will admit an applicant with lesser qualifications because they want to apply for a major that is undersubscribed, or a college will offer extra financial aid for a student who wants to major in a small program that the college wants to build up. </p>
<p>However, those things are out of our control - apply for what you really want to study.</p>
<p>And what If I am not completely sure what I want to study? I know (think) it will be science. One possible option for my major is in engineering. But one is in letters and science. I think it will be a while until I know which one I actually want to declare as my major. What major should I mark as my intended major in this situation?</p>
<p>anyone know?</p>
<p>It depends on where you apply. </p>
<p>But yes, if you are worried about your chances of getting in choose a major that is easier to be accepted into. </p>
<p>Take UT Austin for example. The business school is VERY competitive while the Liberal Arts school is known to be easier to get into. </p>
<p>Some majors will only consider you if you put them as your first choice. While some don’t care. </p>
<p>If you want to major engineering or business I would suggest listing it as your first choice, and then list your back up as second.</p>
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<p>Unfortunately, most engineering programs are four-year programs, with different graduation requirements from the outset. If you expect to graduate on time, you will need to make this decision before applying.</p>
<p>Unlike most privates, the UCs don’t let students switch majors that easily as they were accepted in the first place by evaluation regarding their initial major. For instance, if you apply to UC Berkeley’s Bioengineering, you are stuck with it for your 4 years of college unless you switch majors (which I don’t know if it’s possible) or transfer.</p>
<p>I see. And Berkeley’s application kind of sucks from the get go because they don’t let you declare an alternative. It sounds like if I applied as bioengineering it would be hard to get in. But if I applied to a major in letters of science it would be easier, but harder to transfer to bioengineering if I wanted to later. I think for the sake for getting in I will apply for my letters and sciences major though.</p>
<p>How does the alternate major work for the other UC’s? If I am not allowed in under my primary major, do they re-evaluate me under my alternate major?</p>
<p>As a current Berkeley student, I can tell you how it works (or how it seems to work)</p>
<p>-Yes, what major your list CAN determine your acceptance. If you apply to the College of Letters and Sciences at Berkeley, your major has no affect at all. However, if you apply Engineering (to any of the UCs) it does. Applying to art based majors that require portfolio/audition, such as at UCLA, obviously your acceptance is highly dependent on that. Also, I think Pre-Haas majors are more difficult to get into. </p>
<p>Regardless, just remember that unless you’re applying to Engineering, it doesn’t matter. After you are accepted, you have to declare your major. If you don’t get assigned a major that you listed, changing to another major is can be done as long as you haven’t started school and as long as it’s not impacted. HOWEVER, transferring into another major once you are actually at a UC can be very difficult but doable as long as A) It’s in the same college or B) You don’t want to transfer into Engineering OR an art major. But transferring out of an art major is doable. If you want to transfer to another college (like L&S to Haas), it can be difficult and takes a lot of paperwork, signatures, nagging, and time.</p>