<p>As the title suggests, does let's say someone who is applying as a music major gets treated any differently (i.e easier) from someone who is applying as a Chemistry major? Also, does anyone know if there's data on how many people are in music at the ivies?</p>
<p>Music majors have to audition, so no.</p>
<p>It can depend on the major and the school; larger universities for instance are typically made up of several colleges or schools within the university and each separate college may have different admission requirements; you may need better stats to get into an engineering college, for instance, compared to arts/science. Some universities have a college of general studies, where average gpa and stats are typically lower than the school's average, so arguably that college is "easier" to get into...</p>
<p>if anything, it's harder to get into fine arts programs like music or theater than the typical liberal-arts major. Search on the parents forum and you can find plenty of accounts of people running the gauntlet with their kids to get into the top music programs.</p>
<p>I'm thinking of applying to Cornell as a music major, which requires no audition, although I will send in a demo CD of my work. Will that increase my chance of getting into Cornell (applying as a music major) as opposed to applying as let's say a Chemistry or Economics major?</p>
<p>Possibly, but it's highly unlikely it will be more than a minor factor unless you happen to play an instrument Cornell desperately needs, which is difficult to predict. </p>
<p>A good CD, however, can help. Highly selective colleges like Cornell look to essays and supplements to distinguish between qualified applicants.</p>
<p>What if someone were to apply for a less popular major such as anthropology. Since not many people apply for it, would he get n edge?</p>
<p>It is only an edge if you excel in that field and have shown commitment and interest over years. The admission officers are not going to accept an applicant over another because they write down an obscure major like anthropology. They know majors change all the time. Now, if an applicant had expressed an interest in anthropology over four years for example beginning with writing a detailed research paper at school, then doing fieldwork in another country, studying under a noted anthropologist, then coming back and raising money for an archeological dig, that is another story</p>
<p>It is only an edge if you excel in that field and have shown commitment and interest over years. The admission officers are not going to accept an applicant over another because they write down an obscure major like anthropology. They know majors change all the time. Now, if an applicant had expressed an interest in anthropology over four years for example beginning with writing a detailed research paper at school, then doing fieldwork in another country, studying under a noted anthropologist, then coming back and raising money for an archeological dig, that is another story. Then the admissions office might say that they dont have that many interested in anthropology and this applicant would be an asset to this departent</p>
<p>Judy, if you send in a CD and indicate that you'll be a music major, the Music Department might get interested in you and help with your admission chances. The degree of influence a department has is different at every school. At some schools, they only listen to the CDs of academically "qualified" students. At other schools they listen to every CD and rank the ones at the top. At some schools they only listen to the students who have declared music as a major. In any case, it can't hurt to send the CD and make contact directly with the Music Department if you're even considering the major. </p>
<p>If you want to know exactly how many music majors there are at any of the Ivies, read their websites and/or call the department to find out.</p>
<p>thanks so much skie</p>
<p>Anthropology isn't that obscure a major. It is also something that can be taken just about everywhere. </p>
<p>My daughter applied as a prospective Egyptology concentrator at Brown, which probably did help her. But this showed an answer to the "why Brown?" question, because it is the only school with that major in the Western Hemisphere. They couldn't think, "Oh well, she can major in this someplace else." She also had several correspondence courses with an Egyptologist on her transcript, so it was clear she wasn't just picking something obscure to try to game the system.</p>
<p>Now at Brown, she has a second concentration of anthropology (really just archaeology and one required anth course) and finds there seems to be quite a few folks in it. Certainly more than Egyptology ...</p>
<p>This question comes up a lot, so I think that adcomms recognize the possibility of kids putting down the most obscure thing they can find thinking it will give them an edge. Brown used to say it took potential concentration into account, but they changed their web site. Perhaps too many folks saying they were interested in classics or geology, the two examples given?</p>
<p>A little side tracked but (sorta relates to topic)...is it good if you choose types of subjects that help you in your major.
E.g. I want to apply to CIT at CMU, and would it help if I took a lot of science/ math courses? Also, would taking things like CAD help? Finally, would saying that you want to be an engineer and such help? I tihnk it shows them true interest...is this true?</p>
<p>Cornell accepts students by major and not simply by which college within the University which they apply to. (im positive its like that for majors within CALS, not 100% sure of the other majors)</p>
<p>Showing a passion helps, I think. (I'm not a big expert, just giving my impressions from what I've heard.) You can do this with coursework, but also ECs, an internship, etc.</p>
<p>If you indicate an interest in engineering, you pretty much need the coursework to back that up. From the impression I got when my son was applying (he's now a senior in EE), colleges pretty much expected applicants to take math and science each year (and to have subject matter testing in those fields as well). He did everything AP he could in those areas plus the SAT IIs in math and physics. I don't know about CAD; if it interests you and fits in your schedule, why not?</p>
<p>You might look into the CMU summer program. My son did that one year and took an introductory engineering course and one in Java. Sometimes people think they are interested in engineering, but get a sample and decide they aren't. Best to find this out before you are in an engineering school somewhere!</p>
<p>
[quote]
Perhaps too many folks saying they were interested in classics or geology, the two examples given?
[/quote]
Those are my majors. :cool:</p>
<p>
[quote]
But this showed an answer to the "why Brown?" question, because it is the only school with that major in the Western Hemisphere. They couldn't think, "Oh well, she can major in this someplace else."
[/quote]
That isn't quite true, unless you want to get extremely nitpicky. Still, there's only 8 that offer it (three Ivies, two elite privates, and three elite publics). I applied to Yale as an NELC major with ecs and an essay to back it up, but I still got rejected. :eek:</p>
<p>
[quote]
A little side tracked but (sorta relates to topic)...is it good if you choose types of subjects that help you in your major.
E.g. I want to apply to CIT at CMU, and would it help if I took a lot of science/ math courses?
[/quote]
That varies a LOT from college to college. Applying to an engineering school at Caltech or Cornell would require a lot more focus on science/math classes and ecs than applying for engineering at Swat or Bucknell, I think.</p>
<p>Oh, I'm pretty nitpicky :) My daughter is even more so, viewing the dedicated Egypt offerings at Brown as better than the near eastern studies coursework available elsewhere. Strangely enough, since she matriculated at Brown, they have technically changed the name of the concentration to include "ancient western Asian studies," but they don't have any coursework to support this yet.</p>
<p>BTW what I said is what Brown itself used to say in describing the department. Now they have augmented the name, but the courses are the same.</p>
<p>I don't mean to denigrate the programs elsewhere. If someone wants the near eastern stuff as well, they need to go elsewhere, at least until Brown gets it together. My understanding is that they were set to hire a professor to do this, changed the name of the department accordingly, and then he couldn't be hired for some reason. (It turns out, dd wants some near eastern coursework, but is going to try to get it in a study abroad year.)</p>
<p>I'm curious who you are including other than Yale, Penn, and Chicago. The places we found other than that had even more limited undergraduate course offerings of interest to someone who is primarily Egypt-obsessed. But maybe things have changed or we missed something. It would be good to know, because I certainly get lots of people asking where one can study the subject. </p>
<p>D didn't make it into Penn or Yale, either, so perhaps they do view things differently. Either that, or didn't like the Brown courses and recommendations in her application. "Well, then, go to BROWN then, sniff." A nice way to explain the rejection, anyway LOL</p>
<p>Hmmm, I wouldn't be so nitpicky. Johns Hopkins takes NES students on a dig</a> in Egypt. Anyway, I was referring to Yale, Penn, Brown, Chicago, Johns Hopkins, Michigan, UCLA, and UC Berkeley (with the first five being by far the best). </p>
<p>BTW, I've read about the changes in Brown's department. I think it's a really good move, and the new changes should make the department completely awesome if they get it together.</p>
<p>OK, I've looked at all of those. I just find those nits and pick away. Makes me happy.</p>
<p>The coursework didn't seem as extensive when we looked. Then again, dd was a homeschooler and the last four listed are harder for such applicants, giving her another reason to discard them.</p>
<p>Yes the major you select does count in your selection. Music majors generally have a lower gpa/sat score. And yes it is harder to get in as a Chem major than it is a Music major.</p>