Does the major you choose affect admission? / Chance

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>Just a quick and simple question, does it matter what major you choose in your application?</p>

<p>For example, if I chose something like Philosophy, or some other very rarely taken major, would that improve my chances of getting in significantly?</p>

<p>If you state you want to do IT, wont you have much more competition as compared to some abstruse major?</p>

<p>I really want to go to a good college, but the major I choose does not matter. I just want a degree from a good school, and then I'll be going to Law School.</p>

<p>On a side notes, here's an overview of my stats to give you an idea (I'm going to be a senior in high school).</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA: 3.31
Weighted GPA: 3.43</p>

<p>SAT II Scores: Math II - 600 (retaking), Physics 600, US History - 580. I'm retaking Math II and taking English in November, hoping for 700 in both.</p>

<p>SAT I Scores: Taking my SAT reasoning in October. Hoping for a 2000-2100. I'm currently in an SAT prep course (ELITE) and my scores are around 2000 ish.</p>

<p>School Ranking: Our school does not rank students. It's a great school, ranked 11 on some site in California.</p>

<p>Extracurricular/Awards/Clubs: A lot of community service in United Way, went to many events etc. Active member of FBLA. Student Merit Award in English. Soccer and basketball (not for school though). Did an internship at Bank of America. Also did an internship at a TV station and software company over seas (both in 9th grade).</p>

<p>Financial: No need to apply to any financial aids etc. Fortunately college tuition is not an issue for me.</p>

<p>Other: This is my third high school. First was out of country, second was in Texas, and now I'm in California... Moving to the US had a negative effect on me socially and grade wise (hence the low GPA and SAT II's). All is good now though. I can get very good letter of recommendations from any of my teachers (and I'm not just assuming, two of my teachers have themselves offered).
I'll be taking 5 AP courses next year and am confident in myself, so I should be able to bring up my GPA to at least 3.7 (hopefully higher though).</p>

2

<p>I don’t think it’s possible for you to bring your GPA up to a 3.7 unless you took only 1 year of classes so far…unless you meant you’ll receive a 3.7 senior year. Anyways, your stats are definitely below USC’s standards. This may be of some use for you:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/0910/FreshmanProfile2008v3.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/0910/FreshmanProfile2008v3.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>As for your question, to a certain extent, yes your major will affect if you get admitted, but not entirely. You can apply for a major and get rejected for THAT major, but you MAY be accepted as an undeclared major. Then you could reapply to the specific major afterwards. So there’s no point in applying for some “easier” major as you’ll be considered as an undeclared if you don’t get in for your main choice.</p>

<p>But yes, acceptance does differ by major. Getting into the film school is EXTREMELY competitive, whereas getting into CLAS is a lot easier. However, I don’t think the major will matter within a school (ie Econ vs Philosophy or Chemical Engineering vs Mechanical Engineering).</p>

3

<p>First, USC accepts you, then the major-specific school accepts you. For example, I applied for an engineering major. USC accepted me, but Viterbi didn’t, so I got into USC as an undeclared major.</p>

<p>That’s how I think it works at least…</p>

4

<p>My son’s high school is one of the top feeder school to USC. According to his counselor this is how USC admission works:

  1. All applications go through the first level screening.
  2. Those applications pass the initial screening will be forwarded to each of the colleges/schools for further evaluation. Undeclared major applications will be forwarded to College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
  3. Each college/school has their own selection criteria and quota. For example, Viterbi School of Engineering aims at enrolling 400 freshmen each year and they will pick applicants with strong Math and Science background, and less care about their English/History/Spanish… scores.
    Gormandy - You may want to choose a major where your scores will demonstrate your stregnth and focus your senior year AP courses on your chosen major. A good essay to explain your oversea experiences will help too.</p>