<p>I'm applying to liberal arts schools that, as such, do not have separate colleges of arts and sciences. Will the major I state in the Common App help/hinder my admission?</p>
<p>It’ll affect you in ways that really can’t be predicted exceptin some notable cases. :/</p>
<p>What does the college need this year? More classics majors? Less? More women engineers?</p>
<p>Okay…one of my friends told me it was better to go in undecided, since it might boost your chances. Is that at all true?</p>
<p>Since the college doesn’t have separate schools, then NO. Admissions officers know (and frankly invite) students will come to campus and sample and search. That’s why many departments don’t require their students to declare a major until several semesters on campus.</p>
<p>Since half the students wind up majoring in something different than what they listed as a 17 yr old, LACs won’t factor it in. Undecided or bio or english – no difference. Straw grasping</p>
<p>As for Philo’s note, you’ll have to ask him/her to explain it – I can’t discern its meaning</p>
<p>Not really. At least I’ve found no data suggesting so. Make the decision that best fits your application. If your one significant EC was the editor of the school newspaper, you might seem more attractive as a future humanities major than a future engineer.</p>
<p>Oh, and as most people will say, just tell them which major you are truly interested in.</p>
<p>If you have a preferred major just put it down. It might help put your application in context.
Something like 70% of students change their majors anyway, so at an LAC in particular I don’t think it makes any difference. They expect students to experiment with different subject areas, since that is the whole point of a liberal arts curriculum 
It would make a difference at schools that have special programs with limited enrollment such as nursing programs.</p>
<p>Phew. Nice My friend had me worried there. Thanks so much!</p>
<p>I said I was majoring in Astrophysics, and their class of 2016 only had like 4 Astrophysics majors, so…</p>