at dornsiife are there “easier” majors to get into?
This was a major topic of conversation at a USC event we went to recently. The USC admissions reps said there was no easier major to get into at Dornsife, and they also said they were well aware of people trying to game the system (eg, someone stating they wanted to major in Art History w/ no background or demonstrated interest in the subject). In such cases, the admissions committee may think the person is attempting to choose a less competitive major, but that’s not the way Dornsife admissions work.
so do they not admit people based on the major they pick? for example, majors like biology/chemistry/biochemistry are the more popular or competitive majors that a lot of people will apply for. or do they look at your major and compare you to others applying for the same major?
The admissions counselors said that all Dornsife majors are considered equally, that they do admit by major because a lot of people change, and that the largest major is Undeclared. Now, they could actually do something different during the admissions process, but they made a point of it. They are aware that certain majors are considered more difficult for admission, but they said that was not the case. The specialty schools do have majors that are more difficult.
sorry for all the questions, but by “a lot of people change” do you mean that a lot of people tend to switch majors once an undergraduate? did they say what happens if you don’t get accepted into the majors that you applied for, do they just stick you as an undeclared?
If they want to accept you to the university but you were not accepted to a college they will consider you for Undecided. My son applied as IMGD first choice (denied), Viterbi second (they don’t even review second choices) and accepted as Undecided. He moved into Viterbi officially his second semester at USC.
Yes, a lot of undergrads in Dornsife switch majors during their 4 years. They do not admit to majors at Dornsife. You need to declare a major in a certain field to apply to things like the Freshman Science Honors program, but you apply to that AFTER you are admitted to Dornsife. They don’t deny people for majors to Dornsife, but like GamerGal said, you can get rejected from one of the specialty schools and admitted Undeclared to Dornsife. If you are applying to Dornsife and you want to major in something that you’ve already shown an interest in, put it. If not, put undeclared, but don’t try to game the system by putting something you think is an easier major to get into (unless you have a demonstrated interest in it). The admissions people are not idiots.
Thanks for the help! I submitted my application yesterday. 