Of course, ECs where the student shows depth of commitment and high achievement (what colleges supposedly like in ECs) often are the ones started early in high school, often long before the student has any idea of a college major (some do not decide major until in college, and some college students change major).
So choosing ECs in 9th grade with an eye on college major may not result in a “correct” guess for many. But then perhaps the super selective colleges just have unrealistic expectations of applicants, because a few may have gotten lucky that one of their long term ECs that they started in 9th grade and achieved highly in is one related to their eventual application major.