How does athletic recruitment work at schools with selective majors?

[ucbalumnus]

@LurkerJoe

Different schools handle selective majors differently. At the highly rejective schools where there are many more qualified applicants than room for students coaches seem to have some pull for selective majors, or at least selective colleges within the university. At a state school (for example), it is more likely the college has found a lower limit that is needed to be successful in the major and will let a student in if they meet the qualifications. The coaches at these schools are not likely (or able) to help a student get into a major they might not be qualified for, but many coaches will let a student athlete chose a major they can get themselves into.

Another variant is selective majors that require secondary admission based on college courses and grades (and sometimes other criteria from one’s first year or two in college). For example, CS at Texas A&M, where the student needs to start in the engineering division and then earn a 3.75 college GPA to enter the CS major (theoretically, those below that auto-admit GPA can get in through competitive admission, but CS is likely to be completely full from auto-admit students).