<p>My son brought this up and I thought it was a good question. By declaring an area of interest that you want to study, which all schools ask for, how much can that affect if at all, the ultimate decision to admit or deny? If they have umptenn business potentials, even when they come by "Joes" appliation which is stellar, will they have to waitlist him or deny him whereas if he put religious theory or renaissance studies, he would have been a quick and sure admit. Anyone have any input on this hypothetical situation? Is it a reality? Thanks, I am sure many want to know how this plays out in the admissions office.</p>
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By declaring an area of interest that you want to study, which all schools ask for, how much can that affect if at all, the ultimate decision to admit or deny?
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Very little.</p>
<p>Also, from what I've read, if you put an under-enrolled major on your app, it looks bad unless there is evidence in your transcript that it truly is an interest for you -- either course work in the subject, extra-curriculars, experience "in the field", ec. To put renaissance studies would look different if you have done a summer at an academy in Florence, for example. Without some evidence of involvement already it just looks like a cynical ploy, and a clumsy one at that.</p>
<p>Some schools do not care about your major, but other schools definitely has majors/colleges that are harder to get in. Like Penn/Wharton, JHU/BME</p>
<p>It depends on the school. Some universities do cap programs. For example, one</a> student was accepted to TCNJ but not to the biology major.</p>
<p>While choosing a popular major could possibly hurt, choosing a less popular major is unlikely to help much. A potential Classics major who has Greek and/or Latin under his/her belt, has taken the AP exam, competed in competitions, etc., might be an attractive applicant to some colleges. Holy Cross would even give him/her a scholarship. In most cases, however, colleges pay very little attention to prospective majors because most kids end up changing their minds anyway.</p>
<p>Why do colleges ask for your major? they should omit this section competely if they really do not care. Maybe then so many will not be confused about this.~~
Many books that I have read stated that yes, if you are SINCERE about the less popular major and you put that down it can be an advantage during the selection process. common sense tells me that those classes has to be filled with students too.</p>
<p>Schools do care do varying degrees about the major declared. Some schools far more than others. If there is a sharp increase in interested science majors, for instance, even a school that does not care much about majors is going to have a concern of being able to provide lab facilities to meet the need, as well as the teachers. If a school is trying to shore up a department or has hired a hotshot prof who brings an entourage of grad students needing teaching stipends, that major will get some benefit in admissions. Also an adcom reading the app might have a penchant for a particular major, especially if it is a rare one. Research and experiences in a subject can make for a good profile for an applicant, especially if he is majoring in that field. Someone majoring in Asian studies, for instance, who speaks some Asian languages, spent time in Asia and did some interesting and unusual things in the field will look like a good catch for that department, whereas that experience may not be as interesting if the same student is declaring a science or engineering major.Also some schools have special scholarship for a specified major. I have seen some merit awards for female engineering majors, for instance, or as Warblersrule mentions Classics majors. Some unusual fields of study have scholarships designated for kids majoring in that field.<br>
Also some state schools I have known do have caps for certain majors. Once that is reached, even a sterling applicant will be rejected--no more seats left.And some colleges are divided into Schools with different admissions criteria and stats. Cornell is an example, as is Carnegie Mellon. It can make a difference to which school you are applying, and the schools are differentiated by majors.</p>
<p>At Cornell it could mean an acceptance or a rejection</p>
<p>cpto</p>
<p>my son with sincere interest in classics has applied to yale EA. do you think this will help in places like yale or HP? thanks</p>