<p>I want to major in Romance Languages, which isn't a very popular major. The primary language would be Spanish, with French as my secondary. </p>
<p>My question is simple...with an unpopular major such as this, will my chances for admittance to a top school (e.g. Dartmouth or Columbia) be increased?</p>
<p>Umm…honestly, I don’t think it can help that much. However, I don’t have concrete evidence to back my claim and I admit it’s mostly a gut feeling.</p>
<p>i really dont think that major is “unpopular” by any means</p>
<p>ditto. It’s not unpopular. I’d think you’d have to do more in terms of meaningful internships or extracurricular work to stand out, but maybe not.</p>
<p>How can I find out how many students at are a particular school are enrolled in the Romance Languages major?</p>
<p>I can’t imagine this major being described as popular by any means…its only offered at a couple dozen schools nationwide. </p>
<p>[Romance</a> Languages](<a href=“http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/majors/Schools.asp?majorID=530]Romance”>http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/majors/Schools.asp?majorID=530)</p>
<p>But French and Spanish are offered at thousands of colleges, so you would not be “that” different as someone whose major is in “Foreign Languages”</p>
<p>I strongly disagree. A major in a single Romance Language such as French or Spanish does not entail the same coursework as a major in Romance Languages, which focuses on comparative literatures and linguistics of all three of the major romance languages…French Spanish and Italian. They are in fact, “quite” different areas of study. </p>
<p>My original question still remains…do schools place any consideration during admission to the major?</p>
<p>Umm…MANY schools have such a program. You can actually major in “Romance Languages” as opposed to just French or Spanish at a variety of schools and not just Columbia and Dartmouth. </p>
<p>So no, I don’t think there will be much significant consideration placed on this during transfer admissions—esp. because transfers usually constitute only a small fraction of any school population anyway–small enough as not to affect the balance of different majors in a school one way or another.</p>
<p>I don’t think that 24 schools nationwide could be categorized as “MANY”…but regardless of my major, I am surprised to hear that a student’s major is not given any consideration.</p>
<p>The major is given consideration actually…at Cornell for example, people who declare AEM as their major have a slightly lower chance of admission because it’s popular. I think AEM transfer admission rate is around 12% and overall for Cornell is in the 20% range…</p>
<p>My numbers may be off…but my point is..major does count.</p>
<p>Cornell is a different situation…the sheer number of undergraduate schools makes such numbers readily available because they release separate admission rates statistics for each school. Plus, they treat admissions into each school quite differently. Even on the freshman admissions level, the admissions rates differ between say the Hotel school and the Engineering school. The reality is, for schools like Columbia and Dartmouth–the number of transfers will be so minuscule (compared to Cornell) that there’s probably no significant advantage to be gained by declaring a certain major…esp for the arts and science school since you can easily change majors once you get in.</p>
<p>Plus…I’m not sure why the OP included Columbia. I don’t think Columbia is on the Princeton Review list of schools offering a “Romance Language” major.</p>
<p>there really is no difference between what you want to do and say the next guy who chooses to double major in french and spanish. and that would be possible at every school in the us lol. i imagine something like near eastern studies, east european, or even east asian is more “unpopular”
instead of princetonreview go directly to the schools site</p>
<p>I wasn’t listing Columbia as a school that offered romance languages as a major, I was simply giving an example of what i meant by “top schools”.</p>
<p>That thing that you said about switching majors once you are in is a very good point however. I could see how that might be a problem. </p>
<p>Does anyone have a definitive answer though?</p>
<p>At Cornell, it’s true that each school has its own admission rates, but what I am saying is the admissions rates for certain majors inside one schools varies. AEM has a lower admissions rate than Biology for CALS at Cornell.</p>
<p>soccerguy, do you know the specific rate for CALS bio sciences?</p>
<p>i would beg to differ. i think that if your essay, teacher recs, and application support your passion for a “unpopular” major (in my case, near eastern languages and civilizations), then it could really help. especially if it is your main reason for transfer (my current school does not offer it).</p>
<p>“i think that if your essay, teacher recs, and application support your passion for a “unpopular” major (in my case, near eastern languages and civilizations), then it could really help.”</p>
<p>Yes, but I would say that’s true of any major. It seems like the OP is asking whether or not declaring him or herself as a potential major in an “unpopular” field would help on its own…in which I’m skeptical about. Of course, if you have substantial work done in your potential field, I don’t think it matters what the major is–at least when transferring to schools like Dartmouth. Much like serving as an editor of the undergrad finance or economics journal at your current school would be beneficial to someone applying as a potential econ major somewhere. </p>
<p>“especially if it is your main reason for transfer (my current school does not offer it).”</p>
<p>Always a good reason, but, one has to make sure to distinguish the EXACT things that the program you intend to enroll in can offer something your current school can’t. For example…can the OP double major in two Romance languages and accomplish the same result? All this of course, is hypothetical.</p>
<p>Most sophomore applicants have no “substantial work done” in any field. in fact most college students don’t.</p>
<p>I think all of you are missing the point… I think he is trying to ask if it was him and another person with identical stats, race, everything else except the major. C.P would he have a better chance of getting in than the other because of the major in which he is applying too</p>