<p>Hi;</p>
<p>I have been checking more in depth the rankings in the US News College Ranking page and noticed that some higher ranked colleges sometimes have departments that are ranked way below. Like let's say the schools is ranked in the 30's but their Biology(that's what my daughter is interested in) department is ranked in the 90's. Is it easier to get into one of these schools if you apply to a given department that lags the school's overall ranking?</p>
<p>Unlikely. Having been on too many college tours to remember, schools all seem to embrace the idea that students will change majors numerous times. Aware of that, Admissions wants to be sure that students can handle the work in general so applicants will be judged on their merits versus all other applicants. Music school applicants struggle with this problem quite a bit. They produce great auditions but if their academics aren’t up to standard they’ll still get rejected by Admissions.</p>
<p>Thanks you very much!</p>
<p>I think there are differences in very different disciplines. It will be much more difficult to get into Law in Harvard than int.o Mechanical Engineering. At MIT it would be the other way around</p>
<p>^Matt, Law is a professional school applied to after one earns their UG degree, it is not a major; MIT does not have a law school.</p>
<p>It depends on whether applicants are accepted by the college as a whole no matter what subject they plan to major in, or if they are applying to a specific school within a college (eg. the different schools in Cornell have different acceptance rates).</p>