Is it recommeneded to declare major to be considered for merit scholarships

Parents Forum
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<p>So after a year of visiting schools and discussing fields of study, we are back to square one.
DD has thought about a variety of fields from Science to Film. It is clear, she is not fond of math, finance, accounting, computer science, bio, chemistry or nursing. </p>

<p>She is doing well in AP Physics, Creative Writing and Video Production. Her interest in film has to do with bringing awareness about hidden illnesses, such as mental illness, etc. She herself, will have surgery later this year for a hidden condition. Though, let's be real, the glamour of Hollywood, can be very exciting as well and we have discussed the hard road this would be. </p>

<p>She likes the soft sciences (earth science, astronomy). She is creative, she has a good eye for how things can go together, color, depth, theme and how they work.
Her favorite activities are working stage crew for the school and working with horses. She has enjoyed volunteering at a local equestrian therapeutic center. However, we have looked at equestrian type careers in this area and they seem to be very specific and not abundant.</p>

<p>She will soon be a rising senior. I have suggested that she apply to a school that has many options where she can go in undeclared and change her major once she figures out what she really likes. I am thinking schools such as Northeastern, Boston U, Syracuse, etc. are large enough to allow flexibility.There are others, but this is an example of schools familiar to many. She will also apply to some state schools, where the tuition is more affordable. </p>

<p>My question: Provided, she has the grades, is it recommended to declare a major vs undeclared to obtain any kind of merit scholarship? I am not looking at full ride here but given we would not qualify for financial aid, we will focus on applying to schools that offer some merit.</p>

<p>Also, If anyone has any career suggestions we could explore, that would be great. Guidance counselor has not been too helpful. They did a test and she scores high on the artistic side, that's the best guidance we got so far.</p>

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<p>These can require considerable math and physics, particularly astronomy, as that is a subarea of physics at many schools.</p>

<p>Whether declaring a major matters depends on the school and the scholarship. But getting a major-specific scholarship means that she would lose it if she changed to a different major.</p>

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<p>My daughter is applying for a major specific scholarship. The asst department head made it clear that they ‘own’ her if they give her a department scholarship and she must take the courses in the schedule he designs. There are also certain meeting for scholarship winners, work in the department and other requirements. She has to try out for the scholarship yearly, and it may be that in future years she’ll find it isn’t worth the small department scholarship when she can make that much money working a job, but for freshmen year I think it is worth it.</p>

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<p>Soft sciences generally mean those that don’t require labs.
At least that is how Ive understood it.
Psych, sociology, maybe cultural anthro?</p>

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<p>Social sciences are the soft ones, not the ones mentioned above.</p>

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<p>My D1 is a biochem major with a departmental scholarship. It is a little scary to consider the possibility of a change of heart or a drop in performance but he loves it and has a great relationship with the professors. In many ways it is not unlike an athletic scholarship. Ie the risk of a coach or prof leaving, risk of injury or bad grades. </p>

<p>D2 is completely different and I couldn’t imagine him taking a departmental merit award. He will apply undeclared. A large number of students change majors during college. That number is higher for students who had a major chosen for them or were forced to choose too soon.</p>

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<p>In our experience, the schools that offer merit money do so regardless of the student’s interest. My daughter received several merit offers (from LACS) but never indicated what she was interested in studying because she did not know. I don’t think you can “declare” a major until you are enrolled at the school anyway.</p>

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<p>At some schools there is department money, and for that you have to declare. In our case I think it will be between $0 and $3k, so not enough to force anyone to declare but a nice extra if the student knows she wants to major in theater or engineering or art.</p>

<p>For the general school merit money, yes, there is probably no difference if you are undeclared or declared.</p>

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<p>I’d never even heard of departmental scholarships so I think your daughter will find enough choices without having to commit herself to a major before she is ready. Astronomy is definitely not a major for a kid who isn’t fond of math!</p>

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<p>One of the better known (around here) scholarships dependent on major is the University of Alabama upgraded automatic-for-stats scholarship for engineering majors.</p>

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<p>Departmental scholarships are usually awarded to sophomores and above. Most merit scholarships are awarded independent of major although if a student shows a significant interest in a “rarer” field, s/he may be more likely to receive competitive merit aid.</p>

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<p>If she has good stats, I’d look into smaller private LAC’s. We came across many that were not so good on the need-based aid but offered pretty generous merit aid. My daughter has been accepted into two schools so far with large merit offers independent of major. She was THEN offered opportunities to apply for additional department related merit. Looks for those schools that offer merit and for which your child is above the 75th percentile.</p>

<p>Something to consider when looking into schools is how they handle the film department should she decide to go that route. I believe schools like UCLA don’t let students apply to the program until end of sophomore year. However, there are some schools that fill those departments freshman year and don’t offer much to non-majors. If she wants to keep film, theatre, music… any of those majors as options choose schools that keep them open.</p>

<p>As for creative fields and careers, it really depends. It’s a hard road for performers… no question. However, if you are a behind the scenes person, it’s not so hard to keep regularly employed (not necessarily going to make a ton of money unless you hook-up with a national tour but most we know happily keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.) There is a lot of “business” in “the business” as well. The world needs agents, company managers, stage managers, entertainment lawyers and the likes. Someone has to organize the creative people. Arts administration is a real profession and there are schools that offer that major. It’s tough to become a film director but movies aren’t going away and you’ve seen on the credits how many people they hire. You could get a teaching credential and become a studio teacher… that’s a fun sort of job for those that like kids, the arts and steady employment. It really depends on your flexibility. I worry about the kids out to become actors but we know tons of kids who were able to turn their love of theatre into successful careers in lighting design, stage management, educational theatre and more. My husband and I both started in more creative fields in entertainment and shifted to the business side when we started a family. Still get the community and environment with better paychecks lol.</p>

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<p>Thank you for all the replies. Sorry about incorrectly classifying soft sciences. Turtletime, thank you for your suggestions and very good tips. If she goes the theater route, she will most likely be a behind the scenes person. It is also good to hear your D received merit offers regardless of major. </p>

<p>I was not aware of departmental merit, so I learned something new. </p>

<p>Maybe I have been out of the loop a while and using the wrong terminology. When older D (D1) applied to college back in 2010, she applied as an English major. She received merit aid, substantial is some cases, to most of the schools she applied to. She later changed her major but stayed within the same school at her university. Therefore, now I was not sure if maybe D2 should apply to say the Arts and Sciences school at University X, without an intended major and still be eligible for merit. However, it looks like it is not an issue. </p>

<p>Thank you again! I thought it would be easier the second time around ; )</p>

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<p>What are your D’s test scores?</p>

<p>Some schools only give dept scholarships, some give univ scholarships (for any major) and some give both. </p>

<p>How much merit are you looking for?</p>

<p>If your D isn’t sure of her major, then it’s best to find schools that give merit for ANY major…that way if she changes her major, she doesn’t lose her scholarship.</p>

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<p>Departmental merit can come with strings attached so not so good for a kid who is unsure. For example, one of the scholarship invitations D has is for theatre. It would be really nice to get additional merit but the scholarship requires 6 hours a week working in the department, involvement in 2 mainstage shows and at least a minor in theatre. That’s less scholarship and more pre-payment for a job. Not a big deal for a kid already committed to a major but not so good for a kid who may get one semester in and decide that this isn’t really the life for them.</p>

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<p>If the student really doesn’t know, it can be a mistake to force a choice of major that has money attached. When the student decides it’s not the right fit and transfers, funding may be lost.</p>

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<p>It’s fine for people to say that there isn’t department money at every school, but if YOUR school has it, it’s a good idea to declare and go for it. Both of my kids schools, both very different, have department scholarships open to freshmen.</p>

<p>If my daughter changes her mind, she’ll lose the money for the next year, but maybe there will be money in THAT department. It is usually not enough to make the student stay in a major she doesn’t like, but $2-3k is a nice bonus for studying something she likes.</p>

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<p>My S1 had a departmental scholarship all four years. It increased a little each year. It was enough to cover tuition at big state u. He had to maintain a 3.2 to keep it.</p>

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<p>Our S also declared when he applied to Us–undeclared engineering. He stayed in it and ended up as an EE. He did get some extra money from his School of Engineering each year, which increased, plus he was able to do research and get paid pretty decently (above minimum). His friend started in engineering and transferred to psych. Some of the friend’s funding followed, he had to compete for other funding with others in psych after his switch.</p>