<p>I've always loved writing/English, and to be honest, it's probably my best subject. I've always breezed through all my AP English classes and have won national writing awards. My extracurriculars most reflect my love of writing, as I am in the school paper/magazine.
However, I will most likely major in science (which I am decent at). I am pretty sure I won't major in English.
If I put my intended major as "English" for certain schools, will that benefit me? Since my resume "justifies" this major more than it justifies a science major.</p>
<p>At some schools, intended major does not matter for admissions.</p>
<p>At other schools, it does matter, and changing major after enrolling may require going through another competitive admissions process.</p>
<p>Ok thanks, are schools explicit about their policies or do they not tell us?</p>
<p>Ask the admissions people how difficult/easy it is to switch into a science major after admissions. The majority of college students end up switching majors sometime during the four years, some more than once. However, some departments are more difficult to transfer into than others due to prerequisites or class/lab size restrictions. And some have their own admissions standards. It was not possible, for example, to transfer into the PA program at my daughter’s school unless the student had taken the classes required for freshman PA students during their own freshman year - class progression made that vital. A more generalized science major may not be as difficult.</p>
<p>At Columbia, switching between it’s schools requires the student to reapply to Columbia, they acknowledge the process isn’t easy. On the other hand, Penn has a one university philosophy so it’s ridiculously easy to switch majors/schools of study. Ask your school directly</p>
<p>Okay thanks, do you think it would benefit me to say English is my major?</p>
<p>And I’m only thinking about doing this for colleges where arts and sciences are in the same school</p>
<p>If you go to school where arts & sciences are in the same school it is probably a whole lot easier to go from a science to a liberal arts major than the other way around. Especially if you take a whole year of classes before you change your mind. So I would advise you to go with the science if you are still unsure. Plus, you love English, right? So at least you know you will like it if the science thing does not work out. It is not like you are totally lost.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Thanks!
But I was wondering in terms of being accepted, will putting English give me a better chance of getting into elite schools?</p>
<p>It depends on the school… If the school is lacking English majors and needs more then absolutely because that will bring diversity to the school. You did not mention the science, but if it is engineering, everyone wants to be an engineer these days. It is a very common intended major. So if you are looking into engineering, see if the school will let you put a specific kind of engineering as your intended major instead. But depending on the school, a science major may be “diverse.” It will also depend on your gender (believe it or not). If you are a girl and are interested in the sciences, it will be easier for you to get in with the science major then a guy because there are generally less girls in the sciences today than boys (esp. engineering).</p>
<p>The thing is, there is no way I can compete with science/math geniuses applying to the ivies. I’ve never done research, never won a science fair. I’ve taken AP science classes and I’ve done science league, but that’s it.
Also, if your major is reflected in your extracurriculars, is that beneficial?</p>
<p>bump bump bump bump bump bump hi hi hi hi hi</p>
<p>I don’t think it “helps” in the sense you are hoping it will at most colleges. They know that many, many students change their minds on their majors in college. Now I will say that a proposed major with no ECs to back it up (none or almost none) could raise a red flag for them. But my kid got into U of Chicago, Swarthmore, and Harvey Mudd with out a ton of science ECs (no research, no science fair wins, never made it past first round in the one science olympiad she tried). She did do robotics and had one other science related hobby, but most of her ECs were unrelated to science. I think colleges know that kids who are bright can cross areas and do well – they don’t expect you to arrive at college fully formed and completely experienced. Most colleges want you to try some different things. If you have great test scores and grades, you probably would not affect your chances one way or the other with your declared major.</p>
<p>@kiwisarecool: It seems like you do not want to major in English. Your plan was to put that on your CA to increase your chances of admission, right? Well it probably will not help you then. If you really want to major in a science (and aren’t going to do that for any other reason than that YOU want to) then that is what you should put. If you do not get into the top universities against other science students, then perhaps studying it elsewhere would be more beneficial to you. So if science is what you really want to do, then that is what you should put.</p>
<p>What you are going to put as your major will not make or break you. Keep in mind, though, that some colleges use your information to house you with people that have similar majors, to make you share dining halls with people that have the same majors, etc.</p>
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<p>Again, it depends on the school. Refer to post #2.</p>
<p>You may have to dig around the school’s web site to see how difficult it is to change major after enrolling. If it is merely a formality, then it is likely that the major selected does not matter for admission.</p>