<p>someone told me that for the schools that are a little bit of a reach for them, they'll apply to a "lame" major that not a lot of people apply to so which increase his chances of getting in...and when he gets in he says he'll change to his original major.
so i guess what i'm asking is does applying to not a very popular major at an elite school increase your chances of getting in...or was he making all this up</p>
<p>That is patently false. If you're not qualified to go to a school you're not going to be accepted.</p>
<p>My college counselor (who I fired) told me to apply as a classics major because I took a Latin course once and it's an uncommon major. His exact words, I believe, were "I've gotten more kids into Princeton with 2100 SAT scores as classics majors than 2300 SAT scores as bio majors." Personally, I don't trust him any farther than I could throw him. This just seems absurd. :) That's why I fired him.</p>
<p>This is really only a strategy that would work at a UC or larger university. And most private colleges have at leat 50% of their incoming class declared as well undeclared. So it's a shoddy methodology.</p>
<p>Spend your time on improving your application in other ways.</p>
<p>this guy i know applied as an engineering major to harvard. no interest in engineering, didn't even take ap physics. hardly any clubs. he only really liked english.</p>
<p>then... did he get in? it'd be silly if he did...</p>
<p>This question comes up a lot on CC. Unless you have a demonstrated interest in the "obscure" major, no it won't help you.</p>
<p>yea, he did and is going there next fall.</p>
<p>You have to showcase passion for what you're applying for.</p>
<p>I agree though, you still need to be qualified to get in.</p>
<p>i could see this method working at large universities. you apply to say, the agriculture school and then transfer to the business school. i guess it could work...but i'm not sure about how well it works at top schools.</p>