My son and I recently took a tour of UM-TC and did the whole admissions seminar as well. During the Q&A session, someone asked about the importance of a second choice major. The answer was interesting. Basically, if they decide your first choice is not available to you, they will start the process over again for your second choice and you may have different results. She also suggested that if you look at the middle 50% of students admitted to each college, they are very different, so if you really want to go to UM, consider a second choice (that interests you, of course) in a college with less competitive numbers. Just thought I would pass this along, as it applied to my son perfectly. He has a first choice major in one of the colleges that I think will be a reach, and a second choice that should be right on target.
@MSscarn - yes! That is definitely the smart way to use that 2nd option. Applicants are requested to select a first and 2nd choice primarily in order to let them know which are the colleges of interest (admission and honors program selection is actually by college). Using the 2nd choice as a backup will increase your likelihood of getting accepted to UMN.