<p>if i dont select an alternate major (its optional) , would it hurt my chances? would having an alternate major increase my chances?? thanks!</p>
<p>Having an alternate major for Berkeley and LA almost never help you. They probably don't help you at all, either, unless you're applying to different schools within the university. For example, applying as an African American Studies major as opposed to a biology major will not at ALL affect your chances of getting into any schools since both majors fall under the college of letters and science. That being said, if you are applying to, say, engineering (impacted at most schools), then the offchance that your app is otherwise strong but not 'enough' to get into engineering would be something an alternate major in a nonimpacted major (within CL&S for example) could potentially help you with. Still, those chances are rare, but do fill it out anyways with whatever. Changing majors is very common.</p>