What are the pros and cons of going in an undeclared major? Seems students change their major often, so is it better to pick a major and apply knowing it can always be changed or to go in undeclared?
First of all, it isnât a sure thing that you can change from undeclared to an impacted major. If you donât think you will wind up declaring a really popular major at your school of choice, and you really donât know what you want to do, maybe going in undeclared is the way to go. My D was accepted as undeclared L&S but, between applying and accepting, sheâd decided what course of study she wanted to pursue, which happened to be in a different school within the university. It took her 1-1/2 years to take the necessary courses (with the required GPA) to be admitted into the major/college that she wanted. If she had tried to do this in a very popular major, her chances of being able to declare that major would have been pretty much zero.
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Yes to the above ^. Do your homework for the schools on your list. At my daughterâs school itâs very difficult to transfer into engineering. If students have any glimpse of a thought that they would want to go that direction, itâs much easier to start in engineering and transfer out, than trying to get in. Same for CS.
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That entirely depends on the school you attend. Many colleges donât have âimpacted majorsâ or a system of transferring from school to school in order to transfer majors.
If youâre going to a college where your major is pretty easy to change because theyâre all in the same college and/or none of them are impacted, then it doesnât matter whether you go in undeclared or whether you pick one and change later.
If you are going to a college where some majors are impacted or competitive, it may be better to go in with a major.
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Most freshman donât âdeclareâ a major, but choose one they think they want to do. Then they start taking classes to get a foundation in that areaâŠso if you want to be an engineer, you take Calc, Physics etc.
So at least have a vague idea of what you want so you can take the foundation courses
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In engineering a specific course sequence is required, in addition to the foundation calculus, physics, and chemistry courses most schools have an introductory engineering courses, programming, engineering graphics/CAD, engineering design laboratory, and sometimes introductory interdisciplinary engineering courses such as statics, dynamics, electronic circuit analysis, etc. in the first two years. If you expect to graduate in four years, it is very important to take the courses in the order they are given at the times they are given, so entering as âundeclaredâ without taking these courses will likely make âdeclaringâ an engineering major later more difficult and/or may extend your stay past four years. Most schools do not require one to declare a specific engineering major (e.g., electrical, mechanical, civil, etc) immediately, but many do require you start out in the engineering curriculum. If you are sure you want to be an engineer, it is much better to start out as an engineering major.
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