Should I apply as undecided?

Applying to College
1

For the past year or two, I thought that I really wanted to pursue Creative Writing as a major. However, although some schools have it, I realize now that I want my major to be something in architecture or business. But, then again, I feel like I’m going to change my mind over and over as the time to apply gets closer. So should I apply undecided? I would do that without hesitation, but I feel like it would hurt my chances. Is that just a rumor?

I’ll be applying to:

Harvard
Brown
Pomona
Tufts
Northwestern
Northeastern
Berkeley
Cornell
WUSTL
and some more low matches/ safeties

Will it hurt me to go in as undecided at any of my reach schools?

2

Check if any of the schools has divisions that you need to apply to, or if applying to a specific major is necessary or preferable (because changing into the major later can be difficult). For example, applicants to Berkeley and Cornell apply to a specific division based on which one their intended major is in; changing to a different division after enrolling is not guaranteed.

3

Also, Pomona for example doesn’t have an architecture or business major. Colleges realize that students change majors a lot. But if you list a major that they don’t offer, that sends up a red flag that you didn’t adequately research the school and whether it’s a fit for you.

4

@Corinthian the common app won’t let you do that. When you are asked what your potential interest is, the drop down menu only offers majors within the college. I realize that many of the schools I am applying to don’t have an architecture major, so I may do something related and save architecture for grad school.

5

At certain schools where you aren’t applying to a specific program, it could be better to go in as undecided if the major makes admission notoriously harder (one of my friends did this for Lafayette- he is going to major in engineering but applied as undecided).
At certain schools you have to apply to a certain college within the school, so you can’t apply as “Undecided.”

6

He should find out if it is difficult to change into engineering once enrolled. Schools where certain majors are harder to get into for frosh admission are typically those where those majors are “full”, so that space available for those changing major after enrolling is limited.