So I had a quick questions about applying to Stanford and intended major. I have a ton of ECs and awards in Spanish, including placing first in national exams, being nominated for my state’s Governor’s honors program (hopefully will be attending) being a member of both Spanish club and soon national Spanish honors society and starting a volunteer based club with a Spanish teacher. On top of that I can get great reqs from multiple Spanish teachers and teachers in other subject areas. However I want to major in chemical engineering but still minor in Spanish. I’ve come to love chemistry and stem and I’ve gotten high As in all the chemistry, physics, and math classes my school offers (AP Chem, AP Physics 1, AP Calc AB/BC, etc…) however apart from national Math honors society, and a year or two of technology student association, I don’t have a lot of stem related ECs. I want to build my app for next year off of spanish because I heard When you apply, you apply to Stanford as a whole and major isn’t that important? Is this wise? Should I intend a Spanish major and switch majors later on?
Stanford does not consider intended major in their admissions process. They do not ask for it, they do not care. You have until end of sophomore year to declare your major.
I could be wrong. But i remember seeing this when my son applied. He filled out his first three choices for the major. Whether this has any bearing on his admission, that I do not know. But it is there on the application,
Ok, perhaps I overstated my point. From their admissions info page “while we encourage you to indicate prospective majors and career interests, these selections are informational only. Stanford does not make admission decisions based on major interest.” I have enough experience with the system to confidently tell you, really, they don’t.
They may not make decisions solely based on possible major, but can certainly consider it in reviewing your choices of activities, as evidence of both experience(s) and your overall vision and drives.
It’s fiercely competitive. Lots of applicants will have the backgrounds (academic and other) to pursue their major interests. Count on stem needing collaborative math-sci ECs, for various reasons.
And similar for a Spanish major, more than just hs-focused clubs and related awards. Try to get an idea of what S and any tippy tops do look for, how they filter.
IMO even though my kid got into Stanford REA last year by putting down International Relations as an intended area of studies, there was no way he would have gotten in had he put down mathematics or Computer Sci because his application lacked collaborative evidence that he would do well in math or comp sci. But I am glad Stanford allows any admitted kid to major in any area even if different from his intended area of studies because he truly doesn’t know what he will end up majoring. He’s going to Stanford to find his area of interest, not to pursue his area of interest. Just hope he doesn’t accrue too many Cs taking courses in different areas before he finds a field he would like to major.