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<li><p>Generally, how different is the rigorousness of admission in each major? Does it largely depend on schools to which I will apply? For example, I know that for UCLA, it's not so hard to get in as math major but hard as majors related to pre-med. </p></li>
<li><p>If the major matters a lot, is it possible to apply to unpopular major and change my major after accepted by the university? (I was actually recommended to do so by my counselor, but I couldn't believe that it would work.)</p></li>
<li><p>I did pretty well in SAT II, AP, ECs related to math, but not as well in those related to Biology. If I will apply to bio major, how disadvantageous will my admission be?</p></li>
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<p>Thank you in advance. But I'm sorry that my questions are kind of too broad and general.</p>
<p>You can do pre-med from just about any major (though engineering is tough), so if it’s possible to pick an easier admit (and I’m not saying that’s easier admits exist), that does sound like a viable strategy. But, switching majors is another matter. The experts here will tell you that at some schools, it’s easy, other schools, nearly impossible. </p>
<p>As a general rule from what I’ve ready here, the harder it is to get admitted to a particular program, the harder it is to transfer in. For example, don’t think for one minute you could back door Wharton by getting in to one school at UPenn and then just announcing you now want to go to Wharton.</p>
<p>Another consideration is what do you do with your degree if you don’t get into med school? In many respects, having a math degree will be far superior to having a biology degree, so getting a BS in math while doing the pre-med program may actually be the better route than doing pre-med in biology.</p>
<p>Granted there are some universities–including UCs–that admit by division of the university (one pool for prospective engineers, another for prospective nurses, another for arts and sciences), and often the standards for engineering are particularly different.</p>
<p>Granted, the UCs have a lot of “impacted majors,” and admission to those majors is more competitive.</p>
<p>But generally, your choice of major matters very little at most.</p>
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Honestly, I am shocked that your counselor would suggest such a hare-brained idea. Trust your instincts. MrMom is quite right that the majors that are difficult to enter as a freshman are usually at least as difficult to enter as an internal transfer.</p>