I was curious so I googled this a bit. What came up on the first page was a thread on CC from 2009. The general consensus was that your major is not considered or strongly considered when your application is reviewed.
My classes, test scores, honors, and extracurriculars demonstrate that I have dedicated and consistent interest in a few different things (science, gov/politics, writing) but no single standout interest. I intend on majoring in one of the life sciences, but my test scores and honors are relatively weaker in that category. (Humanities scores are better and my honors are general academic, community service, or writing-related.) So I’m wondering if that’ll hurt my application, but that doesn’t seem to be the case according to my research. I’m still interested in other perspectives.
Also, if you’re at all interested… (and please feel free to share! I love hearing about other people’s interests. It makes me happy, because the world seems a lot brighter when I hear about such amazing people.)
I am passionate about going into the field of medicine, particularly public and global health, which creates a logical connection between my interests in gov/politics and science. My goal is to be accepted into Yale’s Global Health Fellows program or the BA-BS/MPH 5 year dual degree program with the school of public health. Clearly, Yale’s liberal arts attitude also makes it a very good fit for me, because I want to be able to explore a variety of academic areas in college.
A college asks about “intended major” to gauge your interests. But, as more than 60% of students change their major from the one they indicated on the Common Application, an Admissions office cannot use a student’s “intended major” as a recruiting tool.
That said, for the past 5 to 6 years, Yale has been very vocal about recruiting STEM majors. So, I would think a student who indicates they intend to major in something STEM related AND has shown interests in pursuing STEM subjects by doing additional research, trailing a doctor, volunteering at a hospital, etc might have a leg up in the process.
Looking over your chance thread, with SAT scores of 2050 and 2180 (even though you have a super score of 2200), I would think there is a likelihood that you might be deferred in the SCEA round due to your test scores, as Admissions will probably want to compare you to a larger applicant pool.
That said, as Yale receives thousands more applications than they have spots for in their freshman class, Admissions uses a student’s teacher recommendations, essays, guidance counselor’s Secondary School Report (SSR) and interview report to choose one high performing student over another. As you haven’t listed those items (nor should you), it’s really anyone’s guess as to what will happen when you apply.
@gibby - Thank you for the very thorough response! I think you’re right that I am likely to be deferred, so I will definitely reconsider applying SCEA. I probably have a better shot elsewhere.
It’s good to know that Yale is recruiting STEM majors. My extracurriculars and classes do show very strong interest in STEM, so that should help me a little bit.
My daughter is also interested in medicine. She wants to eventually become a Maxillo facial surgeon and volunteer over in third world countries that lack medical care. She is very passionate about this and has a very personal connection to her reasons why. She applied however as undecided with an interest in history and the classics. She did this because STEM is the most competitive and scrutinized major. At the accepted student reception here in our local state, they told us that over 50% of the applications this year were STEM. That is an absurd number for a school that wants to find a balance of students that represent every aspect of the school. I am not saying that you should not apply as a STEM student but more that you can apply as anything you like- apply for what you are the most interested in because you can study everything while there. You don’t have to create a 4 year schedule before you are even accepted.
You don’t declare until end of sophomore year. Question is just to gauge interest. Most change majors at least once but usually don’t stray far. My D put Classics on her app, but will be an Intensive Literature major. Same general arena. No way she would wake up a math major. No doubt a undecided math major won’t wake up and decide on English. However, the best thing about Yale is that it doesn’t box you in. You can take a broad range of classes.
@Tperry1982 right, poor word choice on my part. And that’s exactly why I love the school! I am passionate about a somewhat unusual combination of areas, so I want to go to a school that will encourage me to explore all of my interests.