2nd try (got deleted by mistake - reposting partially):
Son is interested in applying UCSD for two capped majors (major A and major B). There is no uncapped major which he is interested in - or which is consistent with the courses he has taken so far.
Assuming his chances for major A (primary major) at UCSD are low, would it hurt his overall chances of getting into major B if he chooses B as an alternate major rather than B as the primary major? Or in other words, if he chooses B as an alternate major, will he be considered for major B only if there is space available after UCSD has first chosen candidates who applied major B as the primary major?
He asked this question to the UCSD admissions office, but they sent back a canned response recommending him to choose an uncapped alternate major. Hence asking here (perhaps someone has an educated guess).
If both majors he applies are capped, there is a higher chance of being rejected for admission than if he chooses a non-capped major as an alternate. Also, he would need to have major prep completed for both majors if applying as a Transfer.
There are some exceptions that I have seen where a transfer student was accepted into a capped major as their alternate but there are no guarantees. Transfers are evaluated on their first choice major then if space is not available, their alternate major will be considered.
I know he will be a UC to UC transfer instead of a CC transfer but this Transfer GPA admit data by major and campus might help with his decision for which majors to apply.
They are very related majors and in this academic year (sophomore), the courses he is taking are common to both the majors as well as GEs. Unfortunately only one of these two capped majors make sense - otherwise it makes more sense to continue at his current campus.
Thanks for the input. So I assume, to maximize the chances you would recommend to apply for the major which he has a greater chance of acceptance as the primary major and one with lower chance of acceptance as the alternate major instead of the other way around.
Thank you - we have checked this out and it is an extremely useful reference.
If he is indifferent to which major, sure. But if he’s hoping to get in on one and then switch to the other, that may not be possible depending on the majors.
If one of the two majors (let’s call it Major A) makes sense to continue at the current campus, then it may be better to apply to Major B as the first choice at other campuses, since if he does decide to do Major A, he can just stay at his current campus. However, if he really wants to do Major B, then maximizing his chances at other campuses in Major B by designating that as the first choice major should be considered.
But if he is indifferent to Major A versus Major B, but really wants to get into UCSD over the current campus, then applying to the less selective major should be considered.
Actually I made a mistake while writing the sentence I have now marked with a bold font. I meant to say:
Only those two related majors (A or B) make sense for him to change campus - and unfortunately both of those majors are capped. There is no third major C which is uncapped and which makes sense for him to apply as an alternate major.
Additional clarifications (if not clear):
Major A and B have nearly equal job prospects but Major A is more popular and harder to get into.
He is currently pursuing Major B at his current campus - but he has no path to change to major A at his current campus.
With his good but not perfect GPA, he has a chance of getting the more selective major A on transfer to UCSD but maybe a bit low (say 20%). However, he likely has a very good chance of getting major B (say 60%).
He will have low chances at Berkeley or LA - so San Diego is his best option.
He would love to get Major A while transferring but his priority is a successful transfer to UCSD in either major A or B.
With the above constraints, which among these options would you opt in for?
Option 1:
Major: A (more selective)
Alternate Major: B (less selective)
Advantage: this is the only chance he has to get the more popular major A at UCSD. He will not have that chance at his current campus.
Disadvantage: possibly he does not get into major A and major B as well. Possible reason / assumption for not getting major B: it is possible that for major B selection, they may prioritize students who apply to major B as a primary major.
What I do not know is whether this possible reason / assumption is true or not.
Option 2:
Major: B (less selective)
Alternate Major: A (more selective)
Advantage: very high chance gets transfer to UCSD.
Disadvantage: he forfeits a chance for the more popular major A at UCSD.
But this is not necessarily that bad disadvantage - he will be applying to UCSB & UCD for A as the primary major. Maybe he gets major A at one of those campuses if he decides he MUST do major A.
By “equal job prospects”, do you mean similar kinds of jobs (not just pay levels)? If not, does he have a preference for the types of jobs associated with major A or major B?
The selection of major A or major B at UCSD depends on whether he prioritizes changing to major A versus going to UCSD.