<p>Hi,
I'm thinking about going undecided or picking environmental science for my major. I'll be applying to a lot of top privates like Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, UChicago, etc. as well as UCs. </p>
<p>The reason I'm thinking about going undecided is because, well, I really don't know for sure if I want to pick environmental science (though I know even if I do select it, I could change my major later on). Also, I fear that I'll be compared to other students applying to the same major, and the only EC I have relating to environmental science is an AP environmental science course I took over the summer at an academic program. I only got a 4 on the AP exam. I'm scared that the admissions committee would look at my application and say, hm, this person didn't do that much relating to the field. We'd better pick this other person who's much more involved in environmental-related ECs.</p>
<p>(I also have a bunch of interests, like art and creative writing. Really passionate about those, but I know for sure I don't want to necessarily major in those fields.)</p>
<p>Personally I think both are OK~ But from the data I’ve collected, “undecided” is usually among the most competitive major choices. So if you apply for “undecided”, maybe your chance of getting in will be even smaller than if you just choose environmental science.</p>
<p>Other people on College Confidential know a lot more about the UCs than I do, so I won’t speak to them. </p>
<p>But in the overwhelming majority of cases, for private colleges such as the ones you’ve named, Allen’s advice above is actually off-base. Except for students who are applying to some kind of specialty programs (e.g., Wharton at Penn, or sometimes engineering), these colleges and universities admit students to the institution, and not to a major, so choice of major has no effect on admissions. They do it this way because they know that no more than half of students who enroll will actually graduate with a degree in the subject they said they planned to major in.</p>
<p>“Undecided” is perfectly OK, if that’s what you are.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is no general rule; you have to check each school individually to see whether all freshmen are one admissions pool, or if there is a difference in selectivity by division or major.</p>
<p>Selecting “undecided” in this case should not noticeably impact your chances. It could help if you choose to apply for a specific major/program and you have shown talent in that area of study; however, applying undecided would not go against you in any way. Even applying environmental science would not hurt your chances.</p>
<p>You need to check each UC campus for details, but at many (for example Cal and UCLA) they do not take your intended major into account when applying to the College of Letters and Science.</p>
<p>Many of the schools I’ve researched do not admit based on major (Except for a select few) and many don’t even do it by school. Undecided, even if they do admit by major, would not hurt your chances, in fact, it’d help you avoid picking a major that is hard to get into.</p>