Hey everyone,
I have a question that has been bothering me for a while. I am a high school junior and created a Common App account after my school told me about the CA’s new “rollover” policy, and I have learned that a lot of colleges only allow you to put down one major/field of interest.
This is a problem for me, as I am interested in both Computer Science and Biochemistry. I have no idea which one would be in front of the other. Here are my justifications for each…
Computer Science -
- I have heard that many colleges need females in CS, obviously not why I am interested in CS but there may be some little boost ? (I am not applying to any tech schools)
- I have a major award in CS at the international level -> probably biggest/only “hook” on app
- I had an internship that combined CS with biochem -> getting LOR for research mentor (well known in biochem field, co creator of a medical software)
- I have taken classes in data science and programming , good grades in them
PROBLEM: I can’t have my programming teacher or data science teachers write letters of rec. My programming teacher runs a huge club at my school that is very well-known and big that I am not a part of. She has to write LOR for lots of top members of the club for next year who she loves and spends hours and hours with as this club is a huge time commitment. Her LOR for me would be lukewarm as I am not her best student. My data science teacher is also my math teacher and writes bad LORs, he also runs the math club which I am also not a part of (i hate competitive math)
Will this be a red flag for adcoms?
Biochem
- I have taken classes in biochem, AP Chem, will be taking AP Bio …
- CS and Biochem internship
- I have won a few science competitions (Sci Oly and another similar comp although this one was at the international level but def not as hard as Sci Oly or Chem Oly or anything like that)
- My AP Chem teacher (who does like me and i will have next year) and research mentor (from internship) are writing LORs for me
PROBLEM: Biochem is so much more competitive than CS to be admitted. Plus my biggest hook thus far is CS related.
TL;DR:
Should I apply as CS for the admissions boost over biochem and because of my huge CS award even though I’m not getting LORs from my CS related teachers? Is that a red flag?
As stated above I am equally interested in both, hence why it is so hard to decide.
Some places obviously let you choose 2 options which I will gladly put down both, but many don’t! Please help! Thank you so much!
Actually, at many colleges, CS is the more competitive major to get admitted to, and change into once you are in college. You need to check carefully for each college which major, if any, is a more competitive or selective major.
Note that if you apply to a less competitive or selective major, get admitted, and enroll at the college, you may not be able to change into the more competitive or selective major later.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1947599-faq-does-intended-major-make-it-easier-or-more-difficult-to-get-into-a-college.html
Which subject do you actually like better?
@ucbalumnus yes, I am aware CS is very popular and competitive. However, only at very few schools (WashU for example) do I have the issue with choosing either CS at the school of engineering or Biochem at the school of arts and sciences. CS is pretty much equally if not less popular at WashU than biology. Another school I have this dilemma with is Harvard; it only lets you pick one “interest”, so that would be between CS and “life sciences”. Life sciences in general is more popular than CS (because “life science” encompasses 5+ majors)…that’s not the issue for me.
I like both subjects equally and intend to study both. However, now I am just trying to look at an admissions perspective since I have very little preference. My app and essays reflect both interests in medicine and CS. CS might have a boost due to me being female. However, I only have a LOR from my chem/biochem teacher, not my CS teacher. I’m just worried this may be a red flag and admissions may be confused why my CS teacher didn’t write me a letter. I can’t even explain this because they would question why I’m not in the club she runs etc. and I don’t have time to explain all of that; it will just look like excuses.
I really think that this is not as big a deal as you think. The vast majority of schools don’t admit by major anyway, so whichever you put first won’t matter. For example, Harvard doesn’t admit by concentration and you can change your concentration freely, so what you put is unlikely to matter.
At schools where CS has competitive admissions you may want to apply to CS, because it’ll probably be easier to add a biochem major than to add a CS major. So if you are applying to any schools that have CS as a competitive entrance major, then you may just want to specify CS.
This is really also very unlikely to matter, and definitely not a red flag.
This is just a thought so if other posters think I’m wrong feel free to correct me BUT:
If it was me, I would look at the schools, and try to see if they had information about the test scores/GPAs that are required for admittance into the school of engineering (or wherever compsci is located) vs arts/sciences (or wherever biochem is located). Then, given my indecisiveness, I might apply to whichever one is more competitive because then it would probably be easier to switch into the less competitive one.
You really need to look at the schools and see if they care about your major…for example, The College of New Jerseiy requires that you state what major you want to be admitted into and it is difficult to change. But Case Western Reserve University has a “Single Door” admissions policy and you say what you are interested in but you can change your mind at any point and it is easy to switch majors (not including all the coursework you need to take!) but if you said you wanted CS and then decided on Biochem it wouldn’t matter.
I would get recommendations for CS from your math teacher or science teacher…I would not worry about being CS specific.
@bopper thank you for the information! Here are the schools I am more confused about in terms of policies:
- Harvard (but according to an above poster they don't care? but what if they received like a huge influx of a certain interest? they don't want to risk the chance of them all being bio majors or something, right?)
- Princeton (on the website, it says they don't admit by major, but again, they probably want to fill their engineering/CS program...)
-Emory (no idea about their program. seems there's not much division for schools...but I can't imagine there being a large CS community here.)
Obviously I have other schools on my list, but most of them I kinda have an idea of how selective a certain program would be besides these ones.
I’m glad the LOR doesn’t seem to be an issue! I am getting one from my English teacher and one from my AP Chem teacher as well as an additional from my lab mentor.
I hope you have some matches and safeties that you would be happy to go to!
I think in general for colleges:
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If they are specific about your major mattering they would let you know, e.g. at TCNJ:
Academic Major
Students must declare an official TCNJ program of study on our school’s Common Application Member Form, which can ONLY be submitted online when completing the Common Application. You cannot apply “undecided” to TCNJ.
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Every college wants you to take classes that would prepare you for your intended major…if you were liberal arts heavy they may wonder if you are prepared for CS
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I think there is some balancing of majors…but apply to what you want or undecided. Dont’ stress
Actually, having a recommendation from your English teacher and from a Chemistry teacher would be perfect, since it would show intellectual versatility, the fact you’re strong and interested in more than CS (where you have your awards).
For the three colleges you listed, list CS since it’s your favorite. They don’t admit by major.
Have you considered doing both? It wouldn’t be easy and may take 5+ years, but you could pursue a dual major/dual degree path if you are really passionate about them and pick the right school.
My son attends the University of Rochester and is pursuing a BS in Evolutionary Biology and a BA in Political Science, since those are his two greatest passions. Thanks to UR’s open curriculum (with minimal required gened courses), he will graduate in 4 years with both degrees.
I just checked UR’s website and it looks like a BS in Biochem requires 23 courses and a BS in CS would be another 17 courses, give or take. Plus, there’s a requirement for clusters in humanities and social sciences (because Bio and CS are both natural science subjects), so another 6 courses. All of that would probably take at least 5 years, although you could do a BA in CS instead of BS which would reduce that major’s course requirement to 12. It may be possible to do all of that in 4 years with careful planning and some AP credits.
Something to think about.
@ekdad212 thank you for your response. I am considering both CS and Biochem; I plan on double majoring. My question was more about which one I should list as my “first choice” for colleges that ask for admissions purposes since I like both CS and Biochem nearly equally. Haha, a dual degree would be way too tough. A double major is already tough for pre-med, especially with CS. I wonder if it’s possible to double major a BA in CS and a BS in Biochem…you definitely sparked that question for me 
Most schools probably want a decently-rounded mix of majors, but using entering freshman’s specifications on the applications is likely not very reliable, particularly in colleges that don’t admit by major. At the very least if it got out there was a preference, people would just put that then switch after being admitted.