Okay, this may sound like a stupid question, but I’m really confused on this one point and I’m about to apply soon.
So the question might be a bit confusing, so I’ll try to clarify with an example: At Carnegie Mellon University, there are different schools such as the School of Computer Science, School of Engineering, etc, all with their different acceptance rates. I believe the overall acceptance rate for CMU is ~25% but for SCS, it’s only about ~8%.
This suggests that one would apply to SCS to learn computer science, instead of CMU as a whole. But I was under the impression that you first apply to a university, then choose your major. So if I wanted to go into either computer science OR engineering OR something else, I’d have to apply to multiple schools at the same university?
Sorry if this is stupid, but I would like some clarification.
Yes, for CMU, you have to apply to a specific division (e.g. School of Computer Science). This is true of many other schools (e.g. Cornell) but not others (e.g. Stanford). In some schools or divisions, you have to apply to a specific major.
Typically, you can only make one application to a given school, although some schools where you need to apply to a division or major allow you to give a second choice division or major.
When a particular division or major is more selective than others at frosh admission, it is often the case that an internal transfer into that division or major after enrolling in another division or major at the school is difficult, requiring a high GPA or competitive admission process.
All of this is very specific to each school, so you need to look into this at each school.
You need to look at how each school works – I would check online for this information or it may be obvious once your see the school’s supplement. Often you apply to the school you want (ex. engineering, liberal arts etc.
It was definitely not a stupid question. It can be difficult understanding this from looking at admissions websites. What you can do is go on the a Common App website and enter a college name. You will see a menu of college options for those schools where you are admitted by college