I know this is the case for some, like UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, etc. What about other top 25 schools? Are there any that don’t admit by major or school within the university?
Columbia, Cornell, and Penn admit by division.
Just because a school does not formally admit by major does not necessarily mean that the admissions office does not guesstimate an applicant’s probable area of interest and compare them with other candidates having similar interests.