Will my major hinder or help my ability to be admitted to college?

Applying to College
1

<p>I am trying to attend the University of Illinois at Chicago.</p>

<p>I have chosen to major in Physics.</p>

<p>Physics is a rather obscure major. </p>

<p>I understand that this is question may have no factual answer, but I am looking for the opinions of others, and especially other physics majors: In choosing my major to be physics, will I have a better shot at getting admitted to college, a worse shot, or an equal opportunity?</p>

<p>I base this around:</p>

<p>Better shot - Well, less people are trying to get into physics... So less competition.</p>

<p>Worse shot - Physics is a bit more rigorous in nature and since it is so rigorous requires a longer list of accolades on one's transcripts, also one would be pitted against other students of physics who likely have that long list of accolades.</p>

<p>Equal - Admissions are fair across the board and no preference is giving to the major.</p>

<p>What do you think?</p>

2

<p>It really depends on how you match up with what they are looking for in Physics majors and how your fellow applicant match up with you. If your transcript is strong in math and science, you have a better shot, if it’s weak, a lesser shot. I’d also guess that you will have a better shot the higher your level of math in HS, accompanied by a good grade of course.</p>

<p>Picking a more obscure major will not enhance your chances if you don’t have the background in HS to do the work, in fact, it will likely hurt you.</p>

3

<p>Most colleges expect you to explore and change majors while in college, and your major will not affect your decision significantly.</p>

4

<p>Physics is not “a rather obscure major.”</p>

5

<p>You need to check the school to find out if you are applying to the major as well as the school. If you are applying to the major, there may be different baseline requirements and expectations (e.g. for a prospective physics major, a higher level of high school math may be expected); beyond that, any differences in selectivity are likely based on the popularity of the major relative to the department’s capacity at the given school.</p>

<p>The web pages of UIC’s physics department gives no indication that the major is impacted or otherwise difficult to declare or change into: <a href=“http://physicsweb.phy.uic.edu/undergraduate/faq.php”>http://physicsweb.phy.uic.edu/undergraduate/faq.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Contact them directly if you have additional questions on applying to, declaring, or changing to the physics major.</p>

6

<p>It won’t help nor hurt. At UIC, only a handful of bachelors admissions are handled by the department and not the college. It will be LAS admissions who will decide to accept you or not. </p>

7

<p>Thank you for your thoughtful answers - Nova and ucba. :)</p>

8

<p>I have heard a number of admissions officers say that unless you are applying to a specific program (ex. engineering, business) that the major doesn’t matter. The reason is that about half of the people starting college with a major end up changing it so they just don’t an intended major on an application as a factor.</p>

9

<p>I’m assuming that you’re strong in math and science. If you applied to the college of letters and sciences , arts and sciences, or a liberal arts college within the university, then you have a decent shot of getting in. Engineering is another story, though, because it is extremely competitive. </p>

10

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</p>

<p>This varies by school. They are probably referring to their own schools.</p>

<p>Here is an example of where specific majors have different thresholds for admission:
<a href=“http://info.sjsu.edu/static/admission/impaction.html”>http://info.sjsu.edu/static/admission/impaction.html&lt;/a&gt;
(Note: frosh eligibility index referenced in the above linked pages is GPA<em>800+SAT<em>CR+SAT</em>M or GPA</em>200+ACT*10.)</p>

<p>Since the OP named a specific school (University of Illinois - Chicago), s/he should ask that school’s admissions office and physics department to find out the answer for that school.</p>

11

<p>Physics is not an obscure major. It may actually be more competitive than average. If you have a rock solid foundation in Math and Science, it will help you tremendously. If not, things will not be good.</p>

12

<p>Physics, more competitive than average… only at a handful of schools. Maybe UIC is one of them…</p>