[I.said.hi]

so these days with the budget cuts, uc's have been harsh... universities have been harsh.

i had confidence that i'd get in to atleast some uc's.. but now i'm not so sure.

Anyways, just a question.

many have said "if you choose an unpopular major, it's easier to get in to ____ uc"

is that really true?

i am planning to major in communications, language, something in that field.
not the competitive science/math departments.

thanks

[tjdabeast]

No, it's not true. Some majors are easier than others though, like psychology is easier than engineering. I believe they accept the applicant first, then they consider your first then alternative major. But some "easy" major may be hard depending on the school such as UCLA's art major. You might apply for it, but then suddenly there's an art portfolio you'd have to send in along with it or UCSB's film/media studies accepts a couple hundred students. My cousin applied to UCSB's ChemE and they changed his major to undeclared so that's proof to show that they consider majors after acceptance. Just apply to what you're really planning on what to do. I read some school's acceptance policy about engineering and they said students who were accepted to the engineering program reflect academics that we know will strive. Students who did not get in and applied later will most likely have trouble with the courseload. And it varies depending on the school, so do some research.

[bluberri_oreo]

There is some truth to that theory. It's easier to get into a less competitive college within the university than to apply to a more competitive one. I don't attend a UC school, but I do go to a university on the east coast. I applied to one of the best colleges within the university (management) and I didn't get in, but I also applied to their health professions college and I got in. Your goal is to just get accepted. Once you're in, you can always intra-transfer or switch majors, which is exactly what I did.

[x_wonton]

I don't think this theory has any truth to it. They compare all the info from your application to your major, and if it conflicts then they'll know that you're trying to use the backdoor entrance to get into the university. My friend applied to UCLA and UCB as Religious Studies or whatever, and he still didn't get in (he's fairly intelligent). This can go back to the question of morals, but if you want to claim an "easy" major in order to get into college then go for it, no one is going to stop you.

I just think if you apply as a major that you want, it feels good when you get accepted because you worked hard for it. There is no easy way to cheat your way into college, and if you do get accepted under an easy major than your luck will catch up to you I hate people who cut corners, but that's just me.

[silver-typhoon]

It appears to be true where I attend university... faculties that is. Faculty of Engineering, Nursing, Science applicants fill up fast, while almost anyone with marks above 60% can get into the Faculties of Agriculture (now changed to Life Sciences or something) and Physical Education. Major declaring doesn't do anything, because they practically expect you to change around sometime... whether it is internal transfer or faculty transfer (ie Arts to Science) is dependent on individual. Most people apply as General or "Undeclared" and then transfer around... it's a troublesome game to play

[V12Juice]

Communications is actually VERY competitive at UCLA, its an impacted major. Also, you apply through the school, not through specific majors.

[Lionheart]

If you apply as a freshman, it doesn't matter what your major is because they presume you're undeclared either way. If you come from high school picking something wacky with a low GPA, it's blatantly obvious through essays if you can't explain yourself. Essay questions tend to be like "why did you pick your major and how does it pertain to your career?" and so on and so forth.

For transfers, once you transfer in with your major, you are locked into it effective 2008 onwards. You can't come in as an African Studies major and switch into Biochemistry without the approval of the department head.

Sources: Me. I attend UCLA.

[PoppinBC]

In most ways it is false. Typically the entrance for different departments in a college are very similar, and your application goes to general admissions FIRST then to your department. If general admissions accepts you and your department doesn't, you will be entered in First Year College, and if you do well, matriculation into your field of choice should be easy.

^That is for VA and NC schools.

Don't get suckered into thinking it's better to apply for a department with fewer students / less restrictive requirements necessarily. For example, all first year students at NCSU have a little "U" tacked on the end of their "major" to stand for un-matriculated. Means you aren't really a part of that college yet, but you intend to join it.

[Avex]

Depends on how you describe it; my friend applied as undecleared L&S at UC Berkeley even though he wanted to do bioengineering (it's an impacted major); he got in undeclared L&S (but now he has to work his butt off in order to go into BioEng).

My other friend applied as Electrical Engineering at Cal and got rejected; I got into CivE (we both have similar stats) at Cal.�

However, colleges within the college at Cal admit by college (i.e. Letters and Science; Natural Resources; etc.), not by major, unless it's Engineering.

[fast11375]

I know for Cornell that you could get into ILR with lets say a 90 average but you will need 93-94 for A&S and even higher for their medical program. Also for B.A.M.D its harder. So yea, depends on the major and/or program you apply.

[ordinarydaysx]

at mit they dont care about what your major is. most ppl switch like 2-3 times anyways, so no, it doesn't matter here. (but they also dont have a quota on how many people can be in each major)

[oh pandora]

Well, at UCSD my friend got in for undeclared/undecided. I got rejected for aerospace engineering. My stats were higher than hers, and I had officer positions in some clubs and played a sport, while she was not involved in school. Does that help?

[Sorry if I sound like I'm bragging. I was a pretty lazy student overall, which may be a reason why I did not get in. And I like my friend, even though she was a lazier student than me. xD]

[0oyokisuo0]

^ its not all about stats.

its usually false, but you can always give a shot =x

[damyoungji]

I believe that the theory is false.

Universities not only look at your marks and extra cirricular activities, but they also look at the courses you took. If you took completely unrelated courses to the "unpopular" major, you are most likely not going to be taken into consideration in the first round.

[__laine]

I think it's pretty true in some cases, especially for the popular majors. For UCs, people are 100% guaranteed for UCI and UCSB through the ELC program (top 4% automatically in). My friend was in that top 4% but she applied nursing through UCI and didn't get in. Majors matter, just because not all majors can have that many people in it.

[Kiss Me]

You should try like Pan African studies or something like that.

[chocolateturtle]

I don't think it's exactly cheating the system because when you transfer to a different major, you need to complete those requirements with a certain GPA, it's not exactly a free switch for anyone...so when applying for a major and planning to switch, that person better succeed in the required courses to transfer.

[0oyokisuo0]

^ thats not true. you only need that for impacted majors. all the other majors you can change really freely (with a click online...)

[simpleandpink]

Hm well, one of my best friends and I had similar stats and we both applied to UCI. Although she did better than me on the SAT (by 10 points though lol), I held an officer position in a volunteer club and my GPA was a bit higher than hers.

She applied under "Religious Studies" and I applied under "Psychology," which is an impacted major. I was rejected, she wasn't and she switched over to Psychology (her REAL intended major) easily. So...yeah, I think there is some truth to that theory.

Obviously other factors may have contributed (like the essay, different extracurricular activities, etc.). In any case, I don't regret being rejected as I like the college I attend now

I believe that the theory is false.

Universities not only look at your marks and extra cirricular activities, but they also look at the courses you took. If you took completely unrelated courses to the "unpopular" major, you are most likely not going to be taken into consideration in the first round.

However, just because your courses are completely unrelated to the major you intend to go in doesn't mean that you're not interested in that. What if someone really wants to go into ethnic studies but their school doesn't offer any classes like that? Universities won't have the time to go through every single applicant's high school curriculum. I think, when looking at your courses, universities pay more attention to the level (AP, Honors, etc.) of the classes you're taking rather than the actual class.

[ssulja]

Having friends work at my Universities admissions department, it's not true. But to an EXTENT

When you apply to a University, your major has no effect on if you get in.

HERE IS THE EXCEPTION

If you're applying to a specific college within the university, or a specific program that has more perks than normal University students, then yes, your major will matter.

For example, my school has the Engineering School aside from Liberal arts. You have to apply to the Engineering school and not the Liberal Arts. But unless it's for a specific program, your major will not matter.