Just getting into this world - very stupid question - majors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some universities require an application to the major - not just the school. For example within the school of Engineering, you may need to select Materials Engineering major

This. Particularly at large state schools many require you to apply by major and switching can be extremely challenging. An impacted major can be nearly impossible to switch into even for those kids who applied to the school undecided. And admission rates can be deceiving at some schools because while there may be a 45% admissions rate, for example, a computer science major it can be less than 5%. Also be wary that SLACs generally do not have any engineering offerings and even those that do it’s usually a general engineering degree and not, for example, mechanical engineering.

[Anonymous]

It is school dependent. Some, like Carnegie-Mellon, you apply into a specific program, so they are expecting 18 year olds to be pretty directed in what they want to study and do.

Other schools have a lot more flexibility. There is already a ton of good feedback in this thread.

[Anonymous]

At a typical SLAC, one need not declare major when applying or even during first year, but exceptions might exist.

At a medium/large university, there will be separate “colleges” or “schools” within that university and student applies to a specific school (at least). UVa, purely as an example, has totally separate admissions requirements - and separate applicant pools - by school - for Architecture, Arts & Sciences, Data Science, Engineering, Education (only 1 undergrad major within Education), and Nursing.

Some universities will slice things differently. For example some might have “Arts & Letters” separate from “Sciences” and also separate from Engineering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry in advance!
When my husband and I applied years and years ago to small colleges in the boston area we did NOT declare a major. Colleges weren't admitting by major, correct?

You declared a major maybe around sophomore year if you had your sh!te together. If you did not, you finally took a communications major and somehow cobbled together a diploma, maybe in 5 years, but with plenty of daddy's money.

Now kids apply into a major? And have to stay in that major immediately from fresh year?

thank you in advance, seriously.

If job security is a top priority, steering your child towards a major in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) can be a smart choice, especially if they're interested in technology or technical fields. These majors often lead directly to well-paying and in-demand careers. While humanities provide valuable skills, they don't always offer a clear path to employment like STEM fields do.

Encouraging your child to pursue a degree in a practical field that aligns with current job markets, like technology or engineering, can significantly increase their chances of landing a stable job after graduation. Additionally, gaining hands-on experience through internships and co-op programs while studying can be a huge advantage in the tech industry.

GenAI has flipped the script. STEM is largely going to be automated. Humanities will be the valued majors of the future since people with those skills can humanize the technology.

The real advice is to do what you're good at and what you enjoy well enough, develop a work ethic and strong social relationships, and keep your eyes open about what skills make you employable on a year to year basis. No one knows what major is going to be valued more or less in the future really.

[Anonymous]

At the moment, Computer Science has wide variance from one university to another.

At some schools, UMCP is reportedly an example, one must apply directly from HS to UMCP’s CS Department (transfers into CS later are theoretically possible, but also are hard and statistically unlikely).

At other schools, VT reportedly is an example, one applies to the Engineering school, but only is allowed to request CS as a major if one achieves a certain minimum GPA after a certain point time (not sure of details, maybe by end of 1st year).

At yet other schools, and UVa seems to be an example, there are multiple paths to slightly different CS degrees. Once can be admitted to Arts & Sciences and later request admission into their BA CS degree (requires a certain set of courses with a certain GPA to be accepted) OR one can apply to the Engineering school and get a BS CS degree (again, certain prereqs and a minimum GPA are required).

There are still other colleges where the CS degree is not so restrictive to get into, but CS programs are in high overall demand these days, so fewer and fewer schools are like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At the moment, Computer Science has wide variance from one university to another.

At some schools, UMCP is reportedly an example, one must apply directly from HS to UMCP’s CS Department (transfers into CS later are theoretically possible, but also are hard and statistically unlikely).

At other schools, VT reportedly is an example, one applies to the Engineering school, but only is allowed to request CS as a major if one achieves a certain minimum GPA after a certain point time (not sure of details, maybe by end of 1st year).

At yet other schools, and UVa seems to be an example, there are multiple paths to slightly different CS degrees. Once can be admitted to Arts & Sciences and later request admission into their BA CS degree (requires a certain set of courses with a certain GPA to be accepted) OR one can apply to the Engineering school and get a BS CS degree (again, certain prereqs and a minimum GPA are required).

There are still other colleges where the CS degree is not so restrictive to get into, but CS programs are in high overall demand these days, so fewer and fewer schools are like this.

We just toured Georgia Tech and they were quite clear that the ONLY way to be a computer science major is to apply as one. There is NO transferring in to computer science at a later date. The rest of their majors (which are almost all STEM) can be transferred into later on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry in advance!
When my husband and I applied years and years ago to small colleges in the boston area we did NOT declare a major. Colleges weren't admitting by major, correct?

You declared a major maybe around sophomore year if you had your sh!te together. If you did not, you finally took a communications major and somehow cobbled together a diploma, maybe in 5 years, but with plenty of daddy's money.

Now kids apply into a major? And have to stay in that major immediately from fresh year?

thank you in advance, seriously.

Do there are two types of institutions - Colleges and Universities.

Colleges usually consist of just Liberal Arts / Arts & Sciences majors. No business, engineering, or pre-professional majors. Classes are usually taught by full professors (not TAs). There are usually no Graduate schools associated with these types of colleges. Students at these colleges typically have the first two years to decide what they will major in before declaring.

Universities are institutions that have a College of Arts and Sciences PLUS other colleges such as business, engineering, education, architecture, etc.

For Colleges (sometimes referred to as SLACs - small/selective liberal arts colleges), your child can select an “intended major” or probably “undecided” on their application.

For Universities, your child will need to select which College WITHIN the University they would like to apply and THEN they can select an intended major (or possibly undecided) within that University.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When my husband and I applied years and years ago to small colleges in the Boston area we did NOT declare a major. Colleges weren't admitting by major, correct? .

Even then, it really depended on what subject one was planning to study. Your experience was typical for someone who was NOT interested in degrees in either architecture, business, engineering, or nursing.

Even way way back, when my grandparents went to college, many decades ago, at least Engineering and Nursing were in separate schools, with separate admissions requirements, separate admission pools, and so forth. In that time, one had to apply EITHER to the “general” college, OR to Engineering school, OR to Nursing school.

Here at Lake Wobegon, I mean DCUM, many many students specifically only want to get STEM degrees. Science and math might be offered in a “general” school of a university, but engineering will be in a separate school (as always). CS is in huge demand nationwide and is increasingly difficult to get into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry in advance!
When my husband and I applied years and years ago to small colleges in the boston area we did NOT declare a major. Colleges weren't admitting by major, correct?

You declared a major maybe around sophomore year if you had your sh!te together. If you did not, you finally took a communications major and somehow cobbled together a diploma, maybe in 5 years, but with plenty of daddy's money.

Now kids apply into a major? And have to stay in that major immediately from fresh year?

thank you in advance, seriously.

If job security is a top priority, steering your child towards a major in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) can be a smart choice, especially if they're interested in technology or technical fields. These majors often lead directly to well-paying and in-demand careers. While humanities provide valuable skills, they don't always offer a clear path to employment like STEM fields do.

Encouraging your child to pursue a degree in a practical field that aligns with current job markets, like technology or engineering, can significantly increase their chances of landing a stable job after graduation. Additionally, gaining hands-on experience through internships and co-op programs while studying can be a huge advantage in the tech industry.

GenAI has flipped the script. STEM is largely going to be automated. Humanities will be the valued majors of the future since people with those skills can humanize the technology.

Einstein, who is going to build out the AI and rake in the money? The math majors and the science majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry in advance!
When my husband and I applied years and years ago to small colleges in the boston area we did NOT declare a major. Colleges weren't admitting by major, correct?

You declared a major maybe around sophomore year if you had your sh!te together. If you did not, you finally took a communications major and somehow cobbled together a diploma, maybe in 5 years, but with plenty of daddy's money.

Now kids apply into a major? And have to stay in that major immediately from fresh year?

thank you in advance, seriously.

Do there are two types of institutions - Colleges and Universities.

Colleges usually consist of just Liberal Arts / Arts & Sciences majors. No business, engineering, or pre-professional majors. Classes are usually taught by full professors (not TAs). There are usually no Graduate schools associated with these types of colleges. Students at these colleges typically have the first two years to decide what they will major in before declaring.

Universities are institutions that have a College of Arts and Sciences PLUS other colleges such as business, engineering, education, architecture, etc.

For Colleges (sometimes referred to as SLACs - small/selective liberal arts colleges), your child can select an “intended major” or probably “undecided” on their application.

For Universities, your child will need to select which College WITHIN the University they would like to apply and THEN they can select an intended major (or possibly undecided) within that University.

Hello from Dartmouth!

[Anonymous]

As others have said it will vary from institution to institution. Even within an institution it can then vary from program to program. For example at W&M you choose you major as a sophomore but it you participate in their joint degree program with the University of St Andrews you pick a major from day one and it is almost impossible to change majors in the program. However that is primarily due to the fact that in the UK system you choose your major up front and have very few electives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some communications majors are kind of hard.

Right. That’s why half the football team majors in communications—they like a challenge.