Applying as an undecided major
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Anonymous
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My DC is junior and doesn't know what they want to major in. Their school counselor says that it is fine to apply as an undecided major and that in some instances it may be an advantage. I've heard that some private college counselors say that applying as an undecided major is a disadvantage, however. Is applying as a undecided major a disadvantage?
My thought is that DC could write their essay stating that they are genuinely interested in two majors (1 STEM and 1 humanities), and looks forward to exploring both if accepted. DC's LOR is going to be from their AP Bio teacher (recommended by school counselor because the Bio teacher apparently write very good LORs.). DC isn't interested in Ivys, but plans to apply to a few T20s as well as our state flagship university. |
Anonymous
| Do not apply as undecided. From a marketing perspective, that makes the kid seem unfocused, and, at some schools, will lump them with the largest group of candidates. If your kid has assorted interests, integrate them into an interdisciplinary approach. That sounds innovative, entrepreneurial, and active. Standout, don’t cop out. |
Anonymous
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Curious: does your kid hang out with a lot of kids who are aiming for a CS / engineering path? Those majors often have to go into school with their major figured out because there are so many required courses to get ABET accreditation (or, for CS, it seems to draw people who are pretty committed to that path from the jump).
Anyway, this is a long way of saying that it's fine to not have a major picked out, especially if you end up looking at liberal arts-inclined schools, where exploration is valued, like LACs or William & Mary. |
Anonymous
| At most schools, the major you express an interest in on the application is not binding and you can list more than one. So your student can put their top few choices and still write an essay about being interested in a variety of things. |
Anonymous
What are your kids ECs? What are the 2 majors considering? Applying to SLACs undecided can be an advantage. |
Anonymous
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OP: Thanks for all of the input.
DC is interested in biology and history. ECs are captain of a varsity team, president of service club, lots of service hours, significant involvment in their high school's art program, and 3 years of weekly PT (managing a significant medical issue that is not related to a sports injury). |
Anonymous
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For Engineering, which is the E in STEM of course, usually a HS student has to apply specifically to a school/college of engineering within the larger university (local examples include UVa, VT, GMU, and UMCP). That usually is separate application pool, separate admissions evaluation, and sometimes has separate HS course requirements than an application to an School of Arts & Letters or School of Science at the same university.
At some colleges, CS is in their Arts & Sciences division while at other colleges CS is in their engineering division, while at yet others there are differing CS degree programs in both parts of the university. Also, some CS programs are direct application/admission from HS (local example of this is UMCP) with little or no opportunity to move from some other program into CS later. |
Anonymous
| It is hard to stand out in a "why college x" essay when you are undecided. Far better to say two interests Bio and History and be able to regale the admissions committee with (a) a tie in to your activities and (b) something special about the college that relates to those two interests. As others said, it is not binding. If there's something weird on DC's record, like a 2 on A PUSH or something, you may want to refine. |
Anonymous
Agree with this. Apply as a history primary major and bio as secondary. Or find a major that connects the two. I see a really easy way to tie them together with some academic stuff (project or independent study at school) - based on the very limited info you gave? Look at EC's through a lens that might connect Biology & History: Create a project focused on medical history (of city/state/region or area of interest): could he research disease (measles); tie to modern understanding of bio? Summer programs? Lots of interesting types of projects related to human adaptation to think about historically: - Biological adaptations in history - genetic adaptations like lactose tolerance; certain allergies; high altitude living - Modern problems? Lots of ideas here: https://www.chstm.org/ Existing Activities - Tie sport to something with a historical lens? - For service club, can he do educational workshops on something related to bio and history (disease history) or service days at something that might tie the two together? - Include art here! that's a huge win (biological illustrations; work on exhibits) Physical Therapy He might want to trace his own PT issues to historical treatments and the evolution of his condition over time. Summer programs: A lot of T20 used to have a "History of Medicine" summer program. Could be interesting for him? https://sce.cornell.edu/courses/roster/sts-1451 Goal - Good material to show all sides of him in Essays and applications. What is the theme? Human Resilience: Past, Present & Future - nice way to tie bio to history to kid's own story? Maybe he can be known as the "team historian and team medic"? Think about ancient Greeks? If you tie these subjects together, in a way that he chooses, it makes something abstract into something more concrete, and makes him more compelling. He could also major in medical anthropology (available at certain schools) if that's of interest. Lastly, a lot of schools have interdisciplinary majors that connect history and science. Here's one description: Undergraduate students in the Program in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology do their coursework either in the Department of History, through its interdisciplinary major in History, Science and Medicine, or in the Department of Philosophy, through its major in History and Philosophy of Science. The interdisciplinary structure of requirements also allows students to do coursework in other departments that house the humanistic and social study of science, such as Anthropology, Classics, English, Political Science and in scientific disciplines. https://hps.stanford.edu/undergraduate/major Colleges to think about - there are a LOT more.: UChicago: B.A. in History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine (HIPS) Harvard: The Dept of the History of Science Yale: Major in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health Princeton: Major in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine (HSTM) Have fun researching. |
Anonymous
| We were told the same thing about not going undecided, but ds insisted on undecided and got in everywhere he applied and into several Honors college programs and invited to a Business program (one top 30 school and others between 50-100) Some schools are more selective for some majors and it might be an issue getting into them after the fact. He did know Engineering and Computer Science were not potential majors. He's a solid kid with great grades in everything and had consistent ECs (sports and band for four years) so he focused his essays on his ability to juggle many interests well and his curiosity. |
Anonymous
| My DC’s friend got into Caltech, Duke and other top schools as “undecided” |
Anonymous
| My daughter applied undecided and if it hurt her, it wasn't evident from her results -- wide range of acceptances and substantial ($40K/year) merit aid in some cases. She was not applying to top 20, though. |
Anonymous
That’s the difference. T20 |
Anonymous
Did they actually apply as undecided or just put that on their Instagram post. There’s a big difference. A lot of students choose a 1st choice major for the application and then once they declare/commit they end up saying they are undecided. |
Anonymous
| I realize this thread is about getting in, but once DC is in, make sure they join a major/department asap. Faculty mentor their own students first, and too much time spent shopping majors can make a kid miss out on opportunities and even social experiences. |