In our experience, even at schools where you do not have to apply to a major, they will ask what major you are interested in.

DD is at a LAC and while they have a big celebration at end of sophomore year for students declaring their majors, a lot of students (including DD) by that point have been taking major classes since the start of freshman year. If you don't know what your want to do, you could, in theory just take the general requirements and try the intro classes to a few majors during the first two years to figure it out. But I think you'd at least need to narrow your scope by end of first year. When I look at everything needed for DDs major (environmental science) I didn't think you could do it all in two years. But if you at least know you are interested in sciences, you'd likely take the basic biology, chemistry, statistics classes.

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

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.

It depends on the college. At VaTech, for example, you apply to one of the 7 or 8 undergraduate colleges and can declare a major within that college immediately. At W&M, OTOH, you apply to the undergraduate college and you aren’t allowed to declare a major until your third semester. I think, GENERALLY SPEAKING, SLACS and the arts and letters/arts and sciences schools in larger universities follow the latter model. I think what people mean when they say they are applying as X major, they indicate their intended major on the common app and have the course work and EC’s to support that. If your kid has been doing robotics, coding, and math competitions throughout HS, it won’t work to say you are applying as an anthropology major to try to “back door” your way into a selective college.

This. Informally declaring a major in high school is just one aspect of the premature personal branding encouraged and rewarded by elite school admissions offices these days.

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.

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.

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.

It depends on the college. At VaTech, for example, you apply to one of the 7 or 8 undergraduate colleges and can declare a major within that college immediately. At W&M, OTOH, you apply to the undergraduate college and you aren’t allowed to declare a major until your third semester. I think, GENERALLY SPEAKING, SLACS and the arts and letters/arts and sciences schools in larger universities follow the latter model. I think what people mean when they say they are applying as X major, they indicate their intended major on the common app and have the course work and EC’s to support that. If your kid has been doing robotics, coding, and math competitions throughout HS, it won’t work to say you are applying as an anthropology major to try to “back door” your way into a selective college.

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.

OP - I had the same question as I read some of the posts on this board.

Anonymous wrote:You need to do your homework. Some schools you don’t apply for a major, some you do. And some schools you typically don’t but have to for certain majors like undergrad business or nursing.

This. It’s dependent on the school….

Some communications majors are kind of hard.

You can certainly change your major. A lot of kids do!

And a fair number go in undecided. You can ask about this on your college visits.

You need to do your homework. Some schools you don’t apply for a major, some you do. And some schools you typically don’t but have to for certain majors like undergrad business or nursing.

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.

What is "sh!te?" Are you trying to spell "shit?"

And what's with the snark about a communications major?

Many liberal arts colleges and universities are still like this. My DS doesn’t need to declare a major until halfway through sophomore year. He takes core classes the first two years like everyone else.

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.