Adrianne is a Senior Admissions Counselor and TV/film director, producer, writer, and actress currently based in LA. She uses her experience in multiple disciplines to help students achieve their personal and academic goals.
Are you a high schooler applying to college soon, but you have no idea what you want to study? Let’s break down whether or not it’d be better to apply with an “undecided major” or not.
Table of Contents
Introduction
During the college application process, many students find themselves grappling with the significant decision of choosing a potential major to put on their college applications. With myriad options available, it’s not uncommon for prospective students to feel overwhelmed and uncertain about which field of study to pursue — after all, it’s a decision that could change the course of their life. For some, declaring a specific major seems like too daunting a commitment, especially when their interests and career goals could evolve over time. If you find yourself in this situation, you might wonder: Is it acceptable, or even beneficial, to apply with an undecided college major?
In this blog post, we will explore the pros and cons of entering college without a designated major and how this decision can impact not only your admissions chances but also your entire academic journey. Whether you’re opting to nurture a wide array of interests or wish to keep your options open while you adjust to the college experience, the answer to whether being undecided hurts or helps may surprise you. Let’s dive into how having an undecided college major might affect your chances of admission and your overall college experience.
What Does It Mean to Apply as an Undecided Major?
When you apply to college, schools will often ask you which majors you’re most interested in. If you’re applying to a liberal arts college, which at many bigger schools is named something like “The College of Arts & Sciences,” usually you can indicate your top three majors on your application, but you aren’t required to formally declare a major until the end of your sophomore year. And even then, you can often change your major well into your college journey. So, you could indicate that you’re “undecided” on your application.
However, if you’re applying to a specific undergraduate school or competitive direct-admit programs, such as business schools or engineering school, this decision may be somewhat binding, meaning that you’d be accepted to the school with the understanding that you can choose the majors at that specific school and not the general list of majors. There usually isn’t an option to apply to college undecided in these scenarios.
Plus, at schools like the University of Michigan and UC Berkeley, internal transfer into these programs later is limited or highly competitive, so if you’re interested, it’s best to apply to these programs initially, even if your admissions chances are low. You can usually still be admitted to the general college, even if you aren’t accepted to this specific program. Bottom line: every school has different policies, so make sure you understand exactly what you’re applying for!
How Colleges View Undecided Applicants
If you’re a high school senior with no idea what you’d like to pursue during your time in college, you’re not alone, and there is no need to just pick a major just for the sake of your application. At most U.S. schools, especially liberal arts schools, applying with an undecided college major won’t hurt you. In fact, between 20% and 50% of incoming first-year college students are undecided students, and by the time they graduate, about 80% of college students change their major at least once, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
In fact, exploring different majors during a student’s tenure is usually encouraged in the spirit of academic exploration. A first-year student is often able to sample a wide variety of subjects just to make sure they’re excited by their academic path. This can be a bit more challenging for students who want to be a part of a pre-professional program, like pre-med or pre-law, but an advisor can help make sure you meet any necessary requirements. So, simply put, colleges are accustomed to seeing undecided students’ applications.
Does Applying as an Undecided Major Hurt Your Chances?
Applying with an undeclared major doesn’t necessarily hurt your admission chances, but it’s important to consider what the school you’re applying to factors into your application assessment. College admissions offices will usually make it clear how they factor your choice of major (or lack thereof) into their discussions of your application — use this information to your advantage. Maybe you’ll apply to one school with a major that aligns with the courses in which you got the best grades, but at another school, you’ll be primarily undecided.
It can also be a strategic choice to apply undecided if your GPA isn’t high enough for the major that aligns with your intended field (i.e., you want to study applied math, but your math grades/scores aren’t on par with the current students in that major). You might also need to take some more core classes in your desired subject before you’d be ready to major in it, especially if your high school didn’t offer those classes. All of this would be taken into account by college admissions officers, so what’s important is that you still put your best foot forward in your academic and extracurricular portfolio.
How to Strengthen Your Application as an Undecided Major
Just because you’re applying to college undeclared doesn’t mean you don’t need to be specific and clear about your interests and experience in your application. It’s still important to create a student “brand” for yourself, and if you’re a student with a diverse array of interests, you can highlight your open-mindedness and excitement to try new things. If you apply undecided and use your application essays to highlight your intellectual curiosity, that can work in your favor (but you still need to be specific about what that means to you!).
It’s also important if you’re applying undecided that you have taken and performed well in a variety of courses. For instance, if you’re an advanced math and advanced English student, it makes more sense that you’re not sure which academic course suits you more. And, on top of that, if you’re president of the math honor society and the literature club, your extracurricular activities also support your genuine interest in multiple academic fields. In short, if you’re applying with an undeclared major, you want to frame it as having too many choices for your major as opposed to too few.
The Benefits of Applying as an Undecided Major
Applying undecided might be the best choice for a college applicant who has had limited course options in high school and would thrive with some academic freedom and career exploration. Students can avoid taking unnecessary classes (i.e., a future art major only takes the required math courses instead of spending a lot of time on an upper-level math course they don’t need to take), and their GPA will likely benefit from it too.
Courses at college often cover a much broader spectrum of subjects, so undeclared students might feel more emboldened to take more “fun” classes. For instance, students may try out a language that their high school didn’t offer or take a film or theater class that doesn’t necessarily meet any major requirements. They could develop a more diverse skill set as a result, which might practically benefit them when they start applying for internships and jobs. And once they’re able to make a more informed decision about their future career, they can declare their major with confidence.
There is also the argument that technology — and, consequently, the job market — is changing at such a rapid pace that it’s not worthwhile to lock into a major early on. Kathleen Roberts at Duquesne University said the following to U.S. News & World Report: “We are kind of living in a sense of uncertain kind of time where technology changes a lot. There are new jobs and new opportunities that are opening up all the time. It feels like a really shifting landscape.”
When Declaring a Major Might Be a Better Option
Some students come into college with their career goals set in stone, especially students who are certain about attending a certain graduate school (i.e. medical school, law school, PhD programs), so they are already planning their undergraduate track to help them achieve their goals, meaning that declaring a major on their applications is basically a given. These students are probably also the ones applying to direct-admit programs with a competitive major or at least very intent on their desired fields of study in their application.
Even if students aren’t as sure about their long-term career path, a lot of students thrive on structure and may struggle with some of the more self-driven, flexible aspects of college life as a result. These students may find more exploratory programs more challenging, thus they’d be a better fit for declaring a major earlier rather than later.
Conclusion
Whether applying as an undecided major helps or hurts your chances depends largely on how you frame the decision in your college application. Present yourself as a motivated and curious learner ready to explore various academic avenues, and prepare to get the most out of your time in college!
Do you need assistance with your college application as an undecided student? Reach out to us today to schedule a free consultation!
