Berkeley tougher than Stanford?

rooster08
Thu, 04 Aug 2005 19:00:05 +0000

“Thats not true. When applying to HYPSMC, etc, you specify which college you are applying to: school of engineering, business, college, etc. Each department has different admission standards. Besides, you can petition to change your major to any harder/easier major at Berkeley.”

This is precisely the kind of myth I wanted to dispel. Trust me when I say that you are not admitted to a certain department when you spply to HYPSMC. My friend applied to Stanford as an art major and now he is doing chemical engineering. At any time before your junior year, you can declare any major you want. Right now I am deciding between majoring in chemistry, biology, chem E, and psychology. I originally applied to Stanford undeclared. There is no petition process when it comes to switching majors. You just log on to Axess and switch. It’s as simple as that.

The same goes for Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and MIT. I’m not sure about Caltech, but I think it’s the same there too. Switching majors is a non-issue at HYPSMC. Everyone on campus was admitted under an equal admission standard.