How Does the University of California Major and Alternative Major Preference Work In Practice? Strategies?

[ucbalumnus]

@Guy_Rien

Q3. If your kid has two majors of interest and one major is impacted and the other not. Should the impacted major be the major and the non-impacted the alternative as a strategy? Or is there a better strategy to maximize chance of being accepted.

Depends on the campus, as to whether the second choice major is considered for initial admission. Post #4 lists campus-specific practices.

However, note that, after enrollment, a student in a more competitive major is more likely to be able to switch to a less competitive major than a student in a less competitive major is to be able to switch to a more competitive major.