Is intended major seen and/or factored in when applying to undergrad engineering?

Hello,

I recently attended the UVA Engineering open house a few weekends ago an I have very much interest in applying, but I understand that UVA does not put you in regular admissions if you are denied from a department. So, I need to make sure my decision to apply directly to the engineering dept. rather than arts & sciences is a good one.

When I was at the open house, it was noted by the EE professor that their EE (Electrical Engineering) interest had been very low recently and this year. This is the field I am interested in, so I was wondering if this should perhaps have me reconsider my chances when applying to the engineering dept.

Thanks