What major should my daughter put on her applications to Ivies to maximize her chance

Applying to College
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<p>What major should my daughter put on her applications to Ivies to maximize her chances of acceptance?</p>

<p>Don’t bash with why Ivies, let us assume that she will be happy at an Ivy League College with any major.</p>

<p>Her course work:</p>

<p>Math: 4 years with 3 years of APs and beyond
Hons. Pre-calc, AP Calc BC, AP Statistics, Multivariate Calc & Differential Equations</p>

<p>Computer Science: 2 years with 1 AP.
Computing Across, Programming, AP Computer Science AB</p>

<p>Lab Sciences: 7 years with 5 years of APs and beyond and 2 years of Research
Hons. Physics, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Physics C, Research I/II, Human Anatomy and Physiology, Organic Chemistry/Elective</p>

<p>Social Sciences: 4 years with 3 years of APs.
World History, AP European History, AP US History, AP Art History</p>

<p>English: 4 years with 2 years of APs.
Hons. English I, Hons. English II, Hons. English III (AP English Language), AP English Literature.</p>

<p>Spanish: Up to 4 level with 3 years in high school including an AP.
Hons. Spanish II, Spanish III, AP Spanish Language.</p>

<p>My recommendation:
Computer Science with Pre Medicine</p>

<p>My Wife insists:
History/Language with Pre Medicine</p>

<p>My daughter wants:
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS)</p>

<p>Any input on this will be highly appreciated.</p>

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<p>Here’s a radical idea: put down what she is actually and truly interested in majoring in - regardless of how it affects her “chances.” But that may make too much sense…</p>

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<p>Um… How about the major that your daughter, <em>gasp</em>, actually /wants/ to pursue?
If she really doesn’t know, then mark decided.</p>

<p>Her major choice isn’t going to give her an edge in ivy admissions.</p>

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<p>Haha, Asa. Word up.</p>

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<p>Yeah, have her put down the major she feels passionate about and can write the most effectively about. Also, make sure she can prove she’s passionate about that major (in ECs and awards). By the way, it’s always helpful to have a standout major. For example, I applied to JHU (yeah, I know it’s not an Ivy) knowing most people apply with a biology/engineering major in mind. I therefore wrote about English, a major I don’t plan on getting but a subject I love and could write about.</p>

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<p>As per her interests then she wants to do EECS, followed by Medicine which doesn’t make much sense in my feeling.
EECS is very competitive to get in and then very time consuming and imagining she will be able to meet MCAT requirements with EECS is not practical.</p>

<p>If she doesn’t want to pursue Medicine as end goal I would have no problem letting her apply EECS but if that is her final goal then CS with Pre medicine make more sense.</p>

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<p>underwater basket weaving!</p>

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<p>My 2 cents: females and computer science=win. Yes, it’s very competitive, but there’s actually programs out there like in Columbia to promote females applying to computer-related majors AND she’s genuinely interested in it. Even if she wasn’t interested in computer science I would’ve said comp sci anyway.</p>

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<p>“…I would have no problem letting her apply EECS but if that is her final goal then CS with Pre medicine make more sense.”</p>

<p>It’s your daughter’s application. You shouldn’t have a “problem” with whatever major she chooses to list, and it seems odd that you think of yourself as “letting her apply” with a particular declared major, as if she needs your permission to acknowledge her interests at the time she applies. Has she asked you to micromanage her application? If so, perhaps she wouldn’t be comfortable at an ivy. If not, then…</p>

1 Like
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<p>Let her pursue her interests-- regardless of what “makes sense” to you. If she wants to, there will always be opportunities to switch in college.</p>

<p>Of course, sincerity in applying colleges is SO last decade…</p>

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<p>your major should reflect what her extracurriculars and curriculum have shown interest in. the major should make sense with the rest of your application–writing computer science after having an English-heavy curriculum and writing extracurriculars will not help you. do her interests show EECS or pre-med?</p>

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<p>With your daughter’s record, it might be advantageous for her to put down engineering as a major. It puts you in a different pool with different criteria, and ivies don’t have as many people enthusiastic about majoring in engineering. Certainly, there are more humanities majors who are pre-med. And then add to that the boost she may get as a female applying for engineering. My feeling is that it is easy to switch out of engineering once she gets to campus anyway. And fulfilling MCAT requirements as an EECS isn’t that hard–your daughter will probably AP out of everything except organic chemistry. This could be taken in the summer. (Seeing as she has already taken orgo, she probably would do pretty well on the MCAT if she took it now–though I don’t suggest this.)</p>

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<p>As a caveat, I agree with the OP that a true double major in EECS could be quite time-consuming. However, again, she probably has placed out of most of the premed requirements.</p>

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<p>It may depend on the school. At the Ivies I’m familiar with, the sciences, arts and computer science are all in the same college. Engineering is a different college, and a somewhat separate selection process. Being a high-achieving female applying to engineering is definitely a boost (or at least less competitive than other colleges).</p>

<p>If engineering/computer science is truly her passion, she shouldn’t be applying to all of the Ivies. However, Cornell stands out as one that is outstanding in both fields, and I would encourage her to compare the strengths of its programs against the other schools on her list. </p>

<p>It’s considered easier to start in engineering and switch out than to start in another major and switch to engineering. She should look at the semester-by-semester course requirements for EE; it usually leaves little time for a second major, especially computer science. Cornell, like many schools, limits the number of AP credits that can be used. If she does use a lot of AP credits, she will be faced with high level courses early in her academic career. This is fine if they play to her strengths, but it’s a problem if she has to put in an inordinate amount of time to get good grades. That is a recipe for academic burnout. Don’t think it can’t happen to your daughter - the suicide statistics at competitive colleges are a sobering reality.</p>

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<p>“Her major choice isn’t going to give her an edge in ivy admissions.”</p>

<p>Wrong. At a selective college like Yale, major would play a large part in admissions. I’d suggest putting a fairly unpopular one down (Geography), b/c @ yale you’re not bound by what you write (your daughter will change it Frosh year), but they still need enough kids to fill the Geography department.</p>

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<p>“At a selective college like Yale, major would play a large part in admissions. I’d suggest putting a fairly unpopular one down (Geography), b/c @ yale you’re not bound by what you write (your daughter will change it Frosh year), but they still need enough kids to fill the Geography department.”</p>

<p>Declaring a particular major on an application doesn’t “fill” departments. All college admissions folks are aware that most students change their major more than once before graduation. An exception is when the major chosen for the application is supported by stellar and unusual ECS i.e. winning an international competition in the field you list as your intended major.</p>

1 Like
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<p>I’d agree that merely flagging oneself as a particular major won’t provide a big boost UNLESS the rest of the application reflects the student’s passion for and accomplishments in that major. Indeed, putting down a major like “Classics” without supporting HS coursework and ECs might raise some credibility questions.</p>

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<p>“Wrong. At a selective college like Yale, major would play a large part in admissions. I’d suggest putting a fairly unpopular one down (Geography), b/c @ yale you’re not bound by what you write (your daughter will change it Frosh year), but they still need enough kids to fill the Geography department.”</p>

<p>This is why you should sometimes just steer clear of CC for advice and go to directly to the school or someone who you know lots about the admissions process with your questions.</p>

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<p>Picking the right major is overrated. I would put EECS for a major.</p>

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<p>be cool and put undecided</p>