Why do students think that they can backdoor their way into a selective or restricted major?
I.e. if a major is more selective than the college overall, some students who want that major think that they can apply undeclared or to an unpopular major and then change into the selective major after enrolling. However, they do not seem to realize that if the major is selective or restricted at frosh admission, it is that way because it is capacity-limited, so that changing into the major later requires another admission process (high college GPA and possibly some other selection criteria like essays).
I don’t know… But maybe it’s the same type of student who thinks he/she can get into a reach school by going through the back door- they think that suddenly taking up a sport during their junior year will somehow get them into a school that they are not qualified for. I see it in the parents as well.
Some students know that they won’t get into their competitive desired major so they apply undecided because getting into the ( reach) school is more important to them than getting into the major. Then they apply to their major, which they say they love, and don’t get in.
I suspect they think it because at some schools, some of the time, it works. Most of the time it doesn’t and the downside is huge. Hope springs eternal!
I’m torn on this… sometimes to get what you want, you have to be push and be persistent to get there. I guess it comes down to intent? Are you going back door because you don’t think the rules apply to you or because it’s something you really want, think you can be successful at, want the chance to prove yourself? My son was waitlisted for his major - it was impacted - but admitted to the school. He started out in a major close to what he wanted and ultimately was able to switch into his first choice major (in engineering). A lot of kids at his school take this approach, with mixed success. It wasn’t easy to make the change - had to take the base engineering courses which were difficult to get and have a specific GPA - but he did it and will graduate soon. So yes he back doored it and I’m sure he’d do the same thing again. So I guess I’m wondering what’s wrong with this approach?
Shoot, now that I think about it, my husband did the same thing back in the 70’s. His guidance counselor advised it. Had good HS grades but from small school. Got into the Ag program, then transferred into LAS. Ended up with degree in biochemistry and physiology.
Very common to go liberal arts college in a uni and then transfer to a college like engineering,
where they have drop outs every year, and looking for transfer students. Or get better grades as a freshman college student to help qualify where you could not as a HS student. Of course if one gets into same major elsewhere, out of HS, it is taking a risk. But then again, how many HS students are so sure of their major anyway ?
I do agree with @JustGraduate in that some students simply feel that rules don’t apply and do not look at the broader picture, while others will work hard and try and prove themselves.
I do think the number that attempt to go the back door is higher than the the number of those willing to work hard and prove themselves. If a student does prove themselves as @justgraduate 's son did, it works out. For those that just want to go in the back door because they thought they could manipulate the system, the problem is usually a lack of a backup plan which makes a bad situation worse.
@paveyourpath your point about the backup plan is good. Have to admit I wasn’t too comfortable with my son’s b/u and frankly neither was he. But it’s a big U and lots of other options that might have ultimately appealed to him so we went with it and it thankfully worked out.
If you’re dealing with an impacted major, I’d be surprised to find any school that makes it easy to change into it. But if you can prove your ability to do the work at the college level, seems like relatively low risk to let students transfer to a program if there’s room.
However, he did not choose to apply to a different major; the school admitted him to the school but not the major, so he did not have a choice if he wanted to go to that school (as opposed to going to another school where he had direct admission to the major or the major was open). What I was really referring to was students who mark a different major on their applications, foregoing the possibility of direct admission to their preferred major, rather than applying to their preferred major initially during the frosh application process.
How difficult it is to get into the major after enrolling depends on the school and major. Some can be extremely difficult. For example, at UCSD, changing into the computer science major required 3.9 or 4.0 college GPA in prerequisite courses in recent quarters: http://cse.ucsd.edu/undergraduate/admissions/capped-major-status . Students considering enrolling without direct admission to a selective or restricted major should carefully consider how difficult it will be to get into the major (and realize that earning a 3.5 college GPA is typically more difficult than earning a 3.5 high school GPA).
If you are admitted to Carnegie Mellon as a humanities major you cannot email them and ask to switch to CS. It won’t happen. If after freshman year you have a 3.9 or 4.0 you can apply to switch and it may or may not get approved, most likely not.
I can only imagine the calls/emails to admissions offices the day after decisions come out asking or demanding to be admitted to the more selective programs.