Undecided/Undeclared major- will it affect my admittance chance?

Question

I am about to apply to college; however, I currently do not have a major in mind. I would like to send in my apps as an undecided/undeclared major. Will this lower or affect my chances of being accepted to the college?

I know it is better to try different subjects that I am interested during my first year to determine my major, but I'm worried that if I choose an undecided major, I might not be accepted to my target/reach schools.

Does declaring as an undecided major affect my acceptance rate? If so, would it be better to choose a random major then to switch after being accepted? Or should I just go as an undecided major?

(I am applying to all the UCs, Purdue, University of Illinois- UrbanaChampagne+Chicago (both UIUC and UIC) and SanDiego State University.)

Thanks to all the readers who took the time to read and help answer this question.

Answer 1

At UIC, it is the overall college which determines if you are admitted. They do not look at your major. After they accept you and start processing your acceptance, they will look at it because they want to give all your information to the proper department. I believe Urbana does the same thing.

Answer 2

There's nothing wrong with applying undecided. A huge percentage of students are undecided until even their junior years in college. Most colleges give some statistic about how often students change majors, so either way it doesn't make a difference what you say when you apply. My only advice would be just to tell them you're undecided. You probably have a lot of interests and haven't really zeroed in on what you want to do for the rest of your life, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. "Lying" about a major just to get into a university is pretty pathetic so I hope you don't do that...

Answer 3

Most universities do not penalize you for not declaring a major; however, it can often be best to pretend you have a clear idea of what you intend to study and use your essay to show that you are goal-oriented and looking to achieve very specific goals with your education. Go ahead and pick a major and change it when you decide what you really want: after all, a very small percentage of students keep the same major throughout college

Answer 4

It depends largely on the university, however having a declared major gives a good impression of focus and ambition. Declare any major, you can always spend your first two years doing nothing but core classes which will apply no matter what your major winds up being, and change majors later as you figure out what truly interests you.

Answer 5

Some advice that my uncle, who was a professor at USC, passed along to me:

Apply with a major that has a higher chance of acceptance, i.e. farm technology. You have a better chance of being accepted because it's not in high demand. Once you're in, you'll take your required classes like math and English, and those will apply to a degree in any major. Then change your major after a few months.

If you really can't decide, go with liberal arts, because you'll take a larger variety of classes.

Answer 6

I wouldn't put undecided. Look at the colleges, see what most people major in at that school (usually, it's English) and then put that down as your major. Your best bet is sticking with something normal. Besides, you can always change your major later. I think the college would be unimpressed with "undecided." Not your safest bet.

Good luck!

Answer 7

nope as long as u got the grades no college is goin 2 turn u down cuz of that. the first 2 years r the basics anyway. u got plenty of time