Can I Change My Major After Submitting Application Uc

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Did you put the wrong major on your higher applications? Peradventure you inverse your mind about your major after yous submitted your applications, or maybe you just clicked the wrong major and didn't realize it until it was too late. What now? Will it bear upon your application? Will you be able to alter your major later? If you're thinking, "I put the wrong major on my college application," don't worry. This guide is here to solve your problem.

I Put the Wrong Major on My College Application! Is That Important?

If you've put the wrong major on your higher application, we have some good news: for the vast bulk of people, this isn't a big deal. You don't need to contact the schools to make changes, and it's something y'all'll easily be able to modify afterwards, after you've decided which college to attend.

The truth is that colleges know that many undergrads will alter their major at least once during college. In fact, data shows that well-nigh a third of students will modify their major, and about 1 in 10 volition change their major more than in one case. This means that, in most cases, colleges don't consider the major you put on your application to be binding or even all that representative of what degree you will cease up graduating with. Many colleges don't fifty-fifty crave students to officially declare a major until the end of their sophomore year and most make it like shooting fish in a barrel to change your college major.

Can You Change Your Major After?

More than skilful news: it'due south ordinarily a fairly painless process to change your higher major, particularly early on in your college career. If you've changed what yous want to major in between the time you apply and the time yous brainstorm classes, you can often change it at your freshman orientation when y'all meet with an advisor to create your showtime semester schedule. They'll frequently change your major for you without you needing to do any additional work.

If you make up one's mind to change afterward school begins, changing your major is often equally easy as filling out a course. Inquire your advisor or school's counseling office for information on how to do this. After yous switch majors, you may go a new advisor, especially if your advisor focuses on specific academic or career areas.

If you desire to modify your major subsequently on in college, y'all may run into some problems with having to graduate later than expected due to new graduation requirements. However, the procedure of actually changing your major should still exist straightforward.

When Is Information technology Difficult to Change Your Major?

In some cases, it takes more work to change your major. This is oft the instance for programs that have strict enrollment limits and/or are more competitive than other majors. The school will country straight when this is the case, and you lot'll oftentimes exist applying specifically to that program inside the school. Some majors this is common for are nursing, arts-related degrees (such as dance, theatre, etc.), and engineering degrees, although information technology varies widely from schoolhouse to school (and many colleges don't have whatever caps on degrees at all).

It's generally easy to switch from a capped major to a not-capped major, merely if you want to change to a capped major, the process is more complicated, and there simply may not be any space for you, even if you lot come across all the requirements. If you want to change your major to ane with boosted admissions requirements, then you'll desire to contact the admissions team at the school as early as possible. If y'all tin can switch before your awarding is reviewed, then yous won't accept to go through whatsoever boosted changes. If yous tin can't switch before so, you'll likely demand to wait until the summer when the schoolhouse has its terminal enrollment numbers for each major. Fifty-fifty if in that location are spots, you'll need approving from the head of the department to exist able to switch, and they may review your application materials again to meet if you qualify for the new major.

But call up, these circumstances make up a small minority of cases, and for near people, changing their major from what they put on their application requires little more than than filling out a form.

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How to Change Your Major on Your Higher Application

As we discussed above, if you put downwardly a certain intended major, submitted your applications, so decide you lot want to change, y'all don't demand to practice anything in nearly cases. You'll likely be able to alter your major at freshman orientation when you plan out your freshman schedule with an advisor. However, if y'all make up one's mind you still demand to change your major, perchance because your freshman orientation is grouped by department and you're switching departments, or considering you're trying to go into/out of a capped major, there are some steps you tin can take.

Afterward you submit most applications, such equally the Common App, Coalition App, etc. yous cannot make changes to information technology. On their website, the Common App compares clicking "submit" to dropping your application in the postal service: once information technology's sent, there's no changing it. They exercise state that, "If you need to change information on a submitted application, you must contact the college'south admissions office directly to inquire how they would like you to proceed." This is true for most applications.

Still, as nosotros mentioned earlier, virtually of the time colleges don't care if you've decided to change your major, and y'all don't need to contact them at all. Hither's an example from American University stating that your intended major isn't role of the application review process, and it's fine (and requires no further action on your part) if you lot decide to change information technology.

If you've applied to a school/major that has capped enrollment, then nosotros recommend that you lot contact the school'due south admission part for advice on what to do next. UC Berkeley, for example, allows you to make changes to your intended major until the end of Jan of the application cycle you're applying to. (So, if you lot apply in November, you accept the finish of January to change.) Afterward that, y'all'll need to speak with the advisors at the department y'all desire to transfer into, and there might not be space for you to transfer.

To recap, if you decide you lot want to major in something other than what you lot put on your awarding:

1. Learn if you lot actually need to modify your major. Most schools don't care if yous determine you want to change your intended major and will have you wait until freshman orientation to do and then.

2. If you want to switch into a major with capped enrollment, contact the school's admission office. The sooner yous exercise this, the ameliorate, considering yous take more than of a chance of getting your major switched before all the spots are taken.

iii. If you don't update your major during the application process, expect until freshman orientation and discuss the change with whoever is helping you prepare your freshman schedule.

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Summary: I Put the Wrong Major on My Higher Awarding

If you put the incorrect major on your college application, in most cases you lot don't demand to worry at all. Colleges expect many students to alter their major during college, so they don't hold you to the major you indicated while you were applying. Once you've decided which school you want to attend, you tin contact their admissions office to change your major, or yous can wait until freshman orientation and you're setting up your schedule to change. If you decide to change majors once you've started classes, you often merely need to fill up out a class, and sometimes become permission from the department you're switching into. Considering well-nigh freshmen accept a lot of general teaching requirements, changing majors may non even put yous backside schedule in terms of completing your new major's graduation requirements.

There are a few cases where it's more challenging to change majors from the one you put on your application. This happens with capped majors and/or ones with more competitive admission requirements. If you're applying to ane of these majors, y'all'll probable read virtually it many times as y'all research the school and your prospective major, and information technology'll often be explicitly stated on the awarding. Switching out of one of these majors into a not-capped major is usually like shooting fish in a barrel, just if yous desire to switch from a non-capped major to a capped major, that tin exist more than difficult. We recommend contacting the school every bit early as possible to run into if your major tin can be inverse before your application is reviewed. If y'all tin can't do that, and so you may take to wait until they have their terminal admissions numbers in the summer before you lot tin officially begin the process to alter.

Overall though, changing majors is a common and easy process, so don't stress if you put the wrong major on your college apps.

What's Adjacent?

Wondering what to major in?Learn how to choose a major for your college applications by reading our guide on the bailiwick.

What are the best college majors? Nosotros've come upward with a list of the very best majors by looking at their salary potential and employment growth. See if your major made the cut!

Non sure of the ACT/SAT score y'all should exist aiming for? See how to ready a target SAT score or Human activity score based on the schools yous want to get into.

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About the Author

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master'southward from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.