Many applicants to the most selective university programs share high grades, high test scores, solid recommendations and generous doses of community service and volunteer activities. Yet, if they want to set themselves apart from the pool of exceptional students, a significant research experience in STEM or the social sciences helps.
Engineering programs attract students who like to design, develop, and create solutions, and who have an aptitude for structural visualization. Certainly, a burning curiosity and tenacity to wrestle with physical puzzles, such as building a tunnel through the side of mountain, is advantageous. If that description sounds as if it’s been extracted from your resume, the next step is to figure out which engineering discipline fits best: aeronautical, architectural, chemical, civil, electrical, industrial, mechanical…the College Board’s Majors and Career homepage lists over 40 different engineering degrees.
College is expensive. Over a hundred colleges (with UC Berkeley for out-of-state students among them) now cost over $50,000 a year, and the price keeps escalating at a 4-6% clip. Yet college can also be difficult and confusing. Only 30% of the students in public, and 53% in private colleges graduate in four years. Some students never graduate, while others have lengthy and expensive stays. There are a number of reasons students do not have timely graduations, but one that truly impedes progress is indecision over what to major in. Some sources report more than 80% of the students change their major after matriculating, with some changing majors 2 to 3 times. What then is a good method of determining your major?
A perennial question arises with each admissions cycle: ‘does the major I declare on the application affect my candidacy?’ Point blank answer: in approximately 99.6% of the cases, no. Most admissions officers realize that 80% or more of their freshman class will change majors at least once before the end of sophomore year.
Whether or not you decide upon a major prior to entering college, consider the following. Knowing these bits of information upfront should put your mind at ease about applying to a college 'undeclared.' Doing so does not sanction you as an indifferent, undedicated, or lackluster candidate; rather, you might be honestly searching. As J.R.R. Tolkien said, "All who wander are not lost." This is particularly applicable to those exploring potential majors.
