We work with a lot of students who are applying to top colleges. Each is unique, with their own strengths and dreams and goals. That said, there are some trends we see, some majors being far more popular than others, and some colleges as well. This makes sense; there are simply far more students interested in Engineering than Linguistics.
In this article, we’re going to go through the most popular majors for Ivy Scholars students, and trends we’ve observed for them. These aren’t going to be full application guides, but things we often advise students on or see tripping them up, a starting place for students who may be thinking about these majors themselves. Let’s jump right in!
Engineering Majors
Engineering is a staple, and we see many students each year who want to study it; this makes sense, as these fields often promise secure career opportunities. That, however, leads to these fields being among the most competitive for college admission. Here’s our top tips for applying to one of these programs, and getting accepted.
Preparation is everything. All majors want you to have shown interest, but for engineering especially, there are a lot of ways to get involved in high school, many STEM and tech programs you can avail yourself of. The most successful students are the ones who push themselves to take advantage of these opportunities. Note that these do not need to be in your specific engineering subfield (especially for nicher fields; nobody is going to let a high school student do nuclear engineering). Any experience in the field, however, is a major positive.
The other place you need to prepare is math. Many engineering programs mandate you have math through calculus in order to apply and be admitted. Taking challenging math classes and doing well in them is integral to succeeding as an engineer. If you have a chance to take calculus, do it.
Direct admissions programs. Most engineering programs, especially those in subsidiary colleges in a university, practice direct admissions. This means you apply to the program directly, along with the university as a whole. These are competitive for admissions, and often very difficult to internally transfer into these programs once you are admitted. Thus you should always apply as an engineering major if you intend to study engineering and pursue it as a career.
3+2 Programs: Students who lack engineering experience in high school can benefit from 3+2 programs. In these, a liberal arts college without an engineering program partners with a major university with one; students start at the liberal arts college, then transfer to the university, earning degrees from both. This is ideal for students who want to study engineering, but who might not have sufficient preparation in high school to be competitive for one of these programs.
Biology Majors and Pre Meds
Biology majors and premeds are not the same thing, but the perception that they are is a common misconception we encounter amongst students. For that reason, we’ll group the two together here, though this will be aimed primarily at students interested in pursuing the premed track.
College isn’t med school. You want to be a doctor; that’s a good thing, admirable even. But you don’t apply to undergrad programs to become a doctor (with the rare exception of BS/MD programs). If you spend your entire application talking about how much you want to be a doctor, then admissions officers are going to think you see college as just a stepping stone. You need to slow down, and focus on what the college itself will give you.
Preparation is key. There are many ways for high school students to get involved with biology; due to premeds, most of these do involve medicine, but this isn’t universally true. Since these opportunities exist and are widely available, colleges expect you to have taken advantage of them. This can take any number of forms, from science fairs to olympiads to volunteering in a local clinic, but you need to have done something to show off your burgeoning interest.
You also need a very strong grounding in math and science coursework. Colleges expect you to have taken a significant number of math and sciences courses if you intend on studying science, and the most challenging ones possible. You should take calculus if it is available to you.
Other majors. Biology is often an overcrowded major, in large part due to premeds. You do not, however, need to major in biology as a premed; see our article here for more details. This can not only lead to an easier admissions path for you, but can make the major itself more accessible to students who do not wish to study medicine.
Computer Science Majors
Computer science is one of the most popular, and most competitive, majors in the US, driven by an increasingly digital world and the surge of tech companies. Majoring in CS doesn’t guarantee a job, but there are plenty of things you can do with knowledge of coding. The competition for this major, however, makes for a lot of stress for applicants; but we have some advice that can ease this significantly.
Parallel majors. You do not need to apply as a CS major to study CS. Some schools do have direct admit programs, but others are more flexible, especially liberal arts colleges. Preparing for CS also prepares you for plenty of other majors, many of which are less competitive, and which still allow you to learn programming, or switch into CS at a later time. You should be sure switching majors is feasible, but this can greatly reduce admissions stress. Learn more about these majors in our article here.
High school preparation. With competition so fierce, colleges expect students to be well prepared coming in. The minimum is high school coursework, both in math and programming. Not all high schools have a lot of coding classes, but you should take those that are available, and pursue further study on your own; there are plenty of free resources to learn coding online. You should take math through calculus if possible.
Coursework is the minimum, colleges also want to see that you have actively pursued CS outside the classroom through your extracurriculars. Tech is versatile, and there are many ways to do this; participating in hackathons, doing research, coding for a nonprofit, launching your own app; the possibilities are near endless. What you do matters far less than the act of doing something, showing colleges just how much you care about this topic and want to explore it on your own.
Liberal Arts and Engineering. Some CS majors are offered through a college of liberal arts, some through a college of engineering; and some schools offer both. These degrees are generally equally useful when it comes to finding a job in the field of CS, but have different requirements, and can grant access to different subfields. Which is right for you depends entirely on your own needs and desires as a CS major; we recommend investigating choice thoroughly.
Business Majors (and Economics)
The last (but certainly not least) of the popular majors we regularly see is business (and economics, but more on that in a second). There are many subfields within this, but they all tend to operate the same from an admissions standpoint, being incredibly competitive for admissions.
Business or economics. Some colleges do not have an actual business major, but still send many students off to grand business careers (like Harvard and UChicago) through their economics programs. You do not need to major in business to have a career in business; indeed majors like math, statistics, and economics are sometimes prized by firms. That said, a strong business program, like Wharton at Penn, offers dedicated coursework in specific fields of business that one of these other majors won’t offer.
These non-business majors can sometimes be much less competitive for admissions, though this depends a lot on the college. The majors themselves can also sometimes be more demanding (especially for math majors); whether or not they offer what you are looking for depends on your own strengths.
Direct admissions. Like economics, many universities have a separate college for business, and admissions to that school are handled directly. This college is generally hard to transfer into internally, meaning you need to decide when you apply whether you want to major in business itself, or a related major.
Preparing for business. Unlike many other popular majors, it can be somewhat difficult for high school students to get involved with business. Internships are one of the most popular, and most viable, ways of doing so. Other common options include part-time jobs, investigating business coursework outside of school, and even launching your own business ventures, though this is of course often resource dependent.
In terms of coursework, some high schools do offer business courses, but these are often not honors or AP. In many cases, students are better served taking advanced non-business courses than business coursework, or limiting business courses to electives. Anyone interested in business, especially if they intend to major in economics, should take calculus. Even students who wish to major in statistics are better served taking calculus than statistics in high school.
Final Thoughts
These four majors are certainly not all we see; we help students interested in everything from astrophysics to art to acting to chemistry. These four fields of study are, however, some of the most popular across top colleges, and see some of the highest numbers of applicants. We hope that this article has given you a good introduction to each, and what little quirks each has. This is not an in-depth look, but a primer, a guide on what to be aware of, and what may trip you up.
If you are looking for a more in-depth exploration of these fields, or help with your own unique collegiate goals, then Ivy Scholars can help. From assisting you in finding opportunities in high school that suit your interests to connecting you with the perfect collegiate program for your needs, Ivy Scholars has a long experience helping students find exactly what they need to succeed. Schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can make your life easier; we’re always happy to hear from you.
