Across the country, certain high-demand undergraduate majors have become increasingly selective. As majors including computer science, business, engineering and nursing continue to grow in popularity, the intense competition for the finite number of seats in these programs is not always reflected in the overall acceptance rates colleges publish.
1. Computer Science
After tripling in the decade between 2005 and 2015, computer and information sciences majors have only continued to grow in popularity. Comp and Info Sci led the 10 most popular majors in year-over-year growth from 2022 to 2023, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s Spring 2024 Undergraduate Degree Earners report, This is driven by demand for the skills they impart as well as the relatively high starting salaries for Comp Sci degree holders. Because its popularity as a major has far outpaced universities’ ability to invest in program expansion, Comp Sci’s admission rates continue to fall, often into the single digits, even when a college’s overall admission rate is higher.
2. Business
Business-related majors are exploding in popularity as students seek to develop practical, in-demand skills that can help them land a job and build a lucrative career. This can mean intense competition for business school admission and for the limited seats in certain majors. The 2024-25 admissions cycle saw UW-Madison explicitly communicate a cap on the number of students they can accept for in-demand majors like finance and marketing. UW-Madison and other business schools with top rankings often draw applicants from all across the country, further increasing the competition.
3. Engineering and Nursing
Because these programs can be very rigorous and challenging, colleges want to accept students who can succeed. Both are known to have unofficial “weed-out” courses early in their programs. Admissions reps often hold potential nursing and engineering students to a higher standard.
What should students interested in these majors be thinking about as they approach their college search?
Assume Longer Odds
Even as colleges direct resources to program expansion, students desiring highly selective majors should make no assumptions about admission, even at schools with high overall admissions rates. Unfortunately, admission by major or program is not always readily available or even made public. Students interested in competitive majors should assume longer admissions odds than the overall rates that colleges publish.
Dig Deeper
It can be worthwhile for students to dig beyond snapshot admissions data research colleges. Sometimes the information can be found online, such as in this University of Minnesota data showing the average class ranks, GPAs and test scores of 2024’s incoming freshman at each of its eight schools. Note the relatively higher metrics for students admitted to nursing, engineering, business (and also, biological sciences – biology is becoming a more competitive major as well!).
Other times, admissions representatives will include data by major or school in presentations or may give it out if asked. Purdue University’s admissions office recently provided stats on a recent incoming freshman class. Overall, the middle 50% had ACT scores ranging from 26-33, SATs from 1210-1420, and GPAs from 2.5-3.9. The metrics for incoming comp sci majors, by contrast, were ACT 32-34, GPA 3.6-3.95, SAT 1400-1500. For engineering, they were ACT 30-34, GPA 3.7-3.96 and SAT 1360-1480.
Expand The Search
Students with their hearts set on one of these majors would be wise to expand their college search to include schools they may not have previously considered. Many less selective schools have excellent programs in these competitive majors! We recommend researching and applying to at least a handful of schools where students determine they are likely to gain admission to their dream major if it’s known to be competitive.
The tips above can help students gauge their odds and create a balanced college list. And of course, they should continue to distinguish themselves with excellent academics and extracurriculars!
