Colleges are generally quite interested in what you want to major in, and your intended major can have a significant impact on your chances of admission at many colleges. Some colleges are content to merely make you select your major on a drop down menu, but others are more curious about your academic interests and ambitions. These schools ask you to write an entire essay about your intended major, and why you’re interested in pursuing it.
While these prompts can take many forms, they all want the same thing at base; to determine why you are interested in the subject you happen to want to major in. In this article then we’re going to look at how these essays work, and how you can write one which will properly illustrate your interest to colleges. Let’s get started!
An Example Essay
We’re going to start with an example essay, one written by a past Ivy Scholars student who saw a great deal of success in their admissions journey. Then we’re going to talk about why this essay worked, and some strategy for writing Why Major essays.
System.out.println(“Hello World”);
To my surprise, the program returned “Hello World.” With that simple statement, I was instantly captivated by Java’s capacity to weave new worlds out of strings and characters. Throughout the year, I dived into the seemingly endless realm of computer science. I attended class after class, learned method after method, and even participated in the USACO competition, where I was promoted to the silver division.
Being an intern at PetroEd this past summer furthered my desire to dive deeper into computer science. There, I saw the real life application of machine learning in the industry. Simple actions that I took for granted had thousands of lines of coding behind them to make sure they executed properly. The way a computer could be taught something and execute it better than humans shocked me; thanks to machine learning, Gmail can easily detect whether an email is spam, the best chess players in the world now pale in comparison with bots, and our world is being transformed into a more efficient society every day. I want to add to this new world.
At UT, I look forward to expanding my knowledge with courses focused on problem solving, like Professor Klivan’s “Mathematics for Computer Science” (CS331). Having endured high school lectures, I can’t wait to be a part of an interactive setting that involves everyone. Throughout the year, I will combine recently-acquired experience in recurrences, graph theory, and bijections to solve problems I never even considered when I began coding. With so many helpful professors, even more TAs, and a rigorous academic curriculum, UT will become my very own “Hello World.”
Analysis
This essay was written for UT Austin specifically, but they are hardly the only college to ask for this kind of essay. It succeeded specifically because the author made a number of choices in how they presented themselves and their interests.
The essay begins with a single line of code in java. This is a clever hook, as it quickly demonstrates what the essay will be about, while also referencing one of the first programs almost every coder learns. This way, not only do the readers learn that the essay will be about programming, but the author gets to show off some of their knowledge and skill within the subject.
There is no single correct way to write a hook, but whatever form it takes, it should draw the reader immediately into the essay, and make them want to read more. For a Why Major essay, the hook should also tie into whatever the topic is, be it with a scene where the student engages with the topic, how the student first heard of the topic, or an amusing reference to the topic.
This essay tells a clear story, which “Why Major” essays should. The story here is a simple one: Why I like programming. In spite of the simplicity of the arc, it follows clear, logical steps:
- The author first learns about programming, and is entranced.
- The author deepens their interest, taking classes on programming and joining extracurriculars.
- The author details one of their extracurriculars in detail, and how the more they learned about programming, the more they wanted to learn.
- The author sets out their plans to continue their exploration of the topic, both through the rest of this year, and in the future at UT Austin.
This is not a complex narrative; but there isn’t much room for one. The arc is simple, and the strength of the narrative comes from the details provided, and how each section builds on the core theme: that studying computer science is a natural goal for the author to have. By developing this narrative, the author gives the clear understanding that their desire to study computer science is natural, and the inevitable end to what they have done thus far.
The essay doesn’t just state that the author likes computer science, it explains why, and gives evidence in the form of concrete details, events, and experiences the author had. The best example of this is in the second paragraph, where the author discusses their internship at PetroEd.
The “behind the curtain” look the author got at how coding affects their everyday life, and the amount of work programmers do to make sure the world runs smoothly gave them a clear motivation for wanting to learn programming. They’ve been introduced to a new and hidden world, one just beneath the surface, and now they want to contribute to and participate in that world.
Reusing and Reworking Your Why Major Essay
Many different colleges will ask for Why Major essays, with slightly different prompts and word counts. We recommend reusing an existing essay as much as possible when applying to multiple colleges which ask the same question. We work with many students who apply to ten or more colleges; when schools frequently ask for two to three essays apiece, that can add up quickly.
We recommend writing the longest version of your Why Major essay first; it’s usually easier to cut an essay down to a needed length than to add new and interesting details in a way that makes sense in the narrative.
Most of the essay can remain completely the same between schools; if you have a section at the end specific to the university you are writing for then definitely change that, but here too you can frequently do plug and play. Each university is unique, but they all have professors doing research, interesting initiatives, and special programs for various areas of interest. Just find the ones which align to your stated interests, and add them into your essay.
We do recommend double and triple checking before submitting essays if you use this technique. While it is unlikely that you accidentally submit an essay meant for one school to another, it can theoretically happen, and you should do everything you can to avoid such simple errors.
What if You’re Undecided?
It is asking a lot of high school students to expect them to know exactly what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Many students are uncertain or undecided when they apply to college, and this presents a problem when asked to write a Why Major essay. We have found two solutions to this.
The first is to use an advanced writing technique called lying. You can simply choose a major your extracurriculars paint you as well suited for, and write an essay about that. Some colleges make it easy to change your chosen major after you are admitted (see our article here for more on this), which gives you some breathing room to experiment. Some colleges lock you very tightly into a particular course of studies; we recommend not applying to these schools unless you are certain as to your course of study.
Note that if you are just picking a major to write about, it should meet the following criteria:
- It should make sense for you. If you have a bunch of biology related activities, writing about how you want to major in business might not make much sense to admissions officers, who may question your honesty.
- It should be a less competitive major. If you’re applying to a major unseriously, don’t handicap yourself by applying to the most popular one at a school. What this is varies by university, but computer science, business, economics, and engineering are all common culprits for this.
The other option for undecideds is to be truly honest in your essay. Say that you’re undecided, that you really aren’t sure what you want to major in right now, but that you’re very excited to find out. Speak to your joy and excitement about learning new things, and how you want to sample the different options available to you before committing to one.
If you have an interest in more than one major offered by a school, you can and should speak to that as well. This works best if there are two core majors you are interested in, and you have past experience with both. It is usually difficult to write about a major you do not have past experience with, especially in a way admissions officers find compelling.
Joint and Build Your Own Majors
A significant number of colleges have options to design your own major, frequently involving interdisciplinary studies. These are remarkable opportunities, but we generally recommend not applying for these directly. First, it is hard to articulate exactly why these programs are right for you until you are at a college specifically. Second, entering these majors requires permission from a dean in most cases, to make sure you are academically prepared for what it requires, and will still be able to graduate on time.
While these are a great option, you should pick one of the regular majors a college lists to write about if you intend to discuss a specific major, even if you want to pursue one of these interdisciplinary majors.
Final Thoughts
Your major in college will take the bulk of your time at a school, and will many times form the basis of what you do for much of your life. Universities want to see you graduate on time, and see you thrive afterwards, and so understandably have a strong interest in your major of choice. They want to see what interests and drives you, to make sure that this isn’t a passing fancy, but a passion that will enable you to succeed.
The purpose of the Why Major essay is to demonstrate all of this for colleges, and we hope that this article has given you insight into how these essays work, and what they look like when done well. Writing a stellar college essay is a lot of work, and can be quite stressful, but you don’t have to do it alone. If you want guidance crafting your own Why Major essay, or help with any other aspect of college admissions, schedule a free consultation today. We have a long experience helping students apply to their top colleges, and are always happy to hear from you.
