Both UCs and CSUs have majors that have student caps, meaning certain majors are harder to get into than others. With very popular majors, this may make admission to that school more stringent. For each school system, learn what are the impacted majors and what are you need to know if you declare that as your major.
Seven campuses (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Fresno State, CSU Fullerton, Cal State LA, CSU Long Beach, San Diego State University, San José State) have declared that the entire campus is impacted — too many eligible students want to attend than the schools can accept. This also means certain majors are harder to get into than other majors. Check out which majors and campuses are impacted for the year 2022-2023 HERE.
What does this mean for admission? The excess of qualified applicants has forced schools to find ways to raise the bar. Students are now ranked on the eligibility scale, so the higher their GPA is, the greater the likelihood a student will get in. Especially in departments that are truly impacted, admission officers may consider:
Your intended program of study (the major to which the application is made)
Your college-preparatory courses in secondary school (did you take honors/AP level courses related to your major?)
GPA earned in college-preparatory courses (did you get all As in your courses related to your major?)
Your extra-curricular activities and work experience (did you seek out internships/programs/volunteer or work related to your major?)
In addition to knowing which programs are strongest at which schools, any student interested in CSUs must also consider impaction when choosing their campuses.
Finally, as part of the CSUs “Impaction and Redirection” program, an eligible student who is denied admission to an impacted campus will be offered a spot at another, non-impacted CSU without having to complete a new application. Students will have a limited time to accept the redirected admission offer.
For California students seeking a “career-ready” bachelor’s degree in a student-focused environment with a diverse student body, California’s CSUs are an excellent choice.
Pulled from "California Public System 101: CSUs"
The University of California campuses of Los Angeles, Berkeley, San Diego, Irvine, Davis and Santa Barbara are among the most sought-after colleges by students. Last year, applications topped 100,000 at some of these campuses. With so much interest, there is bound to be some majors which are more sought after as compared to others. These high demand majors can be very selective, and in some cases have a cap on enrollment. While other high demand majors may not have a capped enrolment, they can be very competitive for applicants. Some campuses allow students to choose an alternate major in which case the University of California recommends that students choose an alternate major if their first-choice major is a competitive or capped high demand major.
Knowing the impacted majors at the various UC campuses can help students calibrate their applications, expectations and make informed choices about alternate majors and applying to out of state public and private colleges.
O's List has compiled a handy list for students applying to a UC. Check out this exhaustive list of the capped, selective, or high demand majors for freshmen admissions by campus.
Pulled from "Capped Majors at UC Campuses 2021"
