Impacted majors

An impacted major is a major for which more students apply for than the school can accommodate. It is a classic example of when Demand exceeds Supply. When this occurs, the major becomes impacted and therefore is susceptible to higher standards of admission [cite web
title =Impacted majors
publisher =California State University
url =http://www.csulb.edu/depts/enrollment/admissions/impacted_major.html
format =Web article
accessdate =2007-12-01 ] .

For example:

Lets assume there's a school whose minimum requirements are SATs of 1100 and a GPA of 3.0.

If you apply to an impacted major, the school can raise the minimum requirements as much as needed in order to weed out the students it is unable to accommodate.

In some cases, it is a better idea to apply to a school as "Undeclared".

For example:

If the school implements requirements of SATs of 1300 and a GPA of 3.4 for the impacted major, it would be better to apply as "Undeclared" if you only meet the minimum requirements. You then have a better chance of being accepted and you always have the option of changing your major at a later date.

References