Q: My daughter is starting to work on some of her applications, but before we get too far we have a question. Should she be filling out the paper applications, or the online ones, or does it matter? We’ve been getting conflicting signals on this.

A: The “which application do colleges prefer” question is a very common one, particularly with the rise of the Common Application (http://www.commonapp.org), which has meant that there are now many more schools with multiple options.

In general, schools don’t have a preference for one type of application over another unless they specifically state a preference in their materials. Colleges that accept the Common Application are actually required to have their PRESIDENT and all admissions officers sign a statement that they will treat those applications with exactly the same consideration as they would give to their own printed application. In fact, as schools have moved more and more towards making application forms available on-line, whether through the Common Application site or their own, they’ve seen a welcome reduction in printing and data-entry costs. Some schools try to encourage this trend by waiving the application fee for those students who submit an application online, but as I said, unless they’re explicit about it, they should be treating any official version of their application with equal attention and respect. If you’re ever unsure about a school’s policies on this or any other topic, you can always go directly to the source and have (ideally) the student call the admissions office to ask. This is particularly true in situations where you feel like you’re getting conflicting information; the people you should be talking to when seeking a definitive response are the people who will ultimately be making the decisions.

Q: I was wondering, since I think I’m going to major in psychology and it’s a pretty popular major, do you think I should put my major as undecided when applying and change it later because then I won’t be compared to students who are sure about psychology?

A: As with so many other questions in this process, the short answer is, “It depends.” You certainly want to be honest in your applications. If you’re sure about your choice of major, by all means let folks know. But your question is more about what kind of impact choice of major has, right? The effect that your anticipated choice of major is likely to have on your chances of admission depends on 1) the extent to which the school in question is actively working to manage their enrollment across disciplines 2) the extent to which the school in question allows students to move freely from one field to another once they’ve matriculated, and 3) the extent to which your focus on your field of interest provides your application with a kind of “through-line” of passion and commitment.

What you may want to do is call the schools that you’re most interested in and identify yourself as a rising senior (or junior or whatever the case may be). Do NOT let someone else make these calls for you. Explain that you’re very interested in the school and have a quick question about choice of major; might you speak with the person who has a primary responsibility for reviewing applications from your part of the world? If yes, get their name and prepare to speak with them. If no, try to get their name anyway and ask if there might be someone else who can help you.

Then you’ll want to ask some of these questions:

Do you know what percentage of your graduating students graduate with a degree in the major they initially expressed interest in? (Here you’re trying to get a sense of the fluidity of their curriculum.)

Are some of your majors more competitive than others in terms of admissions? (If yes, which majors and how so?)

I think at this point that I’m interested in _____, but am not sure how firm that interest is; can you tell me a little bit about how choice of major plays into your decision-making in selection committee?

If I do apply as a major in _____, do you have any advice about how to maximize my chances? (It never hurts to ask, and sometimes you’ll get a really great piece of advice this way.)