please say there isn't really someone this stupid

[draggar]

Its simple - it's a C.Y.O.A. email.

*(Cover Your Own Ass) meaning that noone can claim that they didn't know it was required.

[ShinyGreenApple]

the only thing I can think of is they actually meant high school

I went to R******* College, for my high school in NZ its the same thing.

University is something completely different

or maybe they are in the general education portion of their degree (thank god I missed that by 2 years at my uni) and havent yet picked a major?

It was a U.S. student, and they claimed to be 19. I can only hope that, as Chanlin says, this person was lying. But even if they were still in their teens and hadn't picked a major yet, wouldn't they have at least known what one was? I never attended college after I graduated high school*, but from the time I was about 12, I knew what a major was and how you achieved one.

* Although now, nearly 7 years later, I've finally decided to buck up and go :P

[Captain Trips]

As far as I know, you can't even APPLY to a college/university in the U.S. without declaring a major, even if you declare "undeclared" - a subject I proudly majored in for my first six years in college. (After that, it was Astronomy, Photography, Computer Science. Still haven't graduated, though.)

[Kogarashi]

Actually, it depends on the college/university. The university I applied to didn't require us to declare a major, even "undecided." We were mostly expected to take GEs the first year, while figuring out what we wanted to study. By the end of the first year, most students had either chosen a major or been labeled "Open Major" (undecided), but it wasn't a requirement on the application.