Humanities Major at STEM-heavy school - admissions advantage

[Anonymous]

Are there advantages to applying as a true humanities major at a STEM school line Rice, as a male?

[Anonymous]

At my former institution, similar to Rice, yes, there was a slight advantage because the humanities dept needed majors but not many. The humanities at STEM-focused schools are workhorse depts so they don’t need a lot of majors but most bring in some tuition revenue. I don’t remember gender being a factor, only if the student had an application that truly supported the major AND there was some interest in STEM, eg history of technology, digital humanities, art and STEM.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Search on here for a very detailed post about this a few months ago. Definitely helps.

[Anonymous]

Only helps if student has a long and sustained interest in humanities on resume (via, electives, clubs, etc . . , otherwise, admissions knows it is a ploy.

[Anonymous]

Depends on whether it’s a priority for the school at that moment - institutional priorities change all the time. I’d only be sure if the school is doing some kind of clear outreach (like a fly-in program).

[Anonymous]

Yes, I think so. My DC is a humanities major at another top college and there are very few males also majoring in humanities. Most of the social science types are majoring in Econ or Poli Sci, because they want to go to Wall Street or consulting. But my DC has been told that an English major is just as marketable in consulting, and even in Silicon Valley for the non-techie jobs.

[Anonymous]

Was also going to say that Rice has an excellent English dept - DC almost went there.

[Anonymous]

Hmm, I think of Rice as a well-rounded university. It isn't?

[Anonymous]

Yes, slight bump at Cornell, for example. Application needs to show really strong evidence of writing ability, but a humanities kid with some quirky interests stands out and gets a more detailed read than the many, many, many STEM applicants with identical applications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there advantages to applying as a true humanities major at a STEM school line Rice, as a male?

Just a gut feeling, but it seems easier to apply as a true humanities major at most universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was also going to say that Rice has an excellent English dept - DC almost went there.

Rice is obviously outstanding in STEM, excellent in humanities, good in social sciences (policy is excellent because of Baker and Kinder).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there advantages to applying as a true humanities major at a STEM school line Rice, as a male?

What is the purpose? There's no "fit" here.

Or is the strategy here to get into Rice as a religious studies major and switch to chem engineering? That might be a way to get into CMU or MIT. Go in as a religious studies major - and switch to CS. Or do a religious studies double major or minor with CS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there advantages to applying as a true humanities major at a STEM school line Rice, as a male?

What is the purpose? There's no "fit" here.

Or is the strategy here to get into Rice as a religious studies major and switch to chem engineering? That might be a way to get into CMU or MIT. Go in as a religious studies major - and switch to CS. Or do a religious studies double major or minor with CS.

you must apply directly to SCS for CMU. Switching into CS is really hard.

[Anonymous]

In the job market, too. Having a humanities degree is going to be far more valuable than a STEM degree. Ask Mark Cuban, who recommended students major in philosophy.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/20/mark-cuban-philosophy-degree-will-be-worth-more-than-computer-science.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there advantages to applying as a true humanities major at a STEM school line Rice, as a male?

What is the purpose? There's no "fit" here.

Or is the strategy here to get into Rice as a religious studies major and switch to chem engineering? That might be a way to get into CMU or MIT. Go in as a religious studies major - and switch to CS. Or do a religious studies double major or minor with CS.

No switching majors. Long sustained interest. Strategy just in looking at selective schools and figuring out odds. Why do people think this is about switching the major? That’s so weird.

Just wondered if it’s easier for those candidates to get in to stem-heavy schools being non-stem.

How do you find out which schools might need more applicants in a certain major? Is that information even available?