Applying as an undecided major

[Anonymous]

A surprising number of schools require that applicants list some major in the application.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is hard to stand out in a "why college x" essay when you are undecided. Far better to say two interests Bio and History and be able to regale the admissions committee with (a) a tie in to your activities and (b) something special about the college that relates to those two interests. As others said, it is not binding. If there's something weird on DC's record, like a 2 on A PUSH or something, you may want to refine.

Agree with this. Apply as a history primary major and bio as secondary. Or find a major that connects the two. I see a really easy way to tie them together with some academic stuff (project or independent study at school) - based on the very limited info you gave?

Look at EC's through a lens that might connect Biology & History:
Create a project focused on medical history (of city/state/region or area of interest): could he research disease (measles); tie to modern understanding of bio? Summer programs?

Lots of interesting types of projects related to human adaptation to think about historically:
- Biological adaptations in history
- genetic adaptations like lactose tolerance; certain allergies; high altitude living
- Modern problems?
Lots of ideas here: https://www.chstm.org/

Existing Activities
- Tie sport to something with a historical lens?
- For service club, can he do educational workshops on something related to bio and history (disease history) or service days at something that might tie the two together?
- Include art here! that's a huge win (biological illustrations; work on exhibits)

Physical Therapy
He might want to trace his own PT issues to historical treatments and the evolution of his condition over time.

Summer programs:
A lot of T20 used to have a "History of Medicine" summer program. Could be interesting for him?
https://sce.cornell.edu/courses/roster/sts-1451

Goal - Good material to show all sides of him in Essays and applications.
What is the theme? Human Resilience: Past, Present & Future - nice way to tie bio to history to kid's own story? Maybe he can be known as the "team historian and team medic"? Think about ancient Greeks?

If you tie these subjects together, in a way that he chooses, it makes something abstract into something more concrete, and makes him more compelling. He could also major in medical anthropology (available at certain schools) if that's of interest.

Lastly, a lot of schools have interdisciplinary majors that connect history and science.
Here's one description:

Undergraduate students in the Program in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology do their coursework either in the Department of History, through its interdisciplinary major in History, Science and Medicine, or in the Department of Philosophy, through its major in History and Philosophy of Science. The interdisciplinary structure of requirements also allows students to do coursework in other departments that house the humanistic and social study of science, such as Anthropology, Classics, English, Political Science and in scientific disciplines.
https://hps.stanford.edu/undergraduate/major

Colleges to think about - there are a LOT more.:
UChicago: B.A. in History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine (HIPS)
Harvard: The Dept of the History of Science
Yale: Major in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health
Princeton: Major in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine (HSTM)

Have fun researching.

Did the OP come back with more info on the kid’s interests?