In tears about my daughter

[Anonymous]

The notion that English is somehow not an employable major is a complete joke. The following people all majored in English: Andrea Jung (CEO Avon), Michael Eisner, Anne Mulcahy (Xerox CEO), Paul Simon, Mitt Romney, Diane Sawyer, Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Joy Behar, Steven Spielberg, John Wooden, Bart Giamatti, Sally Ride, Hank Paulson, and the list goes on and on. The ability to communicate and write well is perhaps the greatest skill one can have in your career.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very bad trolling.

OP here. I wish I was a troll.

You suck at life

+1. OP is so ridiculous and can't even see how she/they are going to 100% ruin the relationship they have with their daughter, if they haven't already. It's so sad that they cannot see how they are sabotaging themselves. They will realize it one day - maybe - but it will probably be too late. The daughter already knows that they don't value her as a person and are more interested in control. Sad.sad.sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter (also at an Ivy) has been interviewing for consulting internships this semester (McKinsey, BCG). Both interviewers told her they accept all majors and they, themselves said they had seemingly odd majors (don't recall, but not econ/business). I don't know if it's just something they say or if it's true, but I'd look it up.

Also, depending on the school, it should be quite feasible to double major English/Econ.

Have her go by the career center and see what they say about job prospects. Also, at dd's school, there is a webpage listing employers of recent grads by major. A tons of people listed as, like, Classics were employed in consulting firms and/or finance. (We guessed that they probably had a second major that was more employable, but the career center would know.)

I looked at MBB hires from Princeton from the last three years on Linkedin — almost all were Econ or STEM majors. The few who were in more qualitative majors tended to be from wealthy, well-connected backgrounds (ie: played a sport like squash or crew, went to fancy prep school).

[Anonymous]

This has been posted before. You are a troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This has been posted before. You are a troll.

They did well -- 18 pages! I stopped reading after the first page.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would have concerns about an English degree from a community college. But from Princeton, it’s fine.
I know English majors who run non-profits, are professors at fancy universities, and are computer programmers (that one minored on physics and basically just figured out programming on the side).

LMAO. Academia (especially in the humanities) is dying, and most good tech companies are hiring only CS majors straight out of college nowadays.

This is why our Republic is dying too. No one understands history, all of the holocaust survivors have died off so there is no moral institutional history. Really sad commentary.

[Anonymous]

I worked on Wall Street for a number of years, and a very successful colleague of mine (think $2-3mm bonuses by age 26-27) had a B.A. in History from Princeton. He was sharp and a quick learner. Picked up everything finance-related on the job. He got hired over many Math and Econ majors. It was the Ivy diploma that opened the door for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I worked on Wall Street for a number of years, and a very successful colleague of mine (think $2-3mm bonuses by age 26-27) had a B.A. in History from Princeton. He was sharp and a quick learner. Picked up everything finance-related on the job. He got hired over many Math and Econ majors. It was the Ivy diploma that opened the door for him.

Same poster, adding: I myself neither had a technical degree nor an Ivy diploma and I still got hired in a banking job. I was just a driven woman willing to work long hours and put up with sexist behavior, qualities which I think are not easy to find. So I had multiple banking and consulting job offers when I graduated despite my lack of “pedigree.” And I did well in that field and in life.

[Anonymous]

English major from Yale here. Never an issue or a problem. Had an excellent career. My written work and speech and comprehension always a help. And I didn’t embarrass mtself by saying things like “Where is John at?”

[Anonymous]

Omg. You sound like controlling and histrionic parents. I support your daughter and hope she likes her community college.

[Anonymous]

She should have done what my cousin did. Told his parents his major was Econ. They found out at graduation that he majored in History with a Econ minor.

All is well, but his parents were….and maybe still are….pissed. Good for her being an adult and trying to live her own life, free from what seem to be at least slightly over involved parents. Also, don’t get your NEED for her to attend an Ivy, want ok but need?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very bad trolling.

OP here. I wish I was a troll.

Not as badly as I wished you were a troll.

NP

Fervently agree. You and your husband sound like a complete nightmare. Even as trolls.

Why do you think we “sound like complete nightmares” for setting some very reasonable guidelines that many parents set for their kids? Most parents aren’t willing to pay for a BA in English.

No, dear. “Most” parents don’t try to dictate the small handful of majors their students can take in college. If you’re not a troll, you’re completely unhinged. Good for your daughter. You tried to manipulate her and you failed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mom made threats to cut my tuition off if I quit being pre med. I wasn't happy in the classes and volunteering at the hospital made me miserable. I did finish the minimum requirements.

I finally had a long talk with my Dad (who is himself a doctor) and he promised I wouldn't be cut off. I don't know what went down between them. I went to law school (which I paid for through loans, I also paid for as much of my college as I could) despite my mom's freakout and am much happier and successful. My Dad understood medicine wasn't for me.

And also, I barely spoke to my mom for almost 10 years. I realized a lot of our interactions in high school and similar weren't healthy either. She hated when I quit band to do theater, for instance.

Sounds like you’re the type of whiny brat to blame your parents for every misgiving. GUESS WHAY — if they’re paying for your tuition, they can dictate your major.

GUESS WHAT? You’re 100% in the wrong and you lost. Cope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right about the MFA programs OP, BUT you just wasted a lot of credibility trying to make your dd major in certain subjects or cut her off.

I think it's reasonable to pay for most undergrad degrees, including English, but for parents not to pay for grad school. Tell her you will compromise by paying for whatever major she wants right now, but will not pay for grad school or professional school in any major, no matter what it is. (MFA, Medicine, Law, etc..)

Getting a full pay undergrad degree with no loans is unusual now, so she will be ahead of the game already. And no matter what she wants to do post graduate, she will have to find a way to pay for it. Seems like a good compromise that will make her think.

OP here. We have already told her that we won’t be paying for grad school (we told her this in HS) and won’t be bankrolling her after graduation.

What grades is she earning to date? Does she master stem subjects or humanities subjects more easily?

She is a freshman so no grades. In HS she was better at humanities, but I attribute that to grade inflation more than anything else.

She has no grades for anything by November? I think she is not telling you the truth. My freshman has had plenty of graded exams, labs and other work by this point.

She doesn’t have grades because “she” doesn’t exist. OP needs to get a life, a hobby or both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD went to Yale and majored in political science. She did take a few econ courses. She is now at Stanford's business school. Law is also a possibility, although as a former lawyer I would not recommend it.

OP here. Interesting. How did your DD end up at GSB? Did she do something like TFA and then transition into consulting? What was her first job after college? Very curious about these things!

DP. Sigh. If that's really the OP, you're STILL trying to engineer your daughter's path into what you see as lucrative jobs. She's a freshman. Let her go to career counseling at college and talk to them, not you, about possible grad paths.

Why the aggression? I’m allowed to ask about these things without judgement.

You’re allowed to ask and we’re allowed to answers in ways you don’t like.