Great major for son who doesn’t like math?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the answer. Don’t push him to decide on a major right now. Encourage him to think about what interests him and take classes in those areas. I’m guessing he doesn’t need to declare a major until the end of second year. He’s in his first semester of college—he doesn’t need the answer to this question yet!

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This. Freshman year is for feeling overwhelmed and then starting to feel less overwhelmed. Sophomore year is for taking a variety of courses beyond freshman-specific ones and narrowing down/opening up options. I agree DS should enjoy college and recommend trying to take off the pressure to decide until the middle of next year as a way to do that.

– College Professor, with nephew who is now a happy sophomore developing a much clearer sense of what he wants to do after eliminating some things he really didn't like last year.

OP here. Thank you for this. And for all the others who weighed in. He’s just the sort of kid who isn’t asking for help and at the same time doesn’t seem very engaged and I really want this college experience to work for him. I appreciate all the positive feedback.

OP, it's hard to tell how serious this is, but would he benefit from dropping out and attending CC classes while working? Because he might find his thing (though if he refuses calculus, that's going to be much harder), but he might just remain adrift for 4 years. Sometimes a little work experience can help someone focus.

That being said, there are very few majors (or jobs) that don't require math. Marketing and communications these days is all about being able to interpret engagement statistics etc. He is going to have to take math in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the answer. Don’t push him to decide on a major right now. Encourage him to think about what interests him and take classes in those areas. I’m guessing he doesn’t need to declare a major until the end of second year. He’s in his first semester of college—he doesn’t need the answer to this question yet!

.

This. Freshman year is for feeling overwhelmed and then starting to feel less overwhelmed. Sophomore year is for taking a variety of courses beyond freshman-specific ones and narrowing down/opening up options. I agree DS should enjoy college and recommend trying to take off the pressure to decide until the middle of next year as a way to do that.

– College Professor, with nephew who is now a happy sophomore developing a much clearer sense of what he wants to do after eliminating some things he really didn't like last year.

OP here. Thank you for this. And for all the others who weighed in. He’s just the sort of kid who isn’t asking for help and at the same time doesn’t seem very engaged and I really want this college experience to work for him. I appreciate all the positive feedback.

OP, it's hard to tell how serious this is, but would he benefit from dropping out and attending CC classes while working? Because he might find his thing (though if he refuses calculus, that's going to be much harder), but he might just remain adrift for 4 years. Sometimes a little work experience can help someone focus.

That being said, there are very few majors (or jobs) that don't require math. Marketing and communications these days is all about being able to interpret engagement statistics etc. He is going to have to take math in college.

Many schools have a creative marketing degree option, which isn't about the stats, but the copy/images/campaigns. Very little math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Almost every college major requires calculus.

Have him take it over the summer at the community college and transfer the credits. The grade does not transfer so he can get a c-.

Get a tutor, it's 6 painful weeks but get it over with.

My son is taking 4 classes a semester/5 years to graduate so it's not such a slog.

Come on, that is not true. This will obviously vary by school, so OP/son should check their school's catalog and look up the major requirements as well as any general ed requirements. They may have to take one math class, but it could probably be something like Statistics or Data Analytics, not necessarily Calculus.

For STEM related majors, it is true. For others, some math will be required but may not be Calculus.

Some schools, like UMD, will offer different versions of calculus even within STEM majors. So, Calc Bio major take is different than Calc Engineering majors take. Not saying one is better than the other, just stating the facts.

Name majors at UMD that don’t require calculus. I know there are 2 differ calculus versions (STEM vs. business)… but it is still calculus

You seem oddly confrontational. My first line had nothing to do with UMD - it was a general statement. My second line does not talk about (STEM vs business). I was talking about within STEM field, different majors take different Calc courses. How do i know it? I had 3 kids thru UMD - one in Engineering (take Math 140/141, 240 route) vs. 2 bio kids who took Math 130/131 route. They are both called Calc.

Now, calm down.

So you can't name a degree in any university in the whole world that doesn't require Calculus or Stats.

I think everybody is aware there are more than 1 calculus versions, so that does not really help OP.

Do you have something to add that is helpful to OP's question?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Almost every college major requires calculus.

Have him take it over the summer at the community college and transfer the credits. The grade does not transfer so he can get a c-.

Get a tutor, it's 6 painful weeks but get it over with.

My son is taking 4 classes a semester/5 years to graduate so it's not such a slog.

Come on, that is not true. This will obviously vary by school, so OP/son should check their school's catalog and look up the major requirements as well as any general ed requirements. They may have to take one math class, but it could probably be something like Statistics or Data Analytics, not necessarily Calculus.

For STEM related majors, it is true. For others, some math will be required but may not be Calculus.

Some schools, like UMD, will offer different versions of calculus even within STEM majors. So, Calc Bio major take is different than Calc Engineering majors take. Not saying one is better than the other, just stating the facts.

Name majors at UMD that don’t require calculus. I know there are 2 differ calculus versions (STEM vs. business)… but it is still calculus

You seem oddly confrontational. My first line had nothing to do with UMD - it was a general statement. My second line does not talk about (STEM vs business). I was talking about within STEM field, different majors take different Calc courses. How do i know it? I had 3 kids thru UMD - one in Engineering (take Math 140/141, 240 route) vs. 2 bio kids who took Math 130/131 route. They are both called Calc.

Now, calm down.

So you can't name a degree in any university in the whole world that doesn't require Calculus or Stats.

I think everybody is aware there are more than 1 calculus versions, so that does not really help OP.

Do you have something to add that is helpful to OP's question?

Wow. You are a PITA. Okay, you win. I feel sorry for your spouse/kids. I was a NP so maybe you confused me with whomever you were fighting with before you picked fight with me. I guess you fight anyone you disagree with. Go take that stick out of your a$$. Life will be much easier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Almost every college major requires calculus.

Have him take it over the summer at the community college and transfer the credits. The grade does not transfer so he can get a c-.

Get a tutor, it's 6 painful weeks but get it over with.

My son is taking 4 classes a semester/5 years to graduate so it's not such a slog.

Come on, that is not true. This will obviously vary by school, so OP/son should check their school's catalog and look up the major requirements as well as any general ed requirements. They may have to take one math class, but it could probably be something like Statistics or Data Analytics, not necessarily Calculus.

Hi. I have a BS in statistics.

- I had 3 semesters of calculus, followed by Applied Differential Equations during college.
- I also had math theory, matrix algebra (which I loved), and 3 semesters of computer science.
- Plus my statistics classes -- which included theory as well as applied. The two stat theory classes (required for undergrad) were calculus based.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Almost every college major requires calculus.

Have him take it over the summer at the community college and transfer the credits. The grade does not transfer so he can get a c-.

Get a tutor, it's 6 painful weeks but get it over with.

My son is taking 4 classes a semester/5 years to graduate so it's not such a slog.

Come on, that is not true. This will obviously vary by school, so OP/son should check their school's catalog and look up the major requirements as well as any general ed requirements. They may have to take one math class, but it could probably be something like Statistics or Data Analytics, not necessarily Calculus.

For STEM related majors, it is true. For others, some math will be required but may not be Calculus.

Some schools, like UMD, will offer different versions of calculus even within STEM majors. So, Calc Bio major take is different than Calc Engineering majors take. Not saying one is better than the other, just stating the facts.

Name majors at UMD that don’t require calculus. I know there are 2 differ calculus versions (STEM vs. business)… but it is still calculus

You seem oddly confrontational. My first line had nothing to do with UMD - it was a general statement. My second line does not talk about (STEM vs business). I was talking about within STEM field, different majors take different Calc courses. How do i know it? I had 3 kids thru UMD - one in Engineering (take Math 140/141, 240 route) vs. 2 bio kids who took Math 130/131 route. They are both called Calc.

Now, calm down.

So you can't name a degree in any university in the whole world that doesn't require Calculus or Stats.

I think everybody is aware there are more than 1 calculus versions, so that does not really help OP.

Do you have something to add that is helpful to OP's question?

NP here. We don't know where OP's son goes to school so we don't know what kind of core/distribution requirements the school has, but there are obviously many majors that don't require calculus. English, history, philosophy, art, literature, for starters.

OP, the best advice I got was, each semester, to take a class in a subject I knew nothing about. That's how I found my ultimate college major. Kids are exposed to so little in high school and there's so much out there that he's likely never heard of. Explore as many humanities fields as possible, and something will spark his interest.

[Anonymous]

History -- it's interesting, he'll learn to write (which is an incredibly valuable skill), and people consider it a "real" major that's not too easy (like, say, communications). Plus, there are so many history classes at most schools he's bound to find something that's interesting to him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Almost every college major requires calculus.

Have him take it over the summer at the community college and transfer the credits. The grade does not transfer so he can get a c-.

Get a tutor, it's 6 painful weeks but get it over with.

My son is taking 4 classes a semester/5 years to graduate so it's not such a slog.

Come on, that is not true. This will obviously vary by school, so OP/son should check their school's catalog and look up the major requirements as well as any general ed requirements. They may have to take one math class, but it could probably be something like Statistics or Data Analytics, not necessarily Calculus.

For STEM related majors, it is true. For others, some math will be required but may not be Calculus.

Some schools, like UMD, will offer different versions of calculus even within STEM majors. So, Calc Bio major take is different than Calc Engineering majors take. Not saying one is better than the other, just stating the facts.

Name majors at UMD that don’t require calculus. I know there are 2 differ calculus versions (STEM vs. business)… but it is still calculus

You seem oddly confrontational. My first line had nothing to do with UMD - it was a general statement. My second line does not talk about (STEM vs business). I was talking about within STEM field, different majors take different Calc courses. How do i know it? I had 3 kids thru UMD - one in Engineering (take Math 140/141, 240 route) vs. 2 bio kids who took Math 130/131 route. They are both called Calc.

Now, calm down.

So you can't name a degree in any university in the whole world that doesn't require Calculus or Stats.

I think everybody is aware there are more than 1 calculus versions, so that does not really help OP.

Do you have something to add that is helpful to OP's question?

Yuck! Shiver ~~

[Anonymous]

Technical Communications

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My freshman is completely lost when it comes to what he wants to study. We’ve recommended talking to his advisor but at his school there isn’t so much a focus on exploration and being undecided (I know schools handle this differently) so there are only advisors within schools of study so they recommend he major with them. He’s not especially connecting with his school overall and has already withdrawn from a class. I’m hopeful that if he can just take some exploratory courses next semester he might find what he’s interested in and start enjoying school more. All I know is he for sure doesn’t want to have to take Calculus and higher courses. I just want this guy to enjoy school!

Nursing. I know a ton of people who are earning low six figures as nurses at the moment. It requires basic math and one Stats course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:History -- it's interesting, he'll learn to write (which is an incredibly valuable skill), and people consider it a "real" major that's not too easy (like, say, communications). Plus, there are so many history classes at most schools he's bound to find something that's interesting to him.

+1
Two of my kids majored in History. Both are employed as intelligence analysts. They have incredible writing ability, as well as critical thinking and research skills - all of which were emphasized in the major. I believe the only math requirement was a basic statistics class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Political Science, Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology, History, English, other languages, Communications, Pre-Law, Education, etc.

+1
International Relations too.

-1. IR has a decent amount of Econ. Dad is doing IR and needed a working knowledge of Calculus. Political science, ouch, anthro and sociology all require at least research stats. Social science majors need math. No math would be pure arts and humanities. English, history, fine arts, and vinous women’s, black, Hispanic, etc “studies”. Foreign languages as well, although math and foreign language talent often go together.

So much of this depends on the university. My husband is an IR professor and didn't encounter a math class until graduate school. My own college made us (IR was part of Poli Sci) take either a language course or stats (OR, "stats for social science majors" aka baby stats). But, we also had core requirements that made you need to take a 2 classes in the Science/Math division, which could pretty easily be something like Bio 101.... but beyond that, most classes in that division do require some math.

But yes, typically, I'd say you won't get out of a social science degree without needing to overcome that particular hurdle. But it is often just one class.

[Anonymous]

PP college professor here. I have many former students as well as friends/peers who did not at all take to the standard sequence of math courses in high school and college and majored in humanities and other mathless/math-light subjects...and then later discovered career paths in which math was helpful, whether in the social sciences, marketing, various professional fields, computer-related fields. When a serious interest was driving them, as opposed to the kind of requirement-fulfilling courses they hated when they were in their teens, they successfully took what they needed later on and did fine, and are flourishing in their professions. It doesn't all need to happen in lockstep in late adolescence. One can become a motivated and efficient learner of less-attractive subjects when one is a bit older. College kids should have a chance to find parts of the curriculum they can flourish in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:History -- it's interesting, he'll learn to write (which is an incredibly valuable skill), and people consider it a "real" major that's not too easy (like, say, communications). Plus, there are so many history classes at most schools he's bound to find something that's interesting to him.

+1
Two of my kids majored in History. Both are employed as intelligence analysts. They have incredible writing ability, as well as critical thinking and research skills - all of which were emphasized in the major. I believe the only math requirement was a basic statistics class.

OP here. Thanks for this! He’s about to register for classes next semester and I suggested this to him and I think he’s going to give it a try! Appreciate you and this list!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He should study 2 things: The Program of Studies --- which is *what it takes* to major in each major offered throughout the entire university AND The Course Catalogue --- which gives a description of each course, and also mentions prerequisites that need to be taken beforehand. So, that's a roadmap.

Op, to be a useful participant in this discussion, I recommend that you also know the above.

Yes, perfect idea. Thank you!