Help my DD pick a major

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would go into college assuming that her major might change. I went to school with a lot of STEM majors who successfully switched to Humanities majors, or things like education or communications. I don't know anyone who successfully switched the other way, because the way STEM majors are structured often means you need to take certain courses up front, and because STEM majors are more likely to be restricted enrollment.

Given that, I'd research options for switching majors at the various colleges, and plan to do distribution requirements in majors she might be interested in early, but enroll as Comp Sci, or math in the beginning.

Dp, I also know a lot of STEM majors who realized halfway through they weren’t good at it, but stayed because of lost time. STEM builds on itself which can make it a lot more difficult to leave.

Halfway through — yes it’s hard to leave anything but freshman year when you realize your English distribution requirement is your favorite? It’s generally much easier to go CS to English and that time than the opposite.

Depends on the school. I know a ton of humanities folks who found out they’re good at pure math or the sciences in college. If you go to a strict university, this is difficult, but this is pretty normal at any medium sized university or lac

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She does NOT need a major!!! What she needs is a large university, not a small college, so that she can explore various pathways before settling into something she likes. She does not need to declare a major in most US institutions as a high school applicant. She will have to choose as a sophomore or junior.

Completely agree with this. Not a LAC. Big school. She might be excellent at going deep in a field, and producing research/case studies in STEM, lots of reading, lots of mental activity. For example she could explore
Pharmaceutical Marketing
Drug Safety
Engineering Innovation
Food Sciences
AI applications
Health Innovation

These are majors and minors that aren’t typically offered at LACs

Most of those aren't majors to begin with.

+1, no one majors in Pharmaceutical marketing, nor aspires to do such. You get a degree in English or marketing and just apply cause you’re desperate for a job and you get it. Drug saftety? That’s a chemistry job. Food sciences? That’s a chemistry job, and grossly underpaid. Health innovation- that means nothing. Engineering innovation? A title for an engineer that they don’t know what to do with, but they need someone to do something sorta management, sorta logistics. And AI applications is about as vague as you can get- does the PP not think LACs have CS programs? Do they even know what they’re saying? If someone majored in “AI applications” their first job would be going to the SNAP benefits website and opening an application. These are ridiculously useless majors that no one has or needs.

But yes, op listen to this person if your daughter is considering a Turf Grass Management degree.

[Anonymous]

^^ exactly. The insistence on universities here is often wrong. It’s not like their DD is going into a pre professional nursing or interior design degree. Their most likely majors from what it sounds like is a Math major or English/History major. Those are basic liberal arts offered anywhere. This weird expectation that op’s daughter will wake up and want an accounting major is a bit delusional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She does NOT need a major!!! What she needs is a large university, not a small college, so that she can explore various pathways before settling into something she likes. She does not need to declare a major in most US institutions as a high school applicant. She will have to choose as a sophomore or junior.

Completely agree with this. Not a LAC. Big school. She might be excellent at going deep in a field, and producing research/case studies in STEM, lots of reading, lots of mental activity. For example she could explore
Pharmaceutical Marketing
Drug Safety
Engineering Innovation
Food Sciences
AI applications
Health Innovation

These are majors and minors that aren’t typically offered at LACs

Most of those aren't majors to begin with.

+1, no one majors in Pharmaceutical marketing, nor aspires to do such. You get a degree in English or marketing and just apply cause you’re desperate for a job and you get it. Drug saftety? That’s a chemistry job. Food sciences? That’s a chemistry job, and grossly underpaid. Health innovation- that means nothing. Engineering innovation? A title for an engineer that they don’t know what to do with, but they need someone to do something sorta management, sorta logistics. And AI applications is about as vague as you can get- does the PP not think LACs have CS programs? Do they even know what they’re saying? If someone majored in “AI applications” their first job would be going to the SNAP benefits website and opening an application. These are ridiculously useless majors that no one has or needs.

But yes, op listen to this person if your daughter is considering a Turf Grass Management degree.

I had never heard of this major before (and even thought it might be listed above as a joke?) but sure enough I now know a kid heading to VT to major in Turf Grass Management. Interesting kid too.

[Anonymous]

She should Compare/contrast the coursework between CS and Computer Engineering at 2 or 3 colleges. She might prefer one or the other afterwards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She does NOT need a major!!! What she needs is a large university, not a small college, so that she can explore various pathways before settling into something she likes. She does not need to declare a major in most US institutions as a high school applicant. She will have to choose as a sophomore or junior.

she needs a story though....

Not if she's a recruited athlete.

[Anonymous]

English, Writing (creative as well as technical, journalism, or science focused). Library Science...which can also mean data science. These can all be tough roads, but playing to strengths and interests is important.

[Anonymous]

I started as an editor and now run a division of a major book publisher. You do not need a specific major to work in publishing; you need strong writing ability and basic office skills. My suggestion would be that she considers schools with a flexible curriculum to let her take a wide range of courses across hard sciences and humanities.

[Anonymous]

Writer with lots of publishing experience here.
There’s real opportunity in publishing for people who can write/edit in a literary way, and who also understand science and math at a deep level. I’d recommend a double major — STEM and something humanities — and during college have her try to connect as much as possible with editors and writers who cross the literature/STEM genre.

Have her check out books written by authors like Benjamin Labatut, Siddartha Mukherjee, Alan Lightman, James Gleick, Dava Sobel, Carlo Rovelli. And also read memoirs that were actually written (not ghost-written) by scientists or mathematicians— Lab Girl by Hope Jahren and Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer come to mind. Not math related but all might be models for how the literary and mathematical/scientific can intersect. And note that all will likely thank their agents and editorial team by name in the acknowledgements, so she can start building a list of potential contacts.

Short story: it’s not either/or. And fyi she wouldn’t have to major in English — anything humanities with a lot of writing would be great paired with STEM for this path. I’d recommend SLAC, but others might have different recommendations.

[Anonymous]

Tell her to marry a rich kid.

[Anonymous]

I think you should step back. It's her life, her major. If she picks something and it's not the right fit, she can change. Imbuing it with so much meaning just sends her the wrong message, like a tiny choice can lead to ruin or tragedy. The goal is for her to be empowered to do her own research and make her own choices, and to own them if it turns out that maybe something else would have been a better choice.

As parents we have this biological urge to provide for our children and ensure their survival, but dissuading your child from the major she wants to pursue doesn't qualify. All it does it does it tell her that she's not capable of making her own decisions and that every little thing she does is life or death.

[Anonymous]

This sounds like my dc. Also 11th, also an athlete being recruited. He just says ‘undecided’ but that he likes science and math. Done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What ECs does she have? What jobs? What research?

How competitive of school is she looking for?

She is an athlete (likely recruit), and all jobs related to that. No research.

Probably T100.

I haven’t read all the previous advice, but I’d encourage you to be VERY careful with the recruiting piece. Depending on her level, she may be hearing from coaches at small schools with a long list of majors but surprisingly limited options once she enrolls, especially given the team’s practice/training schedules. DD plays lacrosse, and we’re surprised by how many of her friends have committed to tiny schools at the lower end of the D1 list. These schools seem super-limiting on the academic side.

My advice is to look at larger schools, including non-flagship state schools. They’ll have more course offerings, more sections available (which might give her better options re scheduling around training), and more majors.

Also, have her review the team rosters of any school she’s considering. Look at the majors - is there a wide range or are they all Communications or Psychology or Sociology? How many STEM majors? Any with significant lab requirements? Any with a Humanities-related double major or minor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Writer with lots of publishing experience here.
There’s real opportunity in publishing for people who can write/edit in a literary way, and who also understand science and math at a deep level. I’d recommend a double major — STEM and something humanities — and during college have her try to connect as much as possible with editors and writers who cross the literature/STEM genre.

Have her check out books written by authors like Benjamin Labatut, Siddartha Mukherjee, Alan Lightman, James Gleick, Dava Sobel, Carlo Rovelli. And also read memoirs that were actually written (not ghost-written) by scientists or mathematicians— Lab Girl by Hope Jahren and Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer come to mind. Not math related but all might be models for how the literary and mathematical/scientific can intersect. And note that all will likely thank their agents and editorial team by name in the acknowledgements, so she can start building a list of potential contacts.

Short story: it’s not either/or. And fyi she wouldn’t have to major in English — anything humanities with a lot of writing would be great paired with STEM for this path. I’d recommend SLAC, but others might have different recommendations.

Great advice. I’d add Atul Gawande. He’s my favorite science writer by far. His books are all great, but I find his New Yorker articles to be exceptional. Truly brilliant and inspiring!

https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/atul-gawande

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:English, Writing (creative as well as technical, journalism, or science focused). Library Science...which can also mean data science. These can all be tough roads, but playing to strengths and interests is important.

omg, no

https://www.becomealibrarian.org/jobs/library-science-majors-face-high-unemployment-and-low-wages/

"Library Science majors have the fourth highest unemployment rate - 15.0%" or "Library Science graduates have the fifth lowest median income - $36,000". Yes, that does sound bad. High school drop outs average better numbers than that.