Dear Babs: Can I search for colleges without a major?
Dear Babs,
I’m kind of weird. I have many interests, including premed, literature, classics, mathematics and history. How will this affect my college search? Will I be penalized for having no specialty? Can I find a school that will let me take a little bit of everything, or do I have to pick a steadfast major?
—Major Pain
Dear Major Pain,
Actually, I think it’s great that you have so many interests; it makes you a well-rounded individual. You are the brass ring for any college admissions team. College admissions offices are often looking for people just like you who don’t fit easily into one box. Congratulations!
However, just because a college wants you, doesn’t mean you have to want it back. As you search for college, try to find some schools that allow you to play with and express your varied interests. Traditionally, schools ask you to pick your major in your sophomore or junior year. For the remainder of the degree, you will take most of your courses in that field, although most schools still allow for some electives (courses that are not required by your program). Many schools now offer a double major, or a major and a minor, for students who want to specialize in two fields. Still, if you feel like two is too few, maybe a holistic curriculum is more for you.
A holistic curriculum acknowledges that many subjects, and indeed, many fields, require a person to possess knowledge from multiple disciplines. That is why some colleges are starting to allow more interdisciplinary courses of study. Hampshire College does not do traditional majors, but instead asks you to pick a general field of interest. You can design your own program around several disciplines.
Another good option might be a “Great Books” curriculum. St. John’s College (with campuses in both Annapolis, Md., and Santa Fe, N.M.) offers a four-year bachelor’s degree centered on a list of “great books.” These books are classics from a variety of subjects, from physics to psychology, classics to modern poetry. By requiring you to read the classics in human thought for the past few centuries, these colleges hope you will become an all-around intellectual and human being.
These suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg. Try searching for college information on interdisciplinary programs. You may be surprised by which schools are the perfect match for your wide-ranging tastes.
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Dear Babs appears every Thursday on The Eagle's Nest
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