College Admissions Consulting Articles - One major can complement another

BY GERALD M. BRADSHAW

gerald_bradshaw@post.harvard.edu

Bradshaw College Consulting

(219) 663-3041


Dear Mr. Bradshaw:--


I read your last column about the stress students are under when they apply to college. I have another other issue: the stress of choosing a major.

I have a general idea that I want to study business or history, but no firm convictions either way. I may even decide on law school, but I want to wait until I am in college before I choose a career.

How important is it to decide on a major early on? My parents are worried that I might make the mistake of choosing a major that is unmarketable.

— Undecided

Dear Undecided:

— What is a marketable degree? The answer is in the eye of the beholder.

To choose history does not mean you are locked out of a business career. To choose business does not mean you must be a business person.

Either major will open doors to a whole range of career options. Law and medicine are attainable with either degree, as are other careers such as financial planner, teacher or the military.

Consider Chief Justice John Roberts of the U.S. Supreme Court as an example. He was a history major at Harvard College and went on to Harvard Law School. Roberts was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Law Review, so, clearly, the writing skills he learned as a history major helped prepare him for law school.

Roberts graduated from La Lumiere School near LaPorte, a small Catholic boarding college-preparatory high school.

Conor S. Tochilin, the newly selected editor of the Harvard Law Review and a second-year law student, has a similar background. He graduated from Westminster School, a small Christian high school in Atlanta.

Tochilin started as a math and philosophy major, switched to history after reading Adam Smith and Karl Marx, and finally decided to major in economics and philosophy.

These two examples show that students can end up at the same place, but take different approaches to choosing a major. Roberts remained focused on history as an undergraduate; Tochilin needed to experiment with several fields before making a decision.

My professional suggestion is to deviate slightly from Roberts and pick a major that requires some math.

If that approach is not for you, I suggest taking at least a core of applied math classes, including statistics.

Math will sharpen your critical-thinking skills while giving you an edge on the competition if you decide to go to graduate or professional school.

Students excel on the GRE, LSAT and GMAT if they have a strong background in math.


College Admissions Consulting Articles - One major can complement another

Take time choosing college major

Updated: July 29, 2011 8:26AM

Surprisingly enough, choosing a college major is something many students do as an afterthought.

Having reached their junior or senior years in high school, students generally want to major in areas where they got their highest grades. Teachers and counselors reinforce this idea by telling students and their parents that the son or daughter “is a natural mathematician” or has a “real gift for English.”

For those students with doubts about what college major to select, there is always a visit to the school guidance counselor. Counselors do their best to make sure that pupils meet the minimum requirements for admissions to a state college or university, but at many schools, the amount of time a counselor can spend with a student is severely limited.

In fact, at most public schools, the actual contact time a student can expect to spend with a counselor is less than an hour per year. This can be troubling if the school does not normally send students to top-ranked colleges and universities and students may find themselves at a huge disadvantage.

Leading universities have highly qualified applicants from which to choose and changes in admissions policy happen frequently at the most selective universities. In order to keep abreast of these changes students need to meet regularly with their high school counselors. It also helps if parents can be involved in at least some of these sessions.

Another area I find worrisome is the quality of advising that students receive on the link between careers and their choice of college majors. To students nervous about their future in the work world, the choice of a major is daunting. Many variables should be considered when making a career choice and the changing job market is the No. 1 concern. Sticking with subjects you know best is not always the wisest decision.

For example, a student strong in math and raised in a manufacturing culture might be tempted to major in engineering. In Indiana, 85 percent of the engineering majors are from blue-collar families.

Most have parents that are machinists or hold other technical positions in manufacturing. Few students realize that their math ability also might be put to good use in other fields such as economics and the social sciences.

Job opportunities may be more plentiful as we turn away from manufacturing and move toward a more service-oriented economy. Engineering wages have stagnated over the last few years, while financial services and investment banking have expanded. This trend is expected to continue.

I encourage students to take their time when choosing a college major and caution that high school and even college counselors are not always the best sources of information. Sticking with the familiar can stifle creativity and prevent them from learning about other fields of study that, in many cases, may be more suitable to their personalities. Diversifying high school course and extra-curricular activity selections is sometimes the best answer in helping students choose college majors and in readying them for satisfying careers.

Jerry Bradshaw: Take time choosing college major