I think all my high school teachers and most of my friends would have pegged me as an English major, but I never expected it myself. I came to Dartmouth thinking I would major in psych, get a PhD, and become a clinical psychologist something that's still not completely out of the question, but it now seems less appealing to me than scribbling stories or pushing paint around. Ultimately, I chose my major based on which subject would make for the least painful all-nighter. I settled on studio art and creative writing. I've pulled all-nighters for both, but I've found that being in the studio at 4 a.m. is surprisingly enjoyable and stories are much easier to write in the middle of the night than essays.
Nick Gottleib '10 said he declared a biology major so he could take Bio 12, "ostensibly for premed," and he proceeded to major in biology primarily because he'd already declared it. However, Gottleib added that he didn't particularly enjoy his bio major. Despite a few interesting classes the best of which, he noted, has been canceled for the future he took many large classes "filled with premeds that were really irritating."
Gottlieb went on to complete a math major as well. "I took one math class, Math 14, that was taught by a grad student and terrible," he said. "I then took [Math] 23, 24 and a few [computer science] classes for various other reasons and realized I was only three classes from the major. I figured, might as well finish it."
Declaring a minor to get preference in classes is something Dean's Office Student Consultant Jana Landon '11 has done herself, she said. Landon said she doesn't plan to finish her theatre minor, but has used it to take classes she wanted.
"There are ways to appease your parents and stay a little vocational while still pursuing what you want," she said, highlighting the benefits of double majors, minors and modified majors.
But a double major or an extra minor isn't necessary for getting a job, Landon says, adding that "no employer is going to put your application at the bottom of the pile if you didn't do a double major."
Kathryn Doughty, associate director of Career Services, offered similar advice. "If their motivation [to double major] is I think it will look good for an employer,' well, employers really don't care," she said.
Both Doughty and Landon advise students to take classes they enjoy, regardless of whether they lead to an official major or minor.
"You're really here to collect a range of experiences your major is just one element of the portfolio," Doughty said. "A major is meant to give you focus in your education but it doesn't define what you're going to do for a career, because you should be leaving Dartmouth with a versatility of skills."
I've frequently heard this sentiment, that what we are really learning at Dartmouth is how to live and juggle a slew of different commitments and relationships and interests.
"I think that if you polled a cross-section of people on this campus, they probably would be referring more to the out-of-classroom experience [as their Dartmouth experience]," Doughty said.
Landon gave me a streamlined to-do list for declaring a major: 1) choose a department, 2) e-mail the person in that department in charge of major cards to schedule a meeting and 3) bring major cards to the meeting. During that meeting, you will discuss a tentative course plan. The major card then goes to the registrar.
The Department of Undergraduate Advising and Research under the Dean of the Faculty Office distributed a pamphlet this year titled "The Sophomore Year" to sophomore Hinman boxes. The pamphlet primarily discussed how to navigate the major-selection process. I was surprised to find that the requirements for major advisors, as well as the person who is to sign the student's major card, vary wildly between departments. In the computer science department, for example, professor Devin Balkcom signs all major cards and advises all majors, while in the English department, students must ask a specific professor to advise them.
"It is the responsibility of the student to take this initiative," the pamphlet states. Any tenure-track faculty member (but preferably the advisor) may sign the English major card.
On the major card, you must indicate whether you will pursue a double major or a modified major. The student must then fill out a D-plan, including prerequisites for the major, major courses to be taken and a "culminating experience," which is usually taken during the student's senior year. The major card D-plan is non-binding, but it is intended to ensure that the student is actually able complete the major.
I asked Doughty when it is too late to switch a major, to which she replied that she once advised a student who changed her major her senior year. The average American students spends 5.5 years studying as an undergrad, so students who must take extra terms to accommodate a switch are not alone, Doughty said.
When I speculated that Dartmouth's standard of 4-year completion might have to do with its private school tuition, Doughty instead said that Dartmouth is a "very traditional school."
All students could benefit from the advice of DOSCs, despite many upperclassmen's assumptions that they already know the things that DOSCs could help them with, Landon said.
Doughty advocated utilizing Career Services, major advisors and the Dartmouth Career Network, which provides a directory of alumni who have agreed to serve as advisors to students and alumni interested in their career fields. You can access the directory from the Office of Alumni Relations web site, but you'll first have to set up an account.
Career Services, according to Doughty, offers students an opportunity to reflect on the content of their education, a skill useful both for selecting classes and in interviews with future employers. Articulating the connection between your major and real life can be essential to communicating an applicant's strengths, she said.
As for myself, I'm not quite sure where my creative writing or potential studio art major will take me. I've thought about journalism, publishing and teaching, but mostly I want to live in a farmhouse in England and write and paint. I laugh a lot about how close I'll be to starvation, but I've realized that picking a major based on passion is the right thing to do. As for real life, I'm pretty much screwed.
