Need some advice for undergrad Forum

[jbagelboy]

I am taking some computer science, but only the essentials. Thanks for the feedback!

So, in summation:
Definitely bama, with majors in philosophy and poly sci, with maybe a minor in business?

Major in business, minor in Phil.

Don't major in Phil or Poli Sci whatever you do, the 2 most useless majors there are besides Art History and Classics.

Also, Bama football

Wrong

Sociology and any one of African-American/Latino/Asian-American/ect Studies majors are the most useless

Philosophy and to some extent Classics are still highly regarded in academia, and some employers will appreciate the analytic rigor (note for example that Mckinsey reps have claimed to like philosophy majors from top schools)

[20170322]

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[dr123]

Yea, I doubt philosophy majors at Bama (or UNC) are getting jobs at places like McKinsey.

[jbagelboy]

Why is philosophy known for being more "rigorous" than, say, history?

Its not

[jbagelboy]

Yea, I doubt philosophy majors at Bama (or UNC) are getting jobs at places like McKinsey.

True. I said top schools.

[dr123]

Yea, I doubt philosophy majors at Bama (or UNC) are getting jobs at places like McKinsey.

True. I said top schools.

Okay, well OP doesn't have the choice of going to a top school. Philosophy majors at Bama/UNC are probably Baristas.

[20170322]

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[jbagelboy]

You'd need graduate education for McKinsey regardless, right? And if I went into business, I'd get an MBA. No matter what, UG won't be my last level of education. Once again, another good argument for 'bama.

And Cornell is an option as well, but price is WAY too high to even consider.

Wouldn't Cornell give generous financial aid? Id think with your family contribution, you'd wind up with little to no debt. We didnt know about Cornell

And you dont need a graduate degree to work at bcg/mckinsey/ect. They only hire analysts with BAs from a small selection of 10-15 schools though

[20170322]

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[jbagelboy]

The problem is, I'd need to do ED at Cornell to get in, most likely. So I'd be locked in, regardless of how much financial aid I get.

Okay then Cornell is not an option if you havent gotten in

Im confused now. I thought Bama and UNC were real options at real prices not theoretical

ETA: and top private schools give need based financial aid to eliminate loans for undergrads, ED or not

[20170322]

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[jbagelboy]

Bama Scholarship is guaranteed, and UNC is a 99% chance of acceptance. Sorry, I'm posting a little early. I just wanted some feedback on the two choices.

Okay worry about this in march. You arent even graduated from high schools yet..

[20170322]

Alrighty. Last thing: is it too big of a risk to apply to Cornell ED, considering the financial situation?

[jbagelboy]

Alrighty. Last thing: is it too big of a risk to apply to Cornell ED, considering the financial situation?

Call and ask first, but Im sure their fin aid will be the same either way -- its based on your parents income and assets. Not like law school ED

Choose specific schools you like, and dont sell yourself short -- you never know what could come your way financially. College is not like LS, you need to find an environment that matches your personality and academic preferences, that also wont put you into debt.

[prezidentv8]

NC lover here, but... Roll tide. Easy choice.

[20170322]

Alright. Thanks, Bagelboy! I have to say, your posts on this site are among the most helpful and entertaining.

[arklaw13]

Why is philosophy known for being more "rigorous" than, say, history?

I think it depends on the program. At my school, a history major probably would have been more rigorous. As a philosophy major I didn't have any major writing requirement like a senior thesis to do, and I'm pretty sure all history majors had one. If you're going to a school with one of the top philosophy programs like Princeton or Harvard I imagine it would be much harder than a history major, though, because the writing requirements would probably be somewhat similar and the subject matter of philosophy is much more difficult to grasp, at least in my opinion. Philosophy, when taught properly, is extremely difficult. History involves much more memorization and regurgitation doesn't deal with as much abstract thinking as philosophy.

[RoaringMice]

The thing is, I'm doing these majors not for "pre-law" but because they are among the few the genuinely interest me. I read the Economist magazine cover to cover each week, read countless books on philosophy and history, and love being taught with the Socratic method. Meanwhile, I can rarely stay awake in math/science.

I could reasonably enjoy English and History majors in a similar way as poly sci and philosophy, but I feel that those are equally "useless."

If you want to be employable out of a philosophy major, one option is to do a lot of your philo coursework in logic, and minor in computer science. Do a CS internship. You'll have a shot at a job in CS, if you're good at the CS work.

You can also major in whatever you'd like, double major or even minor in something practical, gain career related experience on campus, do internships, and then at least be somewhat employable when you graduate. For example, you could major in history, do work related to curations for the galleries on campus, do 1-2 internships in curations for a museum, do curations work for a historical site near you, and then try to get a job in that field when you graduate (low pay, low demand, but there are jobs...) The key is to get as much career related experience as you can, whether that's in something related to your major, or not.

[20170322]

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[twenty]

If all you truly care about is maintaining the highest GPA you possibly can, I feel like your best course of action is to transfer in your AP work from high school and potentially take a few CLEP exams so you can reduce your semester courseload. It's far easier getting good grades in four classes/semester than it is in six classes/semester.

Alabama will let you transfer in APs and CLEPs for credit, UNC will only let you transfer in APs. If you don't have that much AP work to begin with, I'd seriously look at Alabama.

That said, Chapel Hill >>>>>>> Tuscaloosa.

[20170322]

Any other thoughts?

[arklaw13]

Bama. Grade inflation and Tide football.