<p>Everyone's always talking about how they're getting into these engineering degrees or premed or something that everyone's heard of. Anyone out there majoring in geology next year? </p>
<p>If so, where are you going and how much do you think having a relatively "obscure" major helped in the admissions process?</p>
<p>I’d hazard a guess that a good portion of the high school class of 2018 has no idea what they’re majoring in yet. </p>
<p>Geology isn’t really that ‘obscure’ of a major. Sure, there are more people doing engineering and pre-med and such, but there are plenty of geology majors out there too.</p>
<p>Well I’m talking in relative terms of obscurity in terms of more common pursuits like pre med or something. I just wanna hear back from anyone (if any) that’s in a similar situation as me.</p>
<p>Geology isn’t a major that many people start as a freshman. At almost all schools, with the possible exceptions of CSM, NMIT, University of Vermont, and maybe some others that I’m not thinking of, it’s something most people stumble into after getting “turned on” by an intro geology class (at least this is the case at schools ranging from the University of Oklahoma to UC Berkeley to Cal Tech).</p>
<p>I’d also question how much simply declaring a relatively uncommon major helps in admission. It seems to me that an applicant should have at least shown some involvement with geology prior to applying to colleges, in which case the question arises, was it the major declaration that helped, the simple involvement in the EC, or a combination of both? Regardless, many students who do intend to major in geo sciences come in with a poor understanding of what geology actually is. People don’t realize that so much of the geosciences involves micro-analysis rather than simply hiking and looking at mountains. As a result, many people who were geology majors drop after getting exposed to their first “real” geology course, mineralogy/structural/ geochem. Calculus also has a weedout effect since most freshmen don’t realize just how much math a geology degree requires.</p>
<p>Geology major here! You’re choosing a pretty awesome major. My school has a good amount of field work associated with most classes, which is honestly my favorite part about the major.</p>
<p>How your choice of major will affect your chances depends on the university. Some schools don’t look at major at all; others have separate admission committees based on major.</p>
<p>whenhen has a good point about many students not understanding exactly what Geology is. However, I wouldn’t change your major if you’re not fond of one specific class. I personally don’t enjoy optical mineralogy, but I love structural geology, environmental geology, sedimentology, paleontology, paleoclimatology, etc.</p>
<p>If you have any questions let me know!</p>
<p>The same thing can be said about a lot of majors though. A lot of people read books like Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” or Hawking’s “Brief History of Time” and decide that physics would be an amazing field to major in. Then they get there, and realize that it’s not all about black holes, timewarps, dark matter etc. </p>
<p>A big part of transfer admissions is dependent on whether or not there is even room in the department. If a schools geology department is full to capacity, the odds of being accepted as a geology major aren’t good. If they have a bunch of vacant seats due to students transferring out and such, the odds of being accepted as a geology major are much greater.</p>
<p>Well yeah, but I think geology is one of those fields where most incoming students have a particularly poor understanding of the major. Most prospective physics students had some exposure to physics in high school. The same cannot be said for freshmen geology majors who typically come to college with only the most minimal exposure to the field. I think most admissions officers are aware that students with only the vaguest knowledge of what geology actually involves are likely to switch fields and as a result don’t place much emphasis on assumed major unless the student shows s/he has a decent enough exposure to the field. </p>
<p>Transfer admissions are a different story. Fortunately for geology transfer students, there are very few departments in the country which are even close to capacity, meaning that admission to the geosciences is generally easier than say, engineering. </p>
<p>For the record, I’m a geology major who loves the field.</p>
<p>Well, personally, I’m a physics major who never took physics in high school. I’ve read all of the popular science type physics books, and although they are a big part of what made me initially get interested in physics, I also realized ahead of time that actually studying physics formally wasn’t like taking a journey through a Stephen Hawking book. I know a lot of physics majors that never actually had any exposure to it in high school. Honestly, most of the physics majors I know are people that finished high school, and took a long break between high school and college. I’m one of them.</p>
<p>I’m sure you’re correct about admissions concerning geology departments though. It’s far less common of a major than many others. I still don’t know that I’d go so far as to call it an ‘obscure’ major though, and I don’t really know that being a declared geology major would give anyone an edge in admissions. That’s likely to depend on the school though.</p>
<p>I’m a physics major who took a geology class and became hooked if that counts. You have chosen an awesome major my friend… Unfortunately, I can only minor ;)</p>
<p>Well I think I can handle the intro math and science classes. I’ve got a couple STEM APs under my belt so I might get out of some. I also have done some of extracurricular related to it and I really like it.</p>
<p>I just have on question for those who are majoring…are there alot of people in your geology major at your school? Is it easy to get “connections” with employers/internships/any other related interests?</p>
<p>It depends on the subset of geology and where you’re located. If you’re studying geophyiscs, have a heavy petroleum geology focus, or are involved in hydrological geology work, you can pretty much write your own ticket after college. Other geology degrees often require a masters to do anything interesting. Generally, geology is one of the smallest science departments out there. Except for one class which I’ll take with petroleum engineers, all of my geology classes at a big university have fewer than 30 people in them. </p>
<p>IMO geology is one of the tightest nit fields of study since all students must go on numerous field trips, take a 6+ week long field course, and study long hours together. The virtually unlimited beer certainly doesn’t hurt either. </p>
<p>If you try to establish connections, look for area employers, and aren’t opposed to working in remote places (there’s a good chance I’ll be in North Dakota this summer), you’ll be able to find a job. It helps if you’re in a major mining/ oil extracting area although this isn’t necessary.</p>
<p>Would you consider an area like california one of those “hotspots”? If not, where would the best employment potential be?</p>
<p>I can’t speak for CA as I only know three geophysics students in the state (one is actually at JeSuis’ school), and geophysics is a very different degree than geology. IMO if you get certified in some aspect of GIS, you’ll have an excellent chance of landing a well paying gig. Wyoming, North Dakota, Texas, and Montana have a ton of petro jobs although these are usually in very remote, high COL areas. When you start college, you should talk to your professors or other students. Generally, they’ll know who’s doing the hiring and in what fields. Keep in mind that you don’t have to go to a school in the state to get a job there. I’ve met geologists from places as varied as Purdue, Alberta, Columbia, and UCLA in Oklahoma City, and I’m sure this is not atypical.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your answers whenhen! I really appreciate it! </p>
<p>Another question for ya…how easy was it to get an internship? Could you get one as fast as the summer after your freshman year?</p>
<p>I got the interview through connections I made at school. My university has an unusually large percentage of children of those in the oil industry, so my results may not be applicable to say, the University of Central Florida. Get GIS certified and your chances increase. Most relevant internships want students to have completed field camp or some sort of rigorous hands on training.</p>
<p>nice! Do you take classes to get GIS certified as part of the required coursework for the major or do you have to do it outside of school?</p>