Core for a humanities double-major

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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<p>In my past year of research, UChicago has been continually suggested as a "similar" school to many on my list (Swarthmore, Oberlin, Carleton, etc.). At first I ruled it out because it wasn't an LAC; but I have other non-LACs on the list--Yale and Rochester--so that is no longer a good reason. More recently, as I learned more about Chicago, I've always looked at it wistfully but turned away at the thought of TWO YEARS of required math/science courses. I currently attend a math/science high school with extensive math/sci requirements and decided inflexibility in hum/socsci reqs... the overall experience has been a great education (surprisingly, the English teachers are really good), but if I had a better alternative (I don't/didn't) I would not repeat it. So perhaps I am unfairly soured on the idea of TWO MORE YEARS of required science.</p>

<p>I also want to double-major in unrelated disciplines, as I will probably be an English major and my parents want me to have a more practical back-up. Chicago's core seems rather detrimental to that goal. The "practical" major looks like computer science at present-- would I have to take non-major math courses to satisfy the Core? </p>

<p>Thoughts from the cheering squad?</p>

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<p>Economic!!! Economic!!!</p>

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<p>From wha I hear, the Core is surprisingly flexible at Chicago, even more so than Columbia. There are math/science courses for humanities majors as well. Ever heard of “Physics for Poets”?</p>

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<p>^ I have indeed, but the physics part is scary. (Like I said in my paragraph on the Mich seminar. /OT) And more importantly, it seems like a waste of time… I’d rather kill myself with reading/writing by taking 5 hum courses. XD</p>

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<ol>
<li><p>You can place out of a lot of the math/science Core with AP scores. The part you can’t place out of (second quarter of bio, I think) can be surprisingly not bad. My son just took one of the courses that satisfies that – a bio topics seminar – as a pure elective, and really liked it. </p></li>
<li><p>Why do you talk about two years of science? Four quarters – 1/3 of a year – is all the Core itself requires, even with no AP credit, and if you are aggressive about it you can make some of those pretty un-sciency. (See the discussion a few weeks ago about some course on Exercise and Metabolism.) I won’t tell you that my other kid, the English major, adored her Core science courses, but she only really disliked one of them.</p></li>
<li><p>If you are majoring in Computer Science, though, you may have to take some of the math courses, or take what are essentially math courses taught in that department. You may also have to take either Chemistry and Physics (or place out of them) at the lowest level offered (the Core would let you do it at an even more elementary level, as not-really-chemistry-or-physics). The catalog is online – check out the CS requirements yourself.</p></li>
<li><p>Chicago absolutely IS similar to places like Swarthmore, Carleton, Rochester (which is really more of an LAC than a university at the undergraduate level), and, especially, Yale. The difference between Yale/Chicago and the others really boils down to having a lot more faculty and a lot more graduate students, and neither is a bad thing if you are an engaged, intellectual kid. Also, Chicago itself is a much more interesting place than Swarthmore (or Philadelphia, sorry to say, although Philly isn’t bad), Northfield (or the Twin Cities), Rochester, Oberlin (or Cleveland), or New Haven. I know a number of kids whose final choice came down to Chicago and one of the above.</p></li>
<li><p>Of course Chicago’s Core is “even more flexible” than Columbia’s utterly inflexible one. The Chicago Core is limited Chinese menu – 2 from Column A, 2 from Column B, with choices in each column. The Columbia Core is one-size-fits-all – four courses (in six units) that everyone has to take.</p></li>
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<ol>
<li><p>The only science AP I will graduate with is AP Computer Science (hopefully, if scheduling works out).</p></li>
<li><p>Can you elaborate on how to make those four quarters “un-sciency”? And link to the referenced discussion, please? I’m not a regular in the Chicago forum.</p></li>
<li><p>Chicago’s catalog is decidedly confusing. I saw that CS offered both BA and BS, and assumed that the BA would not involve science-major GEs. I was wrong: both kinds of CS majors are required to take two quarters of either chem or physics in addition to two quarters of math. The latter is doable, the former is not. So I’m looking at 2 quarters of “real” Chem (ugh) or a minor at most. Far from ideal.</p></li>
<li><p>While urban is actually a negative factor for me, I absolutely agree that Chicago>Philly. But I like Swat’s campus setting because it feels like the middle of nowhere (like I said, I’m an LAC girl at heart) but really isn’t (access to decent restaurants, internships). Sigh… if only I could have Chicago minus the strict science breadth, as I love the humanities offerings.</p></li>
<li><p>Columbia is absolutely, positively off my list (for multiple reasons, but mainly Core + NYC). Look how I can’t even stomach Chinese-menu Core.</p></li>
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<p>Thank you for the extensive information, JHS!</p>

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<p>The unsciency route through the Core: </p>

<p>There are a bunch of “Physical Science” courses that are decidedly for non-scientists (don’t meet any requirements for anything other than the Core). Some of them fit into the Physics for Poets (or Astrophysics for Poets) category; others sound like Talking About Climate Change At Cocktail Parties.</p>

<p>There are also three non-science paths through biology. One is Bio for Poets followed by a topics seminar, but the really egregious one is a sequence of Metabolism and Exercise and Metabolism and Nutrition. Apparently actual exercise and nutrition are involved. There’s also something like Talking About Evolution and Genetic Modification At Cocktail Parties.</p>

<p>Finally, there’s a four-quarter Natural Sciences sequence that people seem to like. It satisfies the entire Core science requirement, and seems to equip you to talk about almost any topic relevant to environmentalism at cocktail parties.</p>

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<p>I’m rather fond of environmental science, actually, although not any more fond than I am of math (which is to say, I don’t hate it like I do bio/chem/physics).</p>

<p>Now, if only the CS major didn’t require General Chem/Physics. :(</p>

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<p>Keil, if you can stand two quarters of physics, there are three different levels of it. The 12000 level is the least difficult and meets the physical sciences division requirement. S was able to get out of his physics requirement with his AP scores and got credit for all three quarters of the physics 12000 series.</p>

<p>Chem does not have such levels of differentiation.</p>

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<p>Physics… scares me. We will see how I feel after HS physics this coming year, but at this point I will probably just drop Chicago. The pros are great, but the cons keep adding up. (Another, non-academic con: I’d have to get another rec from a math/science teacher.)</p>

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<p>Course names can be deceiving. It would pay to carefully read the student evaluations and ask around. S1 who took a year of chemistry (summer at Harvard), a year of physics, and organic chemistry, decided he no longer was interested in the MD thing (after spending part of a summer shadowing doctors in a hospital and listening to his MD relatives), took Core Bio for non-science majors. He said it was by far the hardest science course he has had in college. He was so glad when it ended and that he escaped with a B. The topics course taken next was much better, taught by an MD, he enjoyed that and the A.</p>

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<p>Ugh, U of C is surrounded by parks and houses. Not as city as I’d like, but close.</p>

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<p>^^ I think different professors teach the same Core course, which can change difficulty.</p>

<p>Obstinate - Parks and houses are better! :smiley: Mac is in a residential district too, I believe.</p>

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<p>U of Chicago is such a great school, but the one thing I hate is its core curriculum. I think it would definitely still be possible for you to have a double major. Chicago is on the quarter system, so even though you’d be taking so many required courses, you would take a total of around 48 courses, not 32.</p>

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<p>^^ 42 credits required for graduation.</p>

<p>JHS: I’m positively amazed at your knowledge of this school.</p>

<p>OP: All told, I ended up taking 3 science/math classes for core. All 3 were rather fruity (as my best friend physics major would say) and interesting. My sibling went to a school without core but with distribution requirements, and also took 3 fruity science courses. Core for science and math is not something I’d stay up late worrying about. </p>

<p>I would agree with JHS that Chicago seems in the right vein for you. Yes, it’s in Chicago, but Hyde Park is not your typical urban neighborhood. It’s very residential-- trees, large mansions, low apartments and some high-rise apartments towards the lake. It’s probably a dramatic departure from a school in the middle of nowhere, but if you’re okay with Yale physically, you’ll be fine with Chicago.</p>

<p>And as for the major: the subject you study is nowhere near as important as the skill sets you acquire along the way. Take this from somebody in an “unemployable” major who has sought out and acquired a lot of unusual career opportunities. My intended career path has absolutely nothing to do with my major and a lot to do with the fact that I sought out opportunities where I thought, “Hm, this sounds interesting” and even, “Hm, I need some money.”</p>

<p>My advice would be to start building out your skill set early and to start talking to people in career fields (networking) early to figure out what other skill sets you can acquire. </p>

<p>By skills I not only mean learning software, programming, design, and things like that, but also how to work on a team project, how to lead others, how to organize an event, how to meet deadlines, how to work with authority, etc. Many of these experiences you can build simply by being a member of a campus group.</p>

<p>As a humanities major, you will learn a lot of skills that will transfer to the workforce in powerful ways: you will learn how to write well, how to solve a problem, how to argue based on evidence, how to analyze patterns through studying the power of words, pictures, and sounds. Doesn’t that sound like a job in the workforce to you?</p>

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<p>Yale’s campus is about as urban as I want to get; I visited Pitt and found it too urban. Good to know about the extent of Chicago’s urban-ness.</p>

<p>My current career plan is either to excel in the humanities and get a PHD at a top grad school on scholarship, or go for a master’s in library science. Or just see what opportunities come my way. But I have traditional immigrant Asian parents who believe that college is solely a means to a job… them accepting my English major was a feat.</p>

<p>The problem is: if I end up going to Chicago, I will be cutting myself off from the possibility of a CS major right from the start. Because I’ll be taking fruity science classes, not general chem or physics. Although I’ve been leaning further and further away from CS recently, I’m not certain I want to eliminate the option entirely.</p>

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<p>Keil, you can always take CS courses without declaring a major or minor. I’ll PM you about what my S is doing.</p>

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<p>^ I’ll look for your PM. However, the issue with CS is that I need a “credential” to satisfy my parents; my mom has expressed preliminary approval for just a minor, but I don’t know if I want to limit myself to only being able to get a minor.</p>