Divided Passions

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I just finished my sophomore year of high school. I am Hispanic, 3.9 GPA, and I am currently interning at the NIH. I really hope to be able to major in science at one of the Ivies, but I have a lot of Humanities coursework and not a lot of science/math. For example, I could probably do well on AP French, AP Japanese, and AP Spanish (already got a 5 on that one), but I don’t know if colleges will care about that if I say I like science. Also, I am in a humanities magnet program involving a lot of History and English classes, but I am also planning to take AP Chem, AP Bio, etc. I am just under the impression colleges do want well rounded students, but at the same time they want to see you focus on what you want to major in. A lot of my friends take for example AP Calc, AP Computer Sci… the classical STEM pathway. I can still change my schedule for next year, but I don’t think that is necessary.

AP World History
AP Art History
AP English Language
AP Chemistry
Anatomy and Physiology
Precalculus

APs taken

US Government 5
Psychology 5
Spanish 5

My school doesn’t offer AP Spanish Lit, and I could probably self study it, but again, would that help me in an application? I love both humanities and science.

2

Taking Spanish might not help you because you are Hispanic. If you took Chinese or French or German or Latin, that would have been better.

Don’t care about how colleges will perceive you. Just do what you like, and go above and beyond in that.

3

I said I could probably do well on AP French and AP Japanese. I have studied those two for a while now, but thanks for the advice.

4

You’re off to a great start. Just do what turns you on. The science/humanities combo is a great one, and I wouldn’t go overboard on the STEM side.

More and more, interdisciplinary programs are becoming commonplace. For example, Stanford has a joint major in English and Computer Science, and another in Music and Computer Science:

https://undergrad.stanford.edu/academic-planning/majors-minors/joint-majors-csx
https://english.stanford.edu/csenglish
https://music.stanford.edu/academic-programs/undergraduate/current-undergraduates/joint-major-program-csmusic

Penn has a joint major in Digital Media Design combining engineering, communications and fine arts:

http://cg.cis.upenn.edu/dmd_program.html

The also have dual-degree programs where you could combine business with science, engineering, or international studies. Your language background is also a huge plus, and I would take SAT IIs or APs to document proficiency if possible. All of that makes you look different, in a good way.

You shouldn’t do it to impress colleges, but you will look a lot more interesting going into science with a strong humanities background than just by just going the “classical STEM pathway”.

5

I had no idea about those. I will definitely look into them and continue taking exams. Thank you!

6

There are others. For example, UChicago has a program called the Arts, Science and Culture Initiative, aimed at fostering dialogue and collaboration between the arts and sciences:

https://arts.uchicago.edu/arts-science-culture-initiative

Even tech-oriented MIT understands the value of combining humanities/cultural studies with science:

http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2012/the-art-of-being-interdisciplinary

You could potentially write a provocative essay on this topic.