<p>Thanks boysx3 and mom2three! It’s so mind-boggling but I actually have never thought of it that way before, the whole non-native with an Eng degree is more marketable angle. I TOTALLY AGREE! :)</p>
<p>My uni. is kind of a tough place to double-major, but it will not stop meeeeee!
I think they got rid of having minors years and years ago because (they thought) people would be compelled to do minors, which is probably true.</p>
<p>Meepo, do you want to say where you will be attending school?</p>
<p>no matter where you will be, i am sure that with your attitude you will thrive! And your parents will be very proud of you</p>
<p>I am very happy to say I will be going to Yale! :)</p>
<p>I don’t have spectacular stats, it’s just they get very very few applications from my poor third world country. And I know only because the admissions person came by this year and we had a chat.</p>
<p>Congratulations meepo! I’m sure you will be very successful in English Lit classes at Yale. Your English is strong, but more importantly your motivation is very high-that will make all the difference.
My daughter is also starting at Yale, so we were just looking at the distribution requirements. You can take 2 Lit classes for your Writing requirement, and 2 more for your Humanities requirement. Your parents will certainly understand that you must fulfill the distribution requirements! You can take one Lit class for each of the first four semesters, before you even declare your major.</p>
<p>Meepo: Two dear friends of mine studied American literature in the Soviet Union (while it was the Soviet Union) and left when the higher ed infrastructure fell apart. They ended up teaching American literature to Americans.</p>
<p>I can never quite get used to Dimitri thunderously orating American literature in his very Russian style in his very accented English in a classroom near me. It just sounds like Russian literature, but it isn’t. His students love him.</p>
<p>I have taught South Asian literature to a room full of Indian and Pakistani college students. It was scary, but I persevered, and I did know more about the literature than they did, and I meticulously researched the pronunciation of names.</p>
<p>Don’t worry. It will be fine if your parents don’t freak out too much.</p>
<p>Correct me if I’m wrong, but I was always under the impression that the English department at Yale was one of the best in the country. With that said, another argument that you can use is that you’re only trying to squeeze the most out of your education by taking classes in a renowned department. Furthermore, to put it in more pedestrian terms, you’re getting more for your tuition dollars by taking more classes and double majoring. That’s what convinced my parents to “let” me double major in bio and English!</p>
<p>Also, don’t let your anxieties about your background stop you from doing what you want. There will be people who have read more widely and are well versed in non-English lit. The ideas they have will be influenced by those experiences, but you have your own to draw on. When I took my first college lit class, there was someone in my class who was always going on and on about Lacan and the concept of “jouissance,” of which I had no knowledge. I was terrified, but I soon realized that that didn’t make me a weaker reader. </p>
<p>Congrats on your acceptance and good luck at Yale!</p>
<p>Tons of people have a “working knowledge” of a foreign language. Far fewer have completely mastered one. Tell your parents that whatever field you go into, you will be more valuable if you are completely fluent in English, and know enough about English literature to chat up business associates and their spouses at social events. You will be seen as much more of a well-rounded person if you can drop a Shakespeare reference now and then.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth (FWIW), one of my sons had an Asian girlfriend in an American boarding school. She went on to major in English Literature at Wellesley, then returned to her native country where she is an extremely succesful entrepreneur. Her fluency in English has been very useful.</p>
<p>You can always tell your parents, that an English major, especially at highly selective schools like Yale, offers excellent pre-law preparation. Students have to quickly read and analyze a great deal of complex written material, and write about it on a very high level, often under tight deadlines. I know several lawyers - including two Yale grads – who majored in literature as undergrads.</p>
<p>Major in what you love (English) and take the basic core classes in Economics. Then, if you feel you must, get your graduate degree in Economics. You do not always have to have an undergraduate degree in the same area as your intended graduate degree major. Or, since you are going to be at Yale, call the counseling department there and ask them how you can work things out. I’m pretty sure their counselors would love to help you figure out a solution. BTW, do you have to declare your major in your freshman year? If not, try both majors out and see what you like better. Good Luck!</p>
<p>meepo, you might be interested in reading this thread:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/660573-english-major-sensible.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/660573-english-major-sensible.html</a></p>
<p>You did not say what year you are in university; if you are in your first or second year, just work on your core/general ed campus wide requirements. Try a little of everything; if the time comes to declare a major and you still want to pursue English, you will have been given a chance to see many alternate options.</p>
<p>Who the hell is Virgil?</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure he was one of the cops on “Dukes of Hazzard”?</p>
<p>I thought he was a wizard or something.</p>
<p>Virgil (sometimes spelled Vergil) is a pre-Ninja Ninja</p>
<p>“Who the hell is Virgil?”</p>
<p>He was a really fine American League pitcher, and an uncle of one of the Allman Brothers.</p>
<p>[Virgil</a> Trucks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil_Trucks]Virgil”>Virgil Trucks - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>I don’t think a Bachelor’s in economics would be any more marketable than a Bachelor’s in English. Either way you have to go to grad school to make anything of it.</p>
<p>
This belief was what made my H object to my S’s majoring in econ. S had 3 job offers before he even graduated. Many grad school programs require work experience first anyway.</p>
<p>To the OP, I want to say that many, many students start out college convinced that they know what they want to major in, and change it - sometimes more than once - along the way. No need to take a hard line about anything yet.</p>
<p>I would also think that if your parents are worried that you will never come back home, let them know that English is an obvious skill to have to teach in the home country, and opens up the international business opportunities as well. And in order to survive in an American college as a foreigner, it helps to know the language very well and makes sense to take extra courses. (I think you already know the language well - I’m just pointing this out as something that might help your parents.)</p>
<p>Again, thanks for all the suggestions (and the virgil jokes, lol)</p>
<p>I’ll be a freshmen in the fall so I’m sure I would’ve changed my mind many many many times before I declare a major (end of 2nd year).
I’m sure the counseling people will be a big help once I get there. I was just curious, is all. I’ve just seen so many good insightful things come out of CC 
When I was applying to schools it was SUCH a big help</p>