<p>i am really interested in philosophy but have received numerous objection from my parents. Help me come up with some concrete evidence to prove them wrong.
Can I major in philosophy as well as another field (say economics) at Harvard? What about other ivies?</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Harvard doesn’t really do double majors where you earn two separate, complete bachelors degrees in different concentrations. But they do have joint concentrations where you study two subjects together. Your senior thesis would likely have to be a blend of both fields.</p>
<p>Solution: Don’t go to Harvard. Go somewhere where you CAN double major. A philosophy major will do you no good so you really should double major or pick a similar major that has decent job opportunities.</p>
<p>Why a school where you pay a total of 200k to go to school and is ranked as the number 1 school in the country some years does not allow you to double major in 2 different schools is beyond me.</p>
<p>I want to study philosophy too, but my parents threatened to not pay for my tuition. I’m thinking now of just minoring in philosophy.</p>
<p>I would not say that a double major between philosophy and economics would be impossible, especially if one concentrated on moral/political philosophy in one’s senior thesis. One of the most prominent economists at Harvard, Amartaya Sen, is both a philosopher and an economist.</p>
<p>If I’m not mistaken, you can double (or triple, even!) concentrate at Harvard. At least that’s what my regional adcom said. You cannot do this at Princeton due to the senior thesis requirement, but you can do this at Yale, which has no minors.</p>
<p>I know how you feel. I’m in the same dilemma. </p>
<p>My thoughts: Philosophy as a career? Tough. Definitely tough. Basically your only option is to go on to grad school in philosophy (or other humanities) and then teach. Which is not the best way to get rid of 200k in debt.</p>
<p>Philosophy as a major, however? Totally viable. I’ve read (don’t remember where, sorry) that after the sciences, philosophy majors are the most represented in med school, and do the best on the MCAT, LSAT, GRE etc. (Obviously one would have to take pre-med courses as well) Also, philosophy can be great if you want to go to law school. (In fact I know a Harvard grad who studied philosophy and then went on to Yale Law School - her degree was far from “useless”.)</p>
<p>So Harvard offers dual concentration?</p>
<p>^^It offers joint concentrations, which is not quite the same thing as a double concentration. You can’t earn two separate bachelors degrees in different majors, but Harvard will often let you customize your education into a blended concentration - a joint concentration.</p>
<p>So what’s wrong with majoring in Philosophy? Learning to think critically, combine input from different sources, and arrive at new understandings is a big part of why students go to schools like Harvard. Do your parents want you to seek a bachelor’s degree that leads in a direct line to an entry-level position in a field such as accounting or nursing or architecture? Do your parents understand that neither Harvard nor most of the Ivies offer those kinds of pre-professional degrees?</p>
<p>yeah… I reckon it may due to my family’s financial background; it is like the lower half of the lowest income bracket. My parents wouldn’t want me to major in something impractical. But I maybe just the kind of personal that my parents don’t really want me to be; I believe that I am quite theoretical and abstract and can hardly fit into the crorwds where my peers are all talking about Gossip Girls. So I am quite stuck. Maybe a joint concentration is good for me as long as I can get in with full scholarships.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>In my opinion, extremely, extremely false. </p>
<p>Philosophy majors are highly desirable by many, many employers. The skills required to graduate with a good GPA as a Philosophy major are much more impressive than those required to graduate with say a BBA: attention to detail, critical thinking, analytical logic, expressive writing, etc. </p>
<p>At my school (another Ivy), an upperclassman in the Philosophy department beat out many of the Econ kids for a very prestigious quant job at Goldman Sachs next year. </p>
<p>So far in my college experience, I’ve met the smartest students in my Philosophy classes. Not surprisingly, many of them seem to be the most successful. I’ve seen them go to the best Law and Business schools, and get exceptional jobs out of UG in journalism, management, computer science, finance, and government. </p>
<p>I could not find it, but I remember a link on this board showing that Philosophy majors were somewhere in the Top 5 of the desired majors by GS, ahead of Business Administration which was #7. </p>
<p>Not to mention, a degree from Harvard will open up enough doors for you.</p>
<p>My former doctor – who now is on faculty at a medical school - was a philosophy major in college.</p>
<p>I also know lawyers who were philosophy majors.</p>
<p>The critical thinking and ethics one learns as a philosophy major can serve one well in any profession.</p>
<p>And how would your parents know what you decide to major in anyway? It’s not like Harvard would tell them. You don’t start taking mainly classes in your major until about junior year anyway. Also, if you’re like most college students, you’ll change majors at least twice while you’re in college.</p>
<p>I think philosophy is a very intriguing major, IMO. If you have a passion for that particular subject, go for it!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>An elegant solution, Northstarmom - I like it! :)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Happy, if you’re considering applying to Harvard, you’re strong enough academically that you’re probably not going to stop at a bachelor’s degree. A “practical” degree by your parents’ definition, might be a pretty safe path to an entry-level job a particular field. But eventually, many accountants, engineers, etc. end up reporting to bosses with liberal arts backgrounds in addition to technical skills. Their liberal arts-related abilities to communicate to and interact with people beyond their fields, to critically evaluate information and to make reasoned judgments are what prepare them for leadership. And if they graduate and decide that, like most Americans, they’d not be happy spending a lifetime doing only what they decided to study at age 19, they’re positioned for career flexibility as well as leadership. </p>
<p>If you choose to major in Philosophy you work at becoming a proficient user, producer, and communicator of knowledge. And then, I presume you’ll go to a graduate or professional school where those skills will be especially valuable and your degree from a selective school will encourage others to take you and your viewpoints seriously. That’s as “practical” an approach as you could find! My parents, both of whom grew up during the Great Depression, wouldn’t understand that approach either. But professional leadership based upon a broad liberal arts background has been the story of my career and the story of most of the top professionals with whom I work.</p>
<p>I don’t understand this narrow thinking. Unless you plan to have your BA as your terminal degree, it does not matter in the least what your major is. Even if a BA is terminal, the world has shifted; your “practical” major may prove to be very impractical indeed. When I declared as a philosophy major, I assumed that I would end up going to grad school and becoming a professor. When I learned in my senior year of college that philosophy professors have little say about where they actually live (due to a job shortage), I decided, over a weekend, to go to law school instead. I attended a top five law school, and have never looked back, except to express thanks that for 3-1/2 years of college, I never wasted a moment worrying about the practicality of my major or my career.</p>
<p>But could majoring in something other than philosophy better your chances at getting into a good graduate school?</p>
<p>For example, wouldn’t majoring in something like molecular biology help more than majoring in philosophy in terms of scoring well on the MCAT/gaining admission to a good medical school?</p>
<p>I ask because I’m in a similar predicament – absolutely fascinated by philosophy, but somewhat disillusioned because it’s seemingly not as helpful as some other majors for graduate school admissions.</p>
<p>What year in college are you? How do you know you want to go to medical school? If you are lumping med school with “graduate school,” you have miles to go before making this sort of decision. In any event, “pre-med” is a collection of courses, not a major. Med schools love philosophy (and art history) majors. All y’all should major in your primary interest, after taking a college course (or two or three) in that subject matter.</p>
<p>If you’re late high school/early college, aren’t you tired of gaming admissions, based on your undergraduate admissions experience? Why not take a break for a while?</p>
<p>I’m not sure I want to go to med school – that was just an example. I’m actually a high school senior right now.</p>
<p>And while, yes, I am quite tired of worrying about college admissions, I simply can’t discount the fact that I will most likely apply to graduate school in 4 years. </p>
<p>And my question was simply hypothetical – I don’t know that I personally won’t major in philosophy, but I’m just asking whether majoring in something like philosophy or art history would work to the detriment of someone aspiring for prestigious graduate schools/medical schools/law schools that require high LSATs or MCATs. I mean, sure med schools may “love philosophy majors”, but it seems to me that a Bio major would have an easier time with the MCAT.</p>
<p>My D has been hearing this from everyone, especially relatives…and, frankly, including me. </p>
<p>BUT…as has been said, know that it’s a great pre law major, and of course you can always teach (need to go beyond your bachelors though). I asked my D to add another “minor”, don’t care what it is (music, phych, physics)…just something. Because, let’s play the odds. Most kids are apt to change minors anyway, and then most don’t work in either field after graduating these days either (with the exceptions of the professional careers such as law, medicine, accounting, engineering, etc.). </p>
<p>There are a LOT of majors, and many of them seem a LOT more “useless” than philosophy! If it’s the one thing you want to do - then do it (provided your parents, if they’re paying the bill, allow it).</p>