<p>Hey CMU forum community! I was reading some stuff on the CMU website about general education and the liberal arts education offered by CMU's H&SS (my desired school within CMU - I'm still a junior, CMU is just my "dream" school after research) and I'm slightly confused. A quick definition of liberal arts from Wikipedia - "The contemporary liberal arts comprise studying literature, languages, philosophy, history, mathematics, and science." I looked up H&SS's gened requirements also, but I'm confused. Does this mean I would have to take a class in each of those categories if I get admitted to H&SS? My desired major is in economics or psychology (tentative). More specifically, If I majored in economics/psychology - not economics and mathematics/statistics - would I still have to take a math class? If so, how many? I am taking AP Calculus AB my senior year, and I'm expecting a 4. Maybe that will waive the math requirement...probably not. Assuming there is a math requirement, of course. Also, to fulfill the science requirement, are there classes I HAVE to take? For example, I'd prefer biology over chemistry, but would I have to take both/have to take chemistry? </p>
<p>This is all assuming I'll get in, and I don't know if I will with my lackluster GPA. But the understanding of liberal arts/general education would probably be useful to me regardless! Sorry if I'm incoherent throughout my rant above. It's past midnight, and I was all over the place when I was writing this post. Anyway, I hope I get in and thanks for any advice/knowledge you can provide! Go Tartans!</p>
<p>economics is a field of study rooted in math. If you’re math averse you should take psychology. Even then you’ll probably have to take one or two classes. That’s just the way it works… even with a handful of 5’s i still had to take a philosophy class as a CS major</p>
<p>Not sure how CMU is your dream school if you hate math?
This is a technical school – even HSS majors have a technical slant in their approach to psych, poli-sci and philosophy.</p>
<p>You need to explore the econ curriculum-- econ anywhere, and certainly at CMU is math based.</p>
<p>Other than a drama, writing or art major-- you would be taking math classes (and not feeling they are gross) if you were at CMU.</p>
<p>@mom2012and14 - The academic reputation of CMU, the plaid, and the Pittsburgh area all attribute to why I consider CMU my dream school. Granted, I’ve started researching colleges recently, so I don’t really have a clear picture of that many colleges. I visited CMU over spring break, and I really liked the surrounding neighborhood and feel of the area as well. </p>
<p>As far as exploring the econ curriculum, I’ve looked into it a bit but if you read my post, it says tentative. The only real knowledge I have of economics comes from my sophomore year AP Microeconomics class - while we did do some math, the level of the math performed in the class wasn’t difficult at all. I ended up with an A+ in the class. Maybe AP Macroeconomics (taking it senior year) will be more math intensive? I don’t know. I can tolerate math to some degree, but I was wondering if I would be exposed to as much math as I am in high school at the same difficulty. </p>
<p>I’m considering psychology and economics as potential majors right now, and I wanted to know how heavy my exposure to math would be in these majors. If I have to take math classes, so be it. But how often would I have to take math classes/how difficult will they be? For example, if I were to follow the psychology path, would I have to take a Calculus class? </p>
<p>@all - Also, I realize that this might have offended people who genuinely enjoy math and its related disciplines - that was not my original intention, and I sincerely apologize to all offended. Math is just not my forte, and I wanted to know how much upper level math I would exposed to if I were to pursue a certain major. I’m not even sure if I’ll get accepted into CMU with my subpar GPA, I just wanted to inquire and do my research. Again, my apologies.</p>
<p>Calculus is only one sub-field and a small one in mathematics.</p>
<p>An economic major needs to learn statistics, econometrics and applied math-- a grounding in calculus is essential – especially if you’re considering working in the field where you’ll be reading journals and the like.</p>
<p>Mathematics in high school is nothing like it is in college.<br>
So don’t let your experience create a bias against enjoyment of math classes in the future.</p>
<p>You cannot study economics without mathematics. Impossible.
You can be a clinical psychologist I suppose without math- -but you cannot earn an advanced degree without additional mathematics in your undergraduate and graduate training.</p>
<p>BTW-- you’ll be needing 5s on most AP exams for credit at CMU .</p>
<p>Economics at CMU is extremely math heavy - do not underestimate this fact. AP Econ uses very little math in comparison with virtually any college econ program, and CMU econ in particular uses a ton of math. You will have to take 3 calculus classes for econ, and they will not be particularly easy. As previously mentioned, you will also have to take other classes. I know this sounds blunt, but if you struggle with/don’t enjoy math, I’m not sure econ at CMU is right for you. I know a number of people who have changed their minds about pursuing an econ major after realizing just how math intensive it is here. </p>
<p>Psychology, on the other hand, will require far less math than econ, especially at CMU. Will probably be heavier on the statistics side of things, which I’m guessing you might enjoy more.</p>
<p>@mom2012and14 and CaliforniaDancer - I sincerely appreciate your informative responses – I’m now aware that economics as a major in college is much more math extensive than I had originally anticipated. I’m glad this was brought to my attention before I selected that major rather than after. </p>
<p>@mom2012and14 - “Mathematics in high school is nothing like it is in college.” In your opinion, what is the primary difference between the two? As for enjoyment, there are some math classes that I genuinely enjoyed, but I needed to invest more time to keep up in them. With the academic rigor of CMU that I’ve been hearing about, I want to take a realistic approach to college and not fall behind because of an improper selection of a major. That said, I’m still interested in economics, and I will talk to my current math teacher and former AP Micro teacher, and see what they have to say about it. But as of right now, I think I’m leaning more towards psychology – based on what you’ve told me, I think psychology at CMU would be a better fit for my skill set. Again, I’m not even sure if I’ll get in at CMU but I’m hoping for the best. At the very least, I know more about collegiate economics as a result of this thread. </p>
<p>@CaliforniaDancer - Thanks for the heads up! Taking 3 calculus classes does indeed sound intimidating. As mentioned earlier, I didn’t know economics was so math intensive - my only exposure to it was in the form of a high school class. Psychology is starting to appear more and more appealing, but economics is still under consideration. Thanks so much!</p>
<p>I think it’s great you’re doing your homework, and as long as you’re listening i’ll go ahead and make a shameless pitch. (Don’t worry, I know you’re not trying to offend math types --and i’m not offended!-- so no need to apologize about anything)</p>
<p>Yes econ will require more math. Yes that will make it harder. However, if you do indeed think you might like some math, even just the slightest bit, I would encourage you to consider sticking with it. Obviously you shouldn’t torture yourself, much less pay 50k a year to do it. However, I’m going to be blunt and argue that a degree in econ will be far more useful than a degree in psychology.</p>
<p>Math is a transferable skill that will provide you with more flexibility and more opportunities post graduation than anything you could possibly learn in psychology. I would implore you as you consider which major to pursue to also consider what you want to do after college. I’d bet that if I asked you today what you wanted to do for the rest of your life, or even for the next 5-10 years (4 years from now), you’d have no idea. That’s perfectly fine, but realize that if you acquire a broad base of skills you will keep more doors open and when something really does strike your interest you’ll have the tools necessary to chase after it.</p>
<p>I second mom2012and14 in that math in college is very different than math in high school. As an example, I left high school pretty confident in my math skills, came to college as a CS major, took the introduction mathematics course and walked out believing that I knew absolutely nothing about math. </p>
<p>That being said, none of what we said is meant to scare you but to show you the leap between college and highschool and that it’s not easy. If you are willing to put in the work, you will be fine. Just don’t come here, thinking that one major is going to be easier than another and when it starts getting hard, you switch majors. Every major in CMU, heck, in college will be difficult at times and a big part of growing is learning how to buckle down and just do it. </p>
<p>Of course, if you absolutely hate your major, that’s a different story. But as long as you love what you’re doing, the difficulty is easily overcome by due diligence and hard work.</p>