Political Science/Business + Foreign Languages

College Majors
1

<p>I'm SO lost in my college search right now. I have no idea where to go and as soon as I find more information out, everything becomes more confusing. What I do know:</p>

<p>I want to triple major. My choices are:</p>

<p>Political Science (IR) - Chinese - Spanish
Political Science (IR) - Chinese - French
Business (Marketing) - Chinese - Spanish
Business (Marketing) - Chinese - French</p>

<p>However, at the moment, I'm wondering if majoring in Political Science, Chinese, French, and minoring in Spanish is possible. I love Spanish, and am nearly fluent. I'm in honors French classes at my high school and understand it fairly well. Chinese will be new to me, but I love the culture and have been interested in learning the language for a long time. I think the application of the languages into IR and business is significant. I think the most practical languages for both, though, is Chinese and French.</p>

<p>And then I have no idea which colleges are strong in languages, political science, and business. The college search has me completely lost, partly because my parents don't really want to pay more than 25,000 a year, but we don't qualify for any "need". So I'd have to get a lot of scholarships.</p>

<p>Any help would be appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Triple majoring is pretty difficult. It would be easier if you entered college with a significant amount of AP credit that satisfied the school’s general education requirements. (Keep in mind that many of the more selective schools might not accept AP credits or require a score of 4 or 5; less selective schools or public universities might accept a score of 3.) And, of course, it would be easier still if the school has relatively few gen ed requirements. If business is one of your majors is business, that also might make it more difficult to triple major since be doing a major in the business school and your other majors in the college of arts & sciences: Consider that a business major requires a core in general business plus the requirements for a specific subfield of business. Combine this with the gen ed requirements in a college of arts & sciences plus the requirements for the majors in that schools and you can appreciate the difficulty of meeting all these requirements. Now, to add to this difficulty, consider that you should try to do at least one internship (for business, and possibly for IR) and also study abroad for a year (for language proficiency).</p>

<p>Having mentioned those considerations, it’s not entirely outside the realm of possibility to study all the fields you mentioned. So here are some other things to consider:
-While you can study the subfield of international relations as part of a political science major, you should be looking at interdisciplinary majors in international relations. (These go by different names at different schools: IR, global studies, international studies, etc.) Many IR programs require you to choose a thematic or regional specialty track. At some schools, the choice of thematic specialty tracks include one in international business. Among the choices for regional tracks are Asian studies or East Asian studies. The IR programs at some schools require you to choose both a thematic specialty track and a regional specialty track.
-If you don’t do a regional specialty track as part of an iR program, you might be able to do an area studies program as a separate major or minor. I would suggest doing an East Asian studies program (which would include language courses) instead of a Chinese major.
-It is not necessary to do a formal major or minor in a language; you can just take courses in it.
-You mentioned that you wanted to do marketing as your business major. That’s fine, but if you should decide to do international business too, keep in mind that some business schools will only let you co-major in international business, i.e., you must combine it with a major in another business specialty (e.g., accounting, finance, management, or marketing).
-Chinese and French are not necessarily the most practical languages for business and IR. It depends on whether or not you have a regional interest in Latin America, of course, and then Spanish (and Portuguese) will be the most practical. China might be a rising power, but so is Brazil, and, of course, Spanish America continues to be important for many reasons. If you wanted to a formal major or minor in Spanish, I would recommend an interdisciplinary program in Latin American studies instead.
-Instead of business, you might consider a major in economics since you would have fewer requirements than you would with a business major and it could have employment prospects as good as business.
-You could always do a grad program in business or IR later, though this would require additional time/cost.
-At some schools (especially public universities), you might have to apply for admission to a specific constituent college, e.g., business or arts & sciences. If admitted to arts & sciences, it is not always easy to do a major in the business school.
-Ultimately, it will come down to which school is the best fit for you (including what schools will admit you and what schools you can afford). You will then work out the best combination of majors/minors that is feasible within the structure of the school you choose.</p>

<p>So, if I haven’t confused you too much, back to your original groupings of possible majors:
You can probably do a double major or a major plus 2 minors or a major plus study (without a formal major or minor) of 2 languages.</p>

<p>There are many schools that are strong in all of your stated areas of interest. It would be difficult to suggest specific schools without knowing your stats. and your preferences in terms of location (rural/urban/suburban and region), size, etc. Also, for financial reasons, one of your choices probably should be your flagship public university. You didn’t mention which in which state you reside. When you say that your parents don’t want to pay more than $25K, does this mean that they are able to pay $25K out-of-pocket per year, or does it mean that the total cost (after including loans, scholarships, etc.) cannot exceed $25K/year. What are your prospects for scholarships or other merit aid?</p>

3

<p>Thank you so much for your post! I did get a bit confused, but I absorbed most of what you said.</p>

<p>It looks like I’m going to graduate in the top 3% of my class of 535. Weighted, a GPA of like 4.3. Unweighted, a GPA of 3.95ish. I live in Iowa. There are three flagships here. University of Iowa, Iowa State, and University of Northern Iowa. University of Northern Iowa does not offer Chinese courses at all (which is too bad!), and I’m just not sure how the other schools are on their flexibility. </p>

<p>As far as going to my flagships, I will only have to take one gen ed course! :slight_smile: I’ve got a lot of college credit and AP classes. And I could go to them free/almost free. </p>

<p>Personally, I’m just concerned what global jobs I would be able to find if I went to an Iowa school. Realistically, I think the University of Iowa would be my best choice for IR and languages, I’m just not sure if they allow double/triple majoring. If they do, that’d be great! If the University of Northern Iowa offered Chinese courses, I would go there for sure, though.</p>

<p>My concern with minoring in a language is that I won’t have full control over it. If I went into the UN with only a minor in French and was expected to be able to communicate fluently with others, I’d be very nervous. The way my school sets it up, I only have to take a few more Spanish/French classes to get a Spanish/French minor in college (like 2 or 3 I think).</p>

<p>Tricky stuff.</p>

4

<p>OK, like I said, you should focus on identifying schools that are the best fit for you in terms of academics, finances, and, social environment and other preferences. You might or you might not be able to easily do three majors, but realistically, there probably will be some trade-offs in that regard since you’ll have to work within the structure of requirements at the particular school you end up attending.</p>

<p>You have high class rank, AP classes/previous college credit, and a good GPA. If you have similarly high SAT/ACT scores and good ECs, you should have lots of excellent schools to which you can apply, many of which might offer good merit aid.</p>

<p>You should start by coming up with a list of reach, match, and safety schools that are a good fit for you. There are numerous threads on this forum concerning reach, match, and safety schools.</p>

<p>U Iowa is probably a safety school for you. You would be able to double major there; I’m not entirely sure about a triple major. Since you could go there almost free, it definitely should be on your list.</p>

<p>You also should consider a school that offers a Chinese Language Flagship program. [The</a> Language Flagship - Chinese](<a href=“http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/chinese]The”>http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/chinese) In particular, I would recommend the program at OSU. You can reach a high level of proficiency in this program and you’d have to complete a major in another field in addition to your Chinese language studies, which include multiple opportunities to study abroad. [Home</a> | The Ohio State University MidWest US-China Flagship Program](<a href=“http://chineseflagship.osu.edu/]Home”>http://chineseflagship.osu.edu/)
Ohio State might be a match school. </p>

<p>Another safety school to consider is U Minnesota, which would be one of the lower cost flagship pubic universities for out-of-state students.</p>

<p>If you plan to do a Chinese major or an East Asian Studies major, you could reduce the number of schools to consider by looking at those that have federally-funded national Resource Centers in East Asian Studies:
Brigham Young University: East Asia Consortium
Columbia University: East Asian National Resource Center
Cornell University: East Asia Program
Duke University: Asian/Pacific Studies Institute
Georgetown University: Georgetown East Asia Center
Harvard University: Harvard University Asia Center
Indiana University-Bloomington: Illinois/Indiana East Asia National Resource Center Consortium
Michigan State University: Asian Studies Center
Ohio State University: East Asian Studies Center
Stanford University: Stanford East Asia Center
University of California-Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies
University of California-Los Angeles: Joint East Asian Studies Center
University of Hawaii at Manoa: East Asian Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Illinois/Indiana East Asia National Resource Center Consortium
University of Kansas: Center for East Asian Studies
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: East Asia National Resource Center
University of Oregon: University of Oregon East Asia Center
University of Pennsylvania: Center for East Asian Studies
University of Southern California: Joint East Asian Studies Center
University of Utah: East Asia Consortium
University of Virginia: Virginia East Asia Center
University of Washington: East Asia Center
University of Wisconsin-Madison: Center for East Asian Studies
Yale University: Council on East Asian Studies</p>

<p>The above list includes some highly selective private universities, some of which could offer good financial aid, and some public flagship universities, that won’t offer much financial aid for out-of-state students. Some of the latter might offer good merit aid to students admitted to their honors programs, if you qualify for admission. Since such centers tend to be located at larger universities, however, don’t overlook smaller liberal arts colleges that offer strong language programs, e.g., Middlebury. </p>

<p>Some other schools to consider: Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh (though be wary of state funding cuts), Washington U, and Tufts.</p>

5

<p>I would not go to Bringham YOoung University, University of Chicago is also fantastic for East Asian Studies. Also this is the list of national resource centers correct? They are having a at least 50% funding cut which includes flagship language programs. Instead of checking through the national resource centers I suggest you contact the Association of Asian Studies and ask about it. The Duke institute is only for Graduate studies.</p>

6

<p>Yeah, I wouldn’t go to BYU, either (though, if you’re Mormon, it might appeal to you). It’s just listed as one of the schools with an East Asian Center. </p>

<p>Funding cuts and tuition increases are occurring at a number of schools. Nonetheless, the listed schools (plus Chicago, as BJ indicated) are schools with established East Asian programs. Those programs aren’t going away and those schools will continue to be the major centers for teaching and research in East Asian Studies. The presence of a Center provides an indication of schools that have more extensive teaching and research resources in the area of East Asian Studies, so the list is a starting point for the OP to identify potential schools in one of his stated areas of interest. As an undergrad, the OP’s involvement in this field primarily would occur through the relevant academic departments at a school; the Centers primarily coordinate teaching and research resources at a school and faculty and grad students would have more direct involvement with the Centers.</p>

<p>Actually, the Asia/Pacific Institute at Duke does offer an undergraduate certificate program in East Asian Studies.</p>

7

<p>Some other schools that reportedly have good Chinese programs:
Hamilton C. (operates one of the best study abroad programs in China); Furman (reportedly developing a good Asian studies program); Wesleyan U; Dartmouth; Trinity U. (TX); Johns Hopkins (has a center in China); Amherst (reportedly has a very good teaching program in Chinese language); Oberlin; Macalester (known for an international studies focus); Carleton (reportedly has strong foreign language programs); St. Olaf (good foreign language programs and study abroad opportunities). </p>

<p>I recently heard good things about the Chinese program at Valparaiso—don’t know about the overall culture of the school, but they also have an excellent honors college.</p>

<p>(OP, sorry to focus so much on East Asian studies, but if you plan to study Chinese in college, identifying schools with good programs in that area is one way to delimit the number of schools to check out. Several of these schools may not have what you’re looking for in your other areas of interest, however, and I don’t know how much financial aid you might get at these schools, but you’ll narrow down your list as you continue to research potential colleges.)</p>