Questions Regarding Pre-Med, Languages, and Notifications

<p>Hello :)</p>

<p>Would any students currently at WUSTL care to make a short comment concerning the pre-med track or the foreign languages dep't at WashU? What are some good things for freshmen to know about these offerings at Washington University in St. Louis? My son is looking at studying both if he gets into WUStL, but we'd appreciate any insiders' tips.</p>

<p>Also, does anybody know for sure when scholarship notifications arrive, because I know if selected, there's a mandatory visit for semifinalists to the campus in late March. I'd assume within the next week or so, right? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>and does anybody know how easy it is to minor or double major in a language? Also is it possible to double major in between schools? I want to major in Comm. Design and possibly minor or double major in Spanish or Religious Studies</p>

<p>I know that you can for sure double major (even if the majors are in other schools) as I asked this question to my admissions officer. I plan to double major in BME and IAS!</p>

<p>
[quote]
it possible to double major in between schools?

[/quote]

Yes, definitely.
You can also get a double degree if you fulfill all the degree requirements at both schools.</p>

<p>sweet thanks</p>

<p>Pre-med is not a major, but most pre-med students end up majoring in Bio or Chem because the pre-med classes pretty easily lead to majors in those areas.</p>

<p>You can do a CC search for the pre-med curriculum at WUSTL... its a little more unique (read: more rigorous) than other colleges regarding when they take certain classes and the material taught in them.</p>

<p>With both pre-med and foreign languages, it's very much advised to start taking those classes at beginning of your freshman year. If you want to study abroad and have NO previous experience in a language, you really need to start taking that language right when you get here. Studying abroad, for obvious reasons of language and cultural immersion, requires some degree of language proficiency. If you've taken many years of a language in high school before you get here, you can be placed out of a couple of the required # of classes. </p>

<p>Most Foreign Language majors require 8 or 9 classes (not counting if you place out of some due to prior experience). When you study abroad, classes taken while you are in a different country will count as part of the major requirements.</p>

<p>Foreign Language minors usually require 6 classes.</p>

<p>Here are links to relevant foreign language departments. I didn't count, but there's gotta be over 12 languages where WUSTL has either a major or minor.
Home</a> | Romance Languages & Literatures - The Romance Languages
Homepage:</a> Washington University German Department Germanic Languages
International</a> and Area Studies - IAS
Washington</a> University - Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures - Asian and Near Eastern
Jewish</a>, Islamic and Near Eastern Studies Program - JINES</p>

<p>As people said before, its pretty easy to have more than one major, and over half of WUSTL students do. You can also design your own major, so if you want to major or minor in a language or subject that doesn't have an official department, you can talk with your academic advisors about how to assemble classes that will allow you to obtain your own individualized major/minor.</p>

<p>Hi WUSTLHOPEFUL, I'm a current student at Wash U, and I definitely remember going through this process last year at this time. My scholarship program has already called all of its recipients, and as far as I know other ones should have been notified already as well.</p>

<p>I'm actually a pre-med bio major taking Spanish. Pre-med at Wash U is a very competitive (but friendly) subject that is most definitely worth your time. I honestly cannot imagine a better pre-med education than what I have right now. Pre-meds take chemistry first semester, continue into second semester with the addition of biology. First semester chemistry is a big surprise to most freshmen, since it deals mostly with quantum topics and is something most people don't do in high school - so it's not a simple review of high school chemistry. In fact, nothing at Wash U is like any AP course I've taken before. A big percentage of freshmen is pre-med, and by the end of their four years here pre-med numbers definitely decrease.</p>

<p>I've also really enjoyed my experience with the Spanish department. In high school, learning Spanish consisted mostly of only grammar with a teacher speaking English all the time. Here, classes are very small and students are forced to speak Spanish themselves. My subsection has only six students.</p>