<p>I had one of each. </p>
<p>My oldest went to CMU applied to the School of Computer Science. He used his kajillion AP credits to get out of nearly all the gen ed requirements. I think he took two required writing courses (one of which was a technical writing course required by his department, one semester of world history, and one school of computer science required get to know Pittsburgh course.) Everything else was math, physics or comp sci. He’s been superfocused since he was seven. Sometimes you can’t fight city hall.</p>
<p>My other son went to college thinking probably International Relations. Took a variety of courses. Still likes IR. He’s bummed because his department is being mean about counting courses taken as part of his junior year abroad, so he’ll actually end up taking only the minimum gen ed courses he has to take, because he has to double up on IR requirements.</p>
<p>I don’t think there’s one right answer, though a lot depends on what your background is going in.</p>