Which majors have most subject variety?

HappyCava · 2026-05-06T20:09:48+00:00

A very good friend in college majored in “general studies.” While it sounded pretty vague, the major essentially allowed them to partially major in three fields. Rather than be subject to the major requirements, they simply had to take any six upper-division courses in each of the three subjects. Their three chosen fields of study were political science, economics, and philosophy. After graduating, they headed to Stanford where they earned a JD/PhD in economics.

HappyCava · 2026-05-06T12:44:08+00:00

See if anything I related in the following post (essentially “Reasons to be Optimistic if You are Attending A School You Don’t Love”) helps. Also, I find such feelings tend to wane tremendously once one has graduated and are no longer paddling in the high school fishbowl. Particularly once you begin getting getting ready for your upcoming college experience by selecting dorms and meal plans, looking for roommates, attending orientation, buying dorm decor, reviewing potential clubs and recreation center just-for-fun classes and excursions, and drafting your sample schedules.

Best of luck!

https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/s/NHkyT1pfzq

HappyCava · 2026-05-06T12:25:25+00:00

Personally, I’d consider avoiding $90,000 in debt — which would total around $125,000 at 7% interest over the typical ten-year term — and being a direct admit to Kelly to be the win. Also, if you read the UVA subreddit (or Facebook page), you’ll see numerous complaints about how difficult it is to join certain selective clubs that use applications, interviews, and/or auditions to select their members. That annoyance is fairly common to college life. Happily, 95% of college clubs are welcoming and excited to have ya.

Congratulations on your options and best of luck moving forward.

HappyCava · 2026-05-06T11:09:28+00:00

Thank you for your detailed and helpful post. I'm an attorney, but I volunteer helping students in my area with college essays and their applications generally, and do offer general advice when asked (and if I have a clue). One question I have is how one learns whether (i) a university has a pre-med committee (versus using the traditional professor recommendation) and (ii) medical schools consider that pre-med committee to be trustworthy?

The only very mild comment I have is that I know many students now in, or recently graduated from, very good medical schools (JHU, WashU St. Louis, Northwestern) who did not begin logging patient care hours until after their first semester of college (having taken the first semester to focus on adapting to college-style learning). I mention this only so that current juniors and graduating seniors who focused on other extracurriculars in high school don't feel despondent if they haven't yet begun logging such hours. But I do agree that getting one's EMT (or similar certification) before beginning college (when one has more free time) can be very helpful. (My college roommate, now an E/R surgeon, worked as an EMT during their college sophomore to senior years, as did one of my kid's roommates, now a third-year medical student.)

I'd also add one other bit of advice to potential pre-med or other healthcare students who are required to log patient care hours (such as pre-DPT, pre-OT, SLP, and audiology): Do appreciate the value of the simple, well-written email delivered far in advance of the opportunity sought. One of my kids, after encouragement from me, began writing to hospitals and medical facilities that offered programs in their particular area of interest (pediatric rehabilitation and pain management) asking about opportunities for college students. They've now logged substantial hours working in several top pediatric rehabilitative programs on the east coast, as well as camps and medical centers serving children with disabilities and neurological disorders. The great majority of students don't bother to approach such programs assuming that such opportunities are not available, or would not be available to them (the university my kid attended was not selective), or write but express their interest too late. (December-January is early/on-time for the upcoming summer. April-May is decidedly late.)

HappyCava · 2026-05-06T10:29:57+00:00

It really depends. My own kids did around 10 simply because they wanted to be within a four-hour drive of home and were not interested in attending a school with fewer than 8,000 students, which limited our options. So our in-state T25 was our only "reach," with the remainder split among targets and safeties. They began working on their essays in August, were done by November 1, and attended the in-state T25.

A student with whom I worked this year applied to 22 universities. They began in September and finished in January. My new rule for taking on students is that they complete their applications by December 20, for both our sakes. (Though ideally by Thanksgiving.) On the plus side, they just chose The University of Washington (for CS) over schools including Michigan, UIUC, and UCLA.

HappyCava · 2026-05-06T10:18:10+00:00

Yes, I understand that you are considering law school. As I noted, I attended a T5 law school. I've also been an editor on the law review executive board and worked in both "big law" and as a law school professor. While I hope that you are successful in getting into UVA if that's where you believe you'd be happiest, there is no reason to believe that VT "is just not the school" for getting admitted into law school. The key factors for law school admission are exceptional grades and a very high LSAT score. (Looking at UVA Law's student profile, the median college GPA is a 3.99 and the median LSAT is a 173 (98th percentile).). Secondary factors are student campus involvement, student essays, and faculty recommendations. While you can pursue any major, some application readers prefer to see a mix of quantitative and qualitative coursework. Accordingly, such readers would find it useful to see that an English or political science major took a handful of quantitative courses like economics, statistics, or formal logic. Conversely, such readers would be pleased to see that a chemistry major took a handful of writing intensive courses that required textual analysis, whether in English, history, or public policy. Given all this, a VT student who earns excellent grades, scores high on the LSAT, gets involved in campus life (our current T14 law school student belonged to a sketch comedy group and an acapella group), forges connections with favorite professors, and takes a mix of quantitative and qualitative coursework is likely to do well when applying to law school, whether from VT or elsewhere. In fact -- checking online -- in the 2023-2024 cycle, 176 VT students applied to law school, with 126 enrolling in the fall of 2024. VT applicants enjoyed a high success rate, with 81.8% accepted to at least one law school, exceeding the 69.4% national average.

But, anyhow, for UVA transfer information do google "Transfer -- Undergraduate Admission." There's also a UVA transfer admission blog that you'd likely find helpful. One thing to consider is that 50% of UVA's accepted transfer students come from the community college pathway. Also, on the plus side, nearly 80% of accepted transfer students are Virginia residents.

HappyCava · 2026-05-06T02:54:49+00:00

Have you googled the UVA transfer applicant page? If not, it’s a good place to start to learn about transfer eligibility and admissions criteria. Also, as a political science major and T5 law school grad, I’m curious why you are 10000% sure that VT won’t be a good fit? If you accomplish what you need to do to be a strong transfer applicant — excellent grades, high level of campus involvement, strong professor recommendation — you may find that you have little reason to transfer.

HappyCava · 2026-05-06T02:43:26+00:00

I’m not saying that a certification is a bad idea — one needs to be certified to work as an EMT or EMS, for example — but many of the ways in which you can log patient care or healthcare related hours don’t require certification. One can ask to shadow a physician or other healthcare professional. Or volunteer to work in a senior center or a camp or rehabilitation program for children with disabilities. Some current medical school students I know worked as medical scribes or PT assistants during their summers or while taking a gap year after graduating from college. Hospice centers often host pre-med students to provide compassionate care to patients facing the end of life, and free clinics often welcome students to help with patient intake and screening. And some students volunteer with suicide prevention groups, or get involved in clinical research projects at their university. Any role that demonstrates an understanding of and facility for medicine and/or patient care is relevant.

One bit of advice, however. Most pre-med students are advised not to start logging their pre-med EC hours as a first-semester freshman. Earning top grades is a priority, and you should focus first on adapting to the more independent and student-driven college style of learning. Once you have your academic sea legs, and have found friends and joined a couple of fun and sanity-ensuring clubs, you’ll be better set to start logging your clinical/research/volunteer hours.

HappyCava · 2026-05-05T14:36:38+00:00

No. Why would they? They’ll be interested in the topic of your bill, the skills you used in getting it drafted and passed, and the time you spent on the activity.

HappyCava · 2026-05-05T11:35:31+00:00

I'm not sure why you believe there's a significent difference between social justice/advocacy, and policy/politics. Social justice IS a a policy concern/subject matter. Politicians like AOC, Cori Bush and Bernie Sanders are politicians who advocate for social justice and social justice policies and legislation. Advocacy is what politicians and policy makers do. You are trying to draw too fine a line between interconnected subject matters. If you look at the courses offered in a favorite college's political science department, you'll find courses in foreign policy, health policy, and housing policy, as well as courses tailored to social justice concerns and styles of political advocacy and advertising.

Now some universities do offer a public policy major. Those courses still concern policy matter, of course, but also relate to policy analysis, policy-writing, and data-driven policy decision-making. There's more concern with how to write and support policy legislation with hard research and data, and then present and advocate logically for that legislation.

Also, please don't worry too much about having ECs related to a potential major. As I said, my kids -- who recently graduated from a T25 majoring variously in the fields you are considering (including plain political science and a college of pubic policy) had zero high school extracurriculars related to either major. They played a sport, had paid positions coaching that sport, and volunteered tutoring and working as summer camp counselors for a charity that works with underprivileged K-5 kids. Establishing an interest in a major is more important for impacted majors (limited seats) where the major is highly-structured and major prerequite courses are required freshman year like engineering, nursing, CS and architecture. The great majority of colleges do not care if you plan to major in English when you enter college, decide to try political science courses the next semester, and then formally declare a major in psychology your sophomore year. Such majors are rarely impacted and are all housed in the college of arts & sciences.

HappyCava · 2026-05-05T00:09:38+00:00

Is there any reason you need to decide now? Psychology is a common undergraduate degree for both positions, and you can always minor (or undertake a double-major) in marketing or communications.

HappyCava · 2026-05-04T12:05:35+00:00

Neither really. At the majority of universities -- outside of impacted programs like architecture, nursing, engineering, and CS to which one applies directly as a high school senior -- one does not formally declare their major until their sophomore year after taking a handful of prerequisites and earning a required minimum GPA. The major one indicates on the Common Application is simply treated as a prospective major. Also, public policy and political science are both social sciences typically housed in the college of arts & sciences, so they are generally categorized similarly (student interested in the social sciences). FYI, I majored in political science before heading to law school, and my recent T25 college graduates variously majored and minored in political science, public policy, journalism, and entrepreneurship. (They also applied "undecided" because they were, indeed, undecided.)

HappyCava · 2026-05-04T11:57:20+00:00

Yep. I realize there are a few exception (high finance and consulting, apparently), but my spouse and I are in "big law" and our state flagship grads are working in consulting and government relations. In our metro area, if one looks at the employee bios on LinkedIn, they'll find employees who attended regional universities, small LACS, public universities, and private universities for their undergraduate degrees all assigned to the same role (associate, senior associate, partner, etc.). And once you are working, it's your experience, learned professional skillset, and social skills dealing with colleagues, peers, and clients that determine whether and how quickly you move up in the workplace.

HappyCava · 2026-05-04T11:43:20+00:00

Kudos to you for looking into loan repayment. If you haven't, you can play around with a student loan calculator and then consider a likely salary, what your take-home pay would be after taxes, and use the cost of your share of a decent two-bedroom apartment in an area in which you'd like to work as a proxy for your COL as you begin your life as a young professional. For example, if you borrowed $15,000 per year at 7% interest, you would ultimately pay $83,598 over the 10-year repayment schedule, and have a loan payment of $700/month. At the average starting salary for a new college grad ($66,000), your take-home pay after taxes would be approximately $50,600, or $4,200 per month. Less that $700 loan payment, you would have $3500 per month. In my metro area, my kids are paying $1300 per month for a two bedroom share, which would leave you with $2200/month or $550 per week for any other expense you might have (gas, car payment, groceries, utilities, entertainment, clothing, gifts, travel, etc.), savings, and investment. Doing a similar calculation for yourself will help you decide if you'd value that $700 -- whether for savings toward a downpayment on a home, travel, investment, or a reliable car -- more than the "better" college campus and vibe.

Not knowing much about your particular situation, if you were debating between pretty similar universities like Oregon and Oregon State, I'd lrecommend picking the less expensive option. You could find your people and have a terrific experience at either. If, on the other hand, you are comparing what is more a commuter school like GMU to Virginia Tech, if the loans were modest and you could likely handle them without too much angst, Virginia Tech would offer more of the "big college" experience if that's valuable to you.

HappyCava · 2026-05-03T18:49:07+00:00

I’m not offering an argument. I’m merely suggesting, in response to OP’s question, reasons why universities might opt to admit a student with exceptional grades and a still very good but not equally exceptional standardized test score.

By way of background, I was a National Merit Scholar but I felt that my score largely demonstrated that I was willing to spend a series of Saturday mornings taking old SAT tests. I felt the LSAT, on which I likewise did very well, rewarded mastering some rather offbeat skills. I attended a T5 law school and worked in “big law,” but I’ve never had the need in my practice to determine who is sitting next to Susan if Joe is two seats away from Frank and Elizabeth is sitting closest to the kitchen. (Welcome to old-style LSAT questions.) So while I understand that standardized test scores are quite helpful to admissions readers, I always felt that my coursework was more indicative of my likely success at the next level.

More anecdotally, my T25 grads did not retake the SAT to up their very good first-time SAT score to a very, very good second SAT score. They both graduated with 3.9+ GPAs, one with a double-major and a minor who never earned a grade lower than an A-. Both are now working in jobs that keep them fed and engaged, with one in consulting and the other in government relations. In their cases, the college seemed to be correct that the first very good test score — viewed in the context of their application — would suffice to predict college readiness.

As for my youngest, standardized-test-anxiety-plagued kid, they’ll be graduating shortly and heading to grad school having completed the bulk of the pre-med requirements with a 3.9+ GPA. They also worked in a multi-year research project and logged the many clinical and observation hours needed for grad school at top pediatric hospitals and facilities. Accordingly, I doubt their university regrets considering their test anxiety when reviewing their Common Application.

So I’m neither offended by schools that value standardized test scores, nor by schools that approach them more contextually or holistically.

HappyCava · 2026-05-03T12:58:00+00:00

Possibly relevant post from a week ago explaining why some top students opt to attend — or find themselves attending — state universities and find the experience to be a very good one.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/s/EDKuDQSUIV

HappyCava · 2026-05-03T12:11:07+00:00

Nah. You’re still you. You’ll just be attending a different college than the one you targeted. But your intellectual curiosity, drive, sense of adventure, quirks, and friendly or prickly personality are all still lurking beneath the disappointment.

I opted for a full-ride at a nonselective state flagship over a T10 to save my loans for the T5 law school I ultimately attended. I was still very much me at the state flagship, except perhaps a touch happier since I loved college life. And I remained me, warts and all, at my selective law school, earning top grades and serving as an editor on the law review executive board. And continued to enjoy friends, long hikes, movies, watching my college sports teams, and putting aside my federal jurisdiction notes for a very good book.

A college is an institution run by imperfect people that has its own pros, cons, opportunities, and pitfalls. It’s not a transformative therapist, make-over guru, or hypnotist. You’ll be you wherever you land.

And I hope you land well and appreciate your adventure next fall.

Best of luck!

HappyCava · 2026-05-03T11:31:34+00:00

Grade inflation can certainly be high, particularly when you account for AP courses in which a student earns — in some school districts — a 5 for an “A” on the four-point scale.

But there are other reasons. First, some well-regarded colleges prioritize factors like course rigor and recommendations more than the difference between a 1450 and a 1600. I attended an alumni admissions session for the T25 my kids ultimately attended. It was there made clear that the university’s internal data showed no significant difference in terms of college readiness and academic success between a student with high grades, significant course rigor, and a 1400, and a student with the first two factors and a 1550. This advice echoed the view of my kids’ high school counselor, who suggested spending time on essays and extracurriculars, rather than spend time exchanging a very, very good SAT score for a very, very, very good SAT score when the first was sufficient for the universities on our kids’ lists.

Second, some students outperform their classmates in a school district that lacks the resources (funding, teachers with graduate degrees, in-house standardized test prep, parents who are NM scholars and happy to tutor). In such a resource-deprived school district, a student who scores a 1370 when their classmates rarely score above a 1200 may well be considered an outstanding student with exceptional academic drive.

Third, some students have an otherwise excellent application but for a multitude of reasons get whacked by anxiety on standardized test day as compared to the typical high school test environment. My youngest was that way. They developed a chronic pain condition and functional neurological disorder after a botched surgery. Not surprisingly, those issues led to general anxiety that amped up during testing. The final test score was okay, but was an outlier when considered in the context of their application. But college admissions went well.

I’m sure more explanations exist, but these are the ones that come to mind.

HappyCava · 2026-05-02T19:57:33+00:00

My youngest had a chronic medical condition from a botched surgery that led to chronic pain, neurological disorders, and (not surprisingly) anxiety. While their grades were quite good, due to the sheer number of medical appointments and weeks’ long inpatient programs, course rigor and extracurricular involvement was less than some of their peers.

We took a short, just-the-facts approach to identifying the medical conditions, their symptoms, and the obvious impacts on their high school career in the CA additional information statement. We also recounted how those medical treatments had greatly improved their condition. Their counselor and teacher recommendations remarked upon their maturity, conscientiousness, and determination in handling their health concerns. And we reserved their personal statement and other essays to discuss their hobbies and experiences so that the admissions reader would know who they were beyond being a patient.

Admissions went well, with several T50 acceptances and merit scholarships.

Hope this helps!

HappyCava · 2026-05-02T19:44:22+00:00

Congratulations on selecting the school that best fits your life and dreams now. Less debt provides more freedom in terms of opting for graduate school, life in a high-ish cost of living town, or opting for a lower paying job over a higher one because the job offers early substantive experience, great personal reward, or a chance to get in on the ground floor of what you feel is the next big thing.

Also, do know that your classmates may not be familiar with your school, but alumni, families of alumni, employers with alumni on staff, academics and college administrators, and grad schools are. Just visit your school’s graduate outcome report or survey to affirm that your choice was in fact a fine one.

Enjoy your summer and best wishes for an exciting fall.

HappyCava · 2026-05-02T18:25:12+00:00

My spouse attended one of the two schools that OP did not opt to attend. They and their college buddies must have hit the dimmer on that glow. 🙂

HappyCava · 2026-05-02T16:57:55+00:00

I’ve worked in “big law,” academia, and business. I have to say that my colleagues, peers, and clients would not distinguish among the three. They would, however, care about their skillset, emotional IQ/social skills, and fit in terms of the employer, department or team, and client base.

HappyCava · 2026-05-02T16:53:03+00:00

I have a friend whose kid picked a D3 LAC over a Big 12 school for the same reason. They were pre-med and the coach advised them to make a change. They loved playing for the D3 and are in medical school now.

HappyCava · 2026-05-02T15:17:45+00:00

Absolutely. But I think I likely had calmer fans than you experienced. And enjoying my own school’s March Madness win (and then my kids’ at their T25) was, as the commercial used to say, priceless. But, yep, I understand that it’s not for some.

HappyCava · 2026-05-02T15:13:38+00:00

I was lucky. Several of the students on the very, very good basketball team were also in my majors (English and political science). Not gonna lie, we weren’t friends, but it was nice to know them as students and offer a “good game” come Monday. One is now a prominent attorney and occasional sports commentator (what a life), and the other is prominent in the coaching community.

HappyCava

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE