<p>My passions have dramatically changed over the past few months thanks to some good books, and I plan to major in english/creative writing. I know that MIT’s departments are decent but if I wanted to become a professional writer, would schools like Berkeley, Northwestern, or Cornell be better for my needs?</p>
<p>[Cornell</a> Writers](<a href=“http://www.writers.cornell.edu/]Cornell”>http://www.writers.cornell.edu/)</p>
<p>That depends on a lot of things, but this one might be the most important to figure out first - how deeply interested are you in sciences? If you came to MIT, no matter what you majored in, you’d have to take a term of chemistry, a term of biology, two terms of calculus (single and multivariable), two terms of physics, a lab, and two more restricted electives in science. These classes are difficult, and if you don’t have enough interest in science to do them, then the answer is a definite no.</p>
<p>I have a couple of friends who majored in 21W, and one thing I can say is that the MIT name does help with your employability as a creative writing major. ;)</p>
<p>Also, because it is such a tiny major at MIT (two undergrads with it as their primary major in 2007-2008), you will get a lot of individual attention, more than you probably would at bigger programs. And you could take classes with, among others, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Junot Diaz (yes, he teaches undergrads).</p>
<p>On the downside, you wouldn’t have a lot of other majors to talk to (though creative writing is a popular concentration, so it’s not like you’d be the only one in your classes), you’d be something of an oddity, and, like Piper said, you still have to complete all the science/engineering requirements.</p>
<p>If you come to CPW (if you are an admitted student - if you’re applying next year, sorry for this irrelevant info), you can try meeting with and talking to the writing professors, and find out what they have to say.</p>
<p>is Diaz gonna be there during cpw?</p>
<p>Unclear - obviously, he travels a lot to grace various events with his presence. Looks like he’s out of state on the 16th and the 18th (from his website, [Junot</a> Daz](<a href=“http://junotdiaz.com%5DJunot”>http://junotdiaz.com)). I don’t know if he’ll be around on the other days.</p>
<p>If you plan on writing about science and technology in some way (or even sci-fi or something like that), then an MIT science background could definitely come in handy. Like was said before, however, be sure you’re ready to take the required science courses you need to graduate.</p>
<p>yea i was thinking of fiction writing. but i might do a double major with science in case i change my mind later on. anyways, i know ill be doing writing, at least as a side thing, for life.</p>
<p>does anyone know how double majoring works?</p>
<p>MIT has recently made double majoring much easier by removing the 270 units over GIR requirement. Now, you just need to meet the requirements for each major. Double majoring between a HASS and a science major is not particularly hard as most of the requirements for teh HASS major could be part of the required concentartion. My D is currently planning a Course 9 and 21 W double major.</p>
<p>18/21W ftw!</p>
<p>wow that’s so cool. im doing 18/21W too…lol.</p>
<p>
You have to fill out a form saying you want to double. You can do this any time between the first semester of your junior year and a few weeks into the second semester of your senior year. Then you have to complete the requirements for both majors.</p>
<p>so im guessing i have to start taking the major requirements before i declare.</p>
<p>You basically have to show that you’ll be able to complete the requirements for both majors in a timely manner. Usually this means you’ll have to start taking the requirements for both before you declare, but there’s no hard requirement for the number of classes you need to take before declaring. IIRC, they’ll ask you which classes you intend to take in future semesters to complete both majors as well.</p>