DH thinks son is making wrong choice

Parents Forum
21

<p>*To answer a question posted about whether we could afford it or not, we already did the EFC calculator and we could manage it. I am hoping my son would also be able to get merit scholarships and I promised myself I’ll do all I can to help him search high and low for scholarships just so I can help him get to his dream school. *</p>

<p>It sounds like you think a merit scholarship will reduce your EFC. It can only reduce your family contribution IF the merit scholarship is larger than need.</p>

<p>For example…</p>

<p>Cost of Attendance = $55k</p>

<p>Family contribution = $30k</p>

<p>“need” = $25k</p>

<p>So…if your child were given a $20k/yr scholarship, then it would get applied to “need” not family contribution. Your family contribution would stay at $30k.</p>

<p>However, if your child were given a $30k/yr then your $25k “need” would get covered and your family contribution would be reduced by $5k.</p>

<p>Also…private scholarships are often small and often for B]only for one year**. Some require that you demonstrate financial need or URM status.</p>

<hr>

<p>I’m intrigued by this thread. What if your son hadn’t mentioned a possible major at all? Would your H not let him enroll?</p>

<p>Or, what if had started in math and then he changed to English? Would your H make him leave the school?</p>

<p>Is this a case where your son would have been better off not saying what he was going to major in?</p>

<p>That said…I do think a student’s choice of major is important because it leads to a career (I know others think differently and that’s fine. :slight_smile: ). I would rather a student major in something he’s good at and likes doing that also will lead to a career with the option of doing a minor or double major in the subject that he also likes but may not lead to a career. Yes, sometimes that “other” major can sometimes lead to a better career, but I’m not a big risk-taker. I like to have some insurance. LOL</p>

<p>My older son chose between math and English. He chose math because of the greater career opportunities. But, he’s taken extra English courses, he writes for the school magazine, etc. If somehow he ends up as some famous author, then fine. But, those chances are like hoping you’ll become a pro-athlete so you don’t bother getting your degree in college.</p>

22

<p>

</p>

<p>Yeah, gadad, that’s harvard you’re talking about. Our local directional uni does have the same major, would you say the same? To anyone who is fair-minded, I don’t think so.</p>

23

<p>^^ Very true. Which is another reason that the OP’s son would probably be better off pursuing an English major (although chances are he will become intrigued with some as yet unidentified intellectual passion) at WUSTL than at the local directional uni.</p>

24

<p>

</p>

<p>I think top 30 is mighty fine out of the 3000 or so schools there are. That is the top 1% of schools. That is certainly a mighty high ranking.</p>

<p>And agreed…rankings for undergrad are not as well defined by department. </p>

<p>WashU is a great school.</p>

25

<p>mom2…if this student has no financial need…his merit scholarships will be the only kind of aid he will be eligible for. We always tell kids with low need to go for the merit aid to help reduce the out of pocket costs. I’m not sure what you are telling this OP. If his kiddo doesn’t get need based aid but gets a merit scholarship,that WILL reduce their out of pocket costs.</p>

26

<p>

Mentioning that many English majors go to law school may help the dad feel better about investing in a better school for an English major.</p>

27

<p>Well, I think with those stats you are not looking much below the Top 100 or the Top 50 schools in the US. Then being #30–not so impressive. Basically average+</p>

28

<p>Wow, really a lot of great opinions here! Some of you hit the nail right on the head when you mentioned DH is worried about what kind of career my son will have if he takes English. Regarding the EFC, we are aware it won’t be affected by scholarships but any financial help is help. BTW, my DH was partly influenced by the comment of another parent to him when they were talking college choices. The parent who is a surgeon told him if his daughter would decide to be a teacher, there was no need to send her to any expensive or good college.</p>

29

<p>My daughter is majoring in math and minoring in gender studies.:slight_smile: She loves her gender studies classes. She feels her brain power is stretch to the max with her math courses. It is her math major that’s getting her a job.</p>

30

<p>

</p>

<p>Wash U is eons closer to Harvard than local direction U–precisely why OP’s son would be better off majoring in English there rather than LDU. And precisely gadad’s point.</p>

<p>Formykids–that advice by your H’s friend makes much more sense for an ed major than an English major, where teacher college connections to local schools may make the difference in job finding. English is the kind of major which will greatly benefit by having a national reputation to back it up, like Wash U’s.</p>

31

<p>I don’t know whether to be annoyed or angry. DH came home today from work and opened up this topic again. Apparently he has been discussing this issue, too at work and one of the co-workers said in reply to his question what kinds of job will an English major get, he said working at Walmart.</p>

32

<p>Oh for heaven’s sake. Many employers are looking for smart and highly motivated employees and THE EMPLOYER provides specific training for the jobs. I know English majors who have great jobs in the insurance industry, hospitals (not everyone is a medical professional), private industry in things like HR and the like. And many undergrads these days go to grad school regardless of their undergrad degree. </p>

<p>I hate to say it…but a straight degree in math isn’t exactly like training for a vocation. </p>

<p>Your son could go to a school with the intention of being an engineering major (I imagine your husband would like that) and switch his major to philosophy as a sophomore. </p>

<p>Gotta add…NO MAJOR guarantees you a job.</p>

33

<p>I am not sure that English major is any less practical than math major. Many employers need people who write well and are good communicators.(It would have been harder to argue if your H insisted on engineering or nursing degree, but math??)
Plus, all majors can go on to law, business and medical schools.</p>

<p>Edit: cross-posted with Thumper…</p>

34

<p>^ Agreed. Math majors really aren’t that useful. Computer science maybe, or engineering, physics, or biochem, but straight Math majors are actually pretty uncommon and can be a very academic discipline. More so than English. </p>

<p>Math used to be a popular science major for women because it offered relatively good career opportunities as “human calculators” at a time when other quantitative professions had little space for college educated women, but you know, then we invented pocket calculators. </p>

<p>It’s too early for your DH to be worried about your son’s major. He’s probably going to change it 100 times between now and graduation. Not to mention that your DH’s coworker is just trying to be clever. People always say that about English majors because they’re kind of narrow minded about degrees. THey don’t understand that the name of your degree doesn’t have to be synonymous with the name of your profession. And in today’s uncertain times, it’s better to have a degree that’s flexible to a lot of jobs anyway. Tell your DH not to worry about his coworker’s opinions, but stay focused on his son’s. It’s his son’s education after all.</p>

35

<p>I was an English major. I have been the media director of a major human rights agency, a college instructor, the founder of a very successful publishing house (still going strong), an editor of more than a 100 books and author of 11, a magazine columnist, speaker and lecturer, founder of three foundations/non-profits, senior planner of a state board of health (without any training in public health whatsoever), and senior planner and policy analyst in state government. </p>

<p>But I’ll play the odds and bet your son will be neither a math nor an English major.</p>

<p>(P.S. After my English major, I did medieval studies, which is what really prepared me for the job market. :))</p>

36

<p>mini–THANK YOU for your post!!</p>

37

<p>Hi mini!!
Yes, agree-- learning to slay dragons is a very practical skill for successfully navigating the working and publishing world ;)</p>

38

<p>I think the tactic here, again, is to point out that many–probably most–kids who major in English do not wind up in specifically English-related careers. Many of them go to law or business school.</p>

<p>As for the comment from the surgeon–I think your H should stop listening to the advice of obnoxious people.</p>

39

<p>WashU is a great school. If you can afford it, if it is his dream school and if he gets in, so what if he majors in basket-weaving? The life lessons and enduring friendships one develops in college are priceless. Good luck to your son! Hope he gets into and can attend WashU!</p>

40

<p>

</p>

<p>Yup - I’d still say that you need to build your career on a graduate degree so that you don’t get stuck at a point without opportunities for career advancement.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Here, cut-and-pasted from their website, are the undergraduate majors at Wash U. Most do not lead to a career of the same name. Most of those that do will only qualify a graduate for an entry-level position in that field, which will likely run into a dead end without graduate-level preparation. I work with accountants and architects. They have a lot of young people with technical skills in their lower-level positions, but the partners and senior officers combine technical competence with the ability to communicate and relate what they’re doing to the big picture. They know not only their own project, but the impact of all the dynamics that are peripheral to that project, and they can create a logical train of thought between all those factors while presenting them before a group of non-technicians. Those are precisely the kinds of skills that are developed in a liberal arts undergraduate curriculum:</p>

<p>Accounting
African and African-American Studies
American Culture Studies
Ancient Studies
Anthropology
Applied Science (Chemical Engineering)
Applied Science (Electrical Engineering)
Applied Science (Systems Science and Engineering)
Arabic
Archaeology
Architecture
Art History and Archaeology
Asian Languages and Literatures
Biology
Biomedical Engineering
Business Administration
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
Chinese
Classics
Communication Design
Comparative Arts
Comparative Literature
Computer Engineering
Computer Science
Dance
Digital Imaging and Photography
Drama
Earth and Planetary Sciences
East Asian Studies/International and Area Studies
Economics
Economics and Strategy
Education
Educational Studies
Electrical Engineering
Elementary Teacher Education
English Literature
Entrepreneurship
Environmental Studies
European Studies /International and Area Studies
Fashion Design
Film and Media Studies
Finance
French
Germanic Languages and Literatures
Healthcare Management
Hebrew (Biblical and Modern)
History
Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities
International Business
International and Area Studies
Italian
Japanese
Jewish, Islamic, and Near Eastern Studies
Latin American Studies/International and Area Studies
Linguistics
Marketing
Mathematics
Mechanical Engineering
Middle School Teacher Education
Music
Near Eastern Languages and Literatures
Operations and Supply Chain Management
Organization and Human Resources
Painting
Persian Language and Literature
Philosophy
Philosophy–Neuroscience–Psychology
Physics
Political Economy
Political Science
Printmaking/Drawing
Psychology
Religious Studies
Romance Languages and Literatures
Sculpture
Secondary Teacher Education
Spanish
Systems Science and Engineering
Urban Studies
Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies</p>