</p>
<p>We do not give any advantage to those who major in political sciences, philosophy or history. The reason we have a lot with these majors is they self-select.- Columbia</p>
<p>I like unusual majors. I like math majors, philosophy majors, because you have to read and think critically, challenge your personal views and analyze a wide range of materials engineering and sciences, because these are tough across institutions- you know you are getting some one who had to work hard to perform- Duke</p>
<p>When I see some majors, I shudder: criminal justice, elementary ed. Music (performance) theater arts (performance) hotel/restaurant management, leisure studies,. At some schools these are solid programs, but not many- GWU</p>
<p>We want diversity. We have so many applicants who do the “right “things (majoring in poli sci, history or english, taking a semester or year abroad, doing political internship) all which are perfectly fine, but to stand our you have do so something a bit different, such as taking courses out side your area of interest. We want to see courses that require substantial writing, research and analysis-the skills necessary to succeed in law school- Penn</p>
<p>IF you major in hard sciences or in business, be sure to take a few classes that involve lots of writing as well as some that involve reading and interpreting text- Yale</p>
<p>Students should favor a curriculum that requires them to read dense, complex primary source material, analyze it closely and present reasonable conclusions in writing- UVA</p>
<p>Weak majors vary by institution. I do not favor narrowly vocational non-academic majors; PT, culinary arts, hospitality mgmt, etc. but I also worry about some accounting and engineering programs that allow little opportunity to develop skill sin reading and writing at a sophisticated level- UVA</p>
<p>There is a rebuttable presumption that certain majors are suspect; communications, criminal justice, which are popular majors for people who don’t want to work hard, even though it can be rigorous at some places.- Duke</p>
<p>In general we like t see people writing a senior thesis. It requires commitment and self discipline. It gives them a sense of intellectual ownership of a topic. The process engenders real growth and development- Columbia