Goucher Cutting Majors Including Math and Physics

bearpanther
Fri, 17 Aug 2018 15:27:56 +0000

My S19 was very interested in applying to Goucher for numerous reasons. His intended major and minor are not on the list of cuts. It is important to keep in mind they are not getting rid of math and physics and theater courses, just the majors. I am trying to sort out my feelings about this here:

On the one hand, some of the majors/minors being cut had 2 grads per year, so I can see why those would be hard to sustain. This is a very small school and I get why it can’t be all things to all people. If they are attracting students more interested in Biology (apparently a popular major) than Physics I can see why they would focus on Biology. It appears this president wants to transition to more interdisciplinary paths of study, and while it is indeed strange to have a school with no Math or Physics major, there are plenty of other schools that have those if that is what you want. It doesn’t appear Goucher students wanted them. Kids at CalTech probably don’t want or need a Dance major like they have at Goucher.

On the other hand, my main concern for him at this moment is not that he wouldn’t get a good education at Goucher in his intended major (because the majors that are left will hopefully get more attention?), but rather that this decision by the school will tank its overall reputation. There are a lot of negative comments out there.

I am really conflicted about whether he should still apply.