History Major at Penn?

Cue7
Tue, 08 Aug 2017 03:37:31 +0000

So I made that one apples to apples comparison as you indicate, @“45 Percenter” by comparing CAS to Princeton. And the numbers differed there. They may differ at other top schools, or they may not - I don’t have time to do analysis on Harvard, duke, etc.

In thinking about it more, however, I think the comparison - at bottom - can’t really be done. You simply cannot “disregard the non-liberal arts schools at Penn,” because they fundamentally change the experience of being a history major at this school. When you add in the possibility of those from other schools minoring in history, it further changes the experience. (And remember, dual degrees are still possible too.)

The OP asked about being a history major at upenn - and I was actually remiss in even trying to make a comparison without looking at the undergrad overall.

The most accurate analysis is that, at Penn, maybe 2% of the undergrad population studies history avidly, and you’re surrounded by peers who may have interest in this subject, but are also pursuing subjects like accounting or nutritional science or communications/marketing. At Princeton, maybe 8% of the population studies history avidly, but you don’t have such breath in applied and pre professional studies.

Simply saying the percentages are similar between upenn and other top schools does a disservice to the atmosphere/environment at UPenn, and doesn’t accurately portray what being a liberal arts major is at this school, at least from what I remember of my interactions with students there, although this was a while back.