What major is best for me? Which will raise my IQ the most? Desperate for advice.

College Life
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<p>I am a Junior at the University of Connecticut at Stamford. Before you immediately write me off as a dumbass let me assure you I am intellectually superior to the typical student here. I received a 1380 on my SATS , which was not as high as I hoped since I got a 1460 on my PSAT and a 1440 on the one practice test I took beforehand, but is still far better than most of the kids here. I took an IQ test and earned a respectable 132 (also not as high as I hoped, but wasn’t too awful). One thing that does concern me is I got 530! on my SAT II Writing the first time I took and only did slightly better when I retook it getting a 670. That is 18 percentile for a national test! That is really bad. I got good grades in high school and have a 4.0 here at college. I could have gone to a better school, but I was lazy and foolish and now that I’m here I do not wish to transfer.</p>

<p>I am now forced to make a decision about, which major to choose. I know I am very strong mathematically and I am currently set to be an Economics major. </p>

<p>I am worried though that by choosing a major that emphasizes my strengths such as Economics, my weaknesses like writing will become even more pronounced. I was thinking maybe I would major in something that makes me struggle to earn top marks like History where the bulk of the assignments are essays. I dread writing essays, but I think that ultimately they will strengthen the weakest parts of my mind in a way that Economics wont. </p>

<p>I guess the main difference between the types of thinking you engage in under the two majors, History and Economics respectively, is that Economics is more about struggling to wrap your mind around rather abstract theoretical concepts, whereas history is about being able to take simple ideas and facts, and construct a convincing argument out of them. History has a creative element that economics lacks, but at the same time I am not sure its as tough a mental workout as economics is. </p>

<p>I am not too worried about doing badly in either. I go to a ridiculously easy schools. A lot of the other students here do not belong in college I am afraid to say (In fact most of them don’t wind up graduating either. I believe the graduation for my campus is around 40% whereas it is like 80% for the main campus up at Storrs). The professors though are great up here and you can get a lot of individual attention. </p>

<p>I am also curious if anyone has any theories as to which type of major will most likely make me a smarter more articulate person by the time I graduate.
What will result in the highest boosts to IQ scores? I know it is considered an inherent stable trait that can’t be altered or developed but I don’t think that that is entirely true. I mean I can’t honestly imagine that if you took two people who start off with the same IQ and send one to college and the other to work shoveling crap 12 hours a day that after four years they are still going to be equal. I am well aware that all the research says that the popular notion of isolated Math geniuses and isolated Verbal geniuses is utter bunk. If you are smart in one area you are typically smart in the other. I don’t really know what to say to that except that maybe there is no correlation between writing and IQ (how else can I be so dreadful at it as evidenced by my SAT II Writing score of 530 yet possess a slightly above average IQ). Maybe writing is more like playing a musical instrument and requires practice. When I took the IQ tests I had no trouble answering the verbal questions. Its when I’m alone at my desk and I have to write an essay that troubles begin. I just can never seem to articulate my thoughts and I have no clue how to conduct research and then construct an essay based upon it. </p>

<p>What major can I choose that will make me a smarter, more articulate person and also improve my IQ scores? Will history supplemented by some english courses (ugh I cant even imagine taking those since I never read) bring me to a level of intellectual advancement far beyond that which Economics could take me?
How about Political Science?</p>

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<p>why your goal is to improve your iq is beyond me</p>

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<p>Becoming smarter and more articulate and getting higher IQ scores are 2 totally different things… </p>

<p>As for the rest… Whoa. Either ■■■■■ or in need of more help than a forum can give.</p>

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<p>Worst ■■■■■ ever.</p>

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<p>Ok I can see people are getting hung up on my fixation on IQ. I personally view intellectual capability and articulation skills as the same thing as IQ. Maybe this is a result of my style of thinking. As mentioned in my first post I have a very mathematically oriented mind and I usually like to be able to quantifiably relate variables to one another rather than have to work intangible personality traits. Thats why I love IQ so much. But ignore it and just tell me which major will make me smarter and what you feel is best for me. I am also not a ■■■■■. I just have no friends and never talk to anyone so my speech patterns may not adhere to convention. Sorry about that.</p>

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<p>do engineering…</p>

<p>i mean engineering is universally known as the hardest major…</p>

<p>so you do the math (no pun intended)…</p>

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<p>As far as what you said about IQ–it is very possible to improve your score on the test. However, your actual IQ, at least in theory, is innate and doesn’t really change once you are an adult. If you want to get a higher score on the test just practice, practice, practice. Eventually, your brain will get used to solving those sort of problems and you will improve. </p>

<p>The best major for raising your test score is philosophy. Philosophy requires the same sort of abstract thinking and logic that IQ tests measure. Besides philosophy, the best majors for raising your score will be ones that require lots of abstract thinking and spatial modeling in your head. Think physics, math, and theoretical econ. </p>

<p>Remember though, that high IQ and ‘seeming smart’ do not go hand in hand. Majors like history and english will teach you lots of facts and make you more adept at articulating your thoughts, making them great if your main goal is to appear ‘worldly.’ However, they won’t help with your IQ score nearly as much as the ones I mentioned before. </p>

<p>One other comment, if you want to get smart the absolute best thing you can do is read books. Start reading and everything will improve</p>

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<p>Majors aren’t meant to make you smarter.</p>

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<p>Wow a 132 on the Stanford-Binet is very impressive indeed.</p>

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<p>virtuoso, is your name by any chance Derek TAM?!</p>

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<p>Why?..</p>

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<p>i am his greatest fan.</p>

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<p>Display your intelligence through your accomplishments, not an IQ test.</p>

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<p>Sorry DK, I am not Derek.</p>

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<p>Well, if you ever get the chance @ yale, tell him so=p</p>

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<p>Okay…</p>

<p>I will tell him that Dk-blue_Falcon said ‘hi’</p>

<p>Lol.</p>

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<p>thank you sir</p>

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<p>majors don’t make you smarter. im repeating that statement. and find some friends. i am shocked to hear you have none in college.</p>

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<p>■■■■■ or not, you’re not very convincing. allow me to construct an argument proving that you are presenting yourself falsely. first, a true genius would not pose this kind of question on an internet forum -let alone care what major would make him so-called smart. second, you became very defensive when accused of being ■■■■■, even to the point of bold printing “i am not a ■■■■■.” third, a true genius does not feel important enough to be self-critical or even conscience of his faults, they are irrelevant. your moniker attests to exaggerated insecurities. fourth…fourth…</p>

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<p>^first of all, understand that a “true genius” is one with a 150+ iq, or at least that’s what’s largely accepted. now, notice that he said his own iq was 132… and so you’re bashing him unrighteously so =[</p>