Which major presents the best chances for IB
Recently I read about Mark Zuckerberg and how he attended Harvard to study physchology. This is quite reassuring because for someone as smart as him, I would have expected a math/engineering related major.
I'm applying to college in a few years and my dream school is Harvard. I was wondering about "useless" majors like literature, philosophy, political science, East Asian studies, etc. - will they harm your chances during recruiting? Also, does anyone know the easiest major to get into Harvard? I have legacy from my uncle, if that helps.
Thanks.
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If you get into Harvard you can study anything you want and still end up on Wall Street.
Would you happen to know how hard it is to get into Harvard for an above-average, high-achieving student? I've tried posting multiple deriatives of this question on College Confidential only to be ass-raped with the same "you're just looking for prestige and colleges can see that." Aren't we all doing that?
There is some dissonance in your post. Your subject talks about 'which major presents the best chances for IB', yet the content reveals you are a HS student trying to get into Harvard.
Get into a good school first, then focus on your major in college, and get a high GPA for IB.
As far as being a HS student and getting into Harvard, you really haven't disclosed any of your ECs, what year you are, your current GPA, your interests, your passions, or anything. If you provide a bit more content, we might have something to work with. But, overall, high GPA, good ECs, and leadership/volunteering seem to be attributes the top schools continually seek.
Thanks for the insights. While some of you may just laugh me out of the room, I still want to go ahead and share more about myself -
High school freshman, 3.83 (screwed up first semester of math), 1580 SAT, piano for ~10 years, staff writer in student newspaper, participate in speech/debate as well as Model UN, founder/president of environmental science club (it's a niche that I'm not even interested in but our school lacks one).
As far as interests are concerned, I'll be honest and say I'm not particularly sure. I haven't been exposed to enough to draw conclusions, but I am quite interested in the financial industry for the conservatives and lucrative opportunities.
The problem is - My ECs are pretty generic and my grades aren't stellar, compared to other students. However, the majority of my high school is striving for engineering related majors and they seem to be struggling to even get into schools in the UC network, which, as a liberal arts-driven student, presents some hope for me. Do you have any advice for what else I should pursue in high school, what majors I should apply for to heighten my chances of Harvard/Ivies, and any notable personal experiences you encountered on your road to success?
Thanks in advance.
No adcom here. But when I read this, I really don't find your background up to this point to be interesting. Just a soft word of advice, go do something that YOU want to do, that defines who YOU are.
This reads like you're being groomed to go to a school like Harvard. It sounds like you NEED Harvard to complete you. Because, really, you're a freshman in HS and you've already taken the SATs and do the typical run of the mill activities that are supposed to translate well into school applications. I mean, if you don't get in, what are you going to do? Go cry and breakdown and become some wretched woe is me kid?
Don't want to sound like Robin Williams, but you really need to loosen up and make the most out of your time. Tomorrow is not promised for you to figure out who you are then. You should take the initiative to do that now. Become your own person and learn how your mind works so that you can have absolute control over yourself. And, it sounds like you have all the support and resources to do something about it, so I don't get what's stopping you.
Just FYI, you can land an IB position from schools like Duke, NYU, UMich, etc. If you don't get into Harvard, it's not the end of the world. Life goes on. And you'll still have a great experience at other schools that will still allow you to pursue IB.
Uni > Major
Applies in many countries.
You can literally do a random degree and get into IB, as long as you can relate it to how it can help the company (ofc).
There's no 'easiest' major. And what's the point? GPA can only bring you so far.
The bro said major to 'get into' Harvard, so apparently he's talking HS majors.
Also, yes there are easy majors. Any non STEM major is typically easier than a STEM major.
I think he’s saying which major to choose to increase his chances of being admitted, based on degree of competition for any major.
physics. dont be a fucking pussy
You can get into IB with almost any major besides extremely specific non-technical career-prep programs like nursing, education, speech pathology, film production, communications, etc.
Finance / accounting or Finance / Liberal Arts Major Combo is your best bet in terms of difficulty relative to opportunity, but it has been done by economics majors, ex-premeds (bio, chem, physics), engineering, history, math, polysci, compsci, etc.
The name of the game here is to make yourself look interesting/smart and get good grades.
I concur with the person above me who stated that the quality of your university and your grades are more important than your major.
Brand of Uni > Major
So the crux of your question seems to boil down to: what major can I tell Harvard I want to study to get in (as evidenced by your Zuckerberg/Psychology anectote).
All of this to say: Zuck wasn't gaming the system. He was an incredibly bright and already accomplished kid from a high school that sends half of every graduating class to top 10 schools. It is very very hard to game the system.
Here's the thing tho - the way to make a difference to these schools is to SHOW them how you have acted on your passions. So in your time in high school, do everything you can to tangibly act on what you want to go to school for, and LEAD. Start an org. that teaches piano to underprivledged kids, build an app, start a company, do an internship! That, I think, will be the difference maker between you and every other asian kid with the exact same profile.
In shit schools, major is a big signal of capability, also helps with padding internship before your dream firms even cares about you.
in super schools, major don't matter much because the raw talent is filtered already by the mothership school. and banking isn't like astrophysics tough stuff that take years to learn - look at how MBAs go from fools to "complex business managers" and it's fast.
Advice for you is, do some shit you like, absolutely rock it, and see if that passion leads you to wall street, silicon valley, or a PhD nerd, or something you'd like more.
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