Quirky Majors and What You Can Do With Them!

Gone are the days when aspirations were binary, today, there is more to education than medicine or engineering. Universities across the world are now offering a wide range of the unusual, the unexpected, and sometimes even the bizarre. Not every student was made to study physics. So if you don’t understand string theory, but know exactly which strings to pull… the puppet arts might be your calling! Here are some of the quirkiest majors that might raise some brows, but will definitely be worth it (both during and after university)!

1. Some folks have a sweet tooth, but others enjoy sour fruit. If you’re heavy on the lemon, you might want to consider a Bachelor of Science in Citrus and Horticultural Studies at the Florida Southern College. This program has consistently produced graduates who are leaders in the citrus industry. But there is much more to this program than all things sour. This major equips its students with hands-on experience across a wide spectrum of agricultural and horticultural practices. It also opens up interdisciplinary avenues allowing students to move forward and focus on business, biotechnology, and even graduate school! So, when life gives you lemons… turn them into a degree!

2. You have probably only come across bagpipes in movies or television. You have probably encountered them while watching Brave, or Dune, or Downton Abbey. You have probably never considered them a career prospect. You would be wrong! Bagpiping has been a long standing celebratory tradition at Carnegie Mellon University, and they even offer a major in Bagpipe Performance! If you find the skirl of the bagpipe beckoning to you, head over and join the world championship winning Carnegie Mellon Pipes and Drums band! As an added bonus you will get to learn under the directorship of Andrew Carlisle, one of the finest bagpipe players in the world.

3. Southern Illinois University offers a major that will definitely make you feel like Sauron, when he forged the one ring. But, the BFA in Metalsmithing offered here will allow you to create so much more than just rings (although, it may not turn you into an evil overlord). If conventional visual arts is not giving you what you need, Southern Illinois University might just be the place for you. Here, you will be able to utilise fire and metal to forge long lasting creations (much like Sauron’s ring of power). Even after university, a focus on metalsmithing has created exciting avenues for its graduates as successful independent artists and as academics working with museums.

These are just a small sample from a much longer list of unconventional majors. We are living in a world full of possibilities, the horizons have never been wider. All that remains is for you to follow your heart, steel your resolve, and be open to possibilities— your niche is out there, waiting to be found and mastered!

Demystifying the Liberal Arts College: An Interdisciplinary Perspective!

What is a liberal arts college? Do they solely focus on humanities-oriented subjects? How can a liberal arts degree help enrich your interdisciplinary knowledge? A common misconception surrounding liberal arts is that it’s solely an arts-focused degree. This couldn’t be further from the truth – liberal arts is a broad field that includes 50+ subjects, encompassing the humanities, social sciences, and STEM!

Liberal Arts is perfect for those students who are unsure about committing to a single area of study. As opposed to conventional degrees, a liberal arts education will endow you with practical and soft skills in creative and critical writing, research and social engagement, which will help you in a broad range of careers. Critical thinking will help you learn the ins and outs of objective analysis, interpretation, and making logical connections to bolster your rational judgement. This will help you grow in both your professional and personal life!

Liberal arts colleges tend to be smaller and have a close-knit community, giving you the opportunity to explore your interest, find welcoming spaces and even start your own club! The focused attention given to each individual student at liberal arts colleges translates into greater exposure to expert faculty, active participation in high-quality discussions and the opportunity to bolster your research through hands-on experience outside the classroom.

Liberal arts degrees are specifically made for students who want to gain multidisciplinary perspectives rather than those who want to narrow their field of interest. You’ll only be required to declare a major in your sophomore year so you can pursue courses in your chosen field of study. Through this degree, you’ll get to attend foundational courses across many different subject areas. You will be exposed to ideas and topics that range from humanities to science to maths.

So, what can you do with your interdisciplinary liberal arts degree? There are multiple career opportunities that could open up for you since businesses now require creative problem-solvers who are able to think innovatively, can work across multiple disciplines as integrative thinkers and have a solid foundation in addressing socio-political, ethical, cultural and organisational issues. Some majors that you can pursue at a liberal arts college are: Art, Biology, Music, Computer Science, American Studies, Chemistry, Literature, Philosophy, Economics, Astronomy, Environmental Studies and History.

Here’s a list of top-ranked colleges that solely focus on Liberal Arts:

Gap Years, and How You Can Make the Most of Them!

You may have seen plenty of movies and shows where students take a gap year upon graduating from high school, and spend the year ‘discovering themselves’ partying away and generally having fun. This is largely a stereotype, the actual truth is much more sober — a gap year is generally an extended cooling-off period students take after graduating from high school where they take the time to carefully consider what they want to do or study in college. The nature of this self-reflective period is geared toward personal discovery, and achieving something constructive in the time available. Gap year individuals often report improved confidence, communication skills, resilience, initiative, mental health, and global perspectives.

That said, any time that is needed to achieve that clarity is included in the idea of a gap year; it might take less than or greater than a year, but the importance of a gap year is to remove oneself from the peer pressure of the choices others are making. At that age, people can often feel the pressure to do what is “cool” or “popular,” ignoring what agrees with their personality and work ethic personally. Because each individual has different personalities, learning styles, and conceptions of an ideal career, it can take time to discover what they could obtain the most joy out of. This is why a sensible way to do that is for you to follow your intuition, and gather experiences that you have always wanted to in a non-competitive environment.  

Certain popular myths around gap years inevitably crop up: that children will forget what they have learnt academically, that they are simply aimless for wanting to take a gap year, or you need a lot of wealth and international travelling to get the most out of your gap year; however, perceptions around this phenomenon are changing for the better, as people are realising the value of slowing down and choosing a life that gels with their personal constitution, goals and expectations from life. If you find yourself in a similar dilemma about which college major to opt for and what kind of life you want to lead, here are some opportunities and initiatives you can opt for in order to make the most of the time you take for yourself:

1. Intended career-related internships

2. Local training and apprenticeship opportunities

3. Accredited college-level online courses or summer programs

4. Budgeted travel

5. Work-exchange experiences

6. Grassroots volunteering

7. Learning foreign languages

8. Wellness/Mental Health programs

9. Volunteering on political campaigns

10. Outdoor adventure experiences

US vs. UK Degree - Structural Differences!

What does the anatomy of a college degree in the UK look like? How is it different from the structure of a US Degree? In this blog post, we’ll discuss the major differences between the two - what are the pros and cons of each, which one is more cost-effective, what are the testing requirements, and so on. 

You must compare and contrast the variable differences across the two to make an informed decision about your higher education. Here are some structural ways in which the two differ from each other:

• Subject Flexibility: US universities generally allow you to explore as many subjects as you want for a year before you decide on a final major. This isn’t the case for UK universities that emphasise specialisation from the very beginning. Unless you enrol in a combined honours programme, you’ll have to largely keep your interest focused on a single subject.
  

• Length of Study: The key difference between the two is the amount of time it takes to get your degree. Generally, it takes one extra year in the US to get your degree than it does in the UK. This difference is the result of the special focalization offered by UK universities, which makes it possible to complete a degree in just three years. If you’re studying full-time, here’s an estimate of the amount of time it will take you to complete different degrees:

UK

Bachelors: 3-4 Years

Masters: 1 Year

PhD: 3-4 Years+

US

Bachelors: 4 Years

Masters: 1-2 Years

PhD: 5-7 Years+

• Costs: According to a law that came into effect in 2012, UK universities can only charge a maximum of £9,000 (approximately $9,564) each year – to UK residents. International students, on the other hand, have higher fees, which can vary from course to course and university to university. For a sample for the annual tuition fees for 2022-2023:

  • King’s College London: BSc Business Management

    • Home: £9,250 per year

    • Overseas/International: £28,050

  • Imperial: BSc/MBBS Medicine

    • Home: £9,250 

    • Overseas/International: £46,650

  • University of BathLBSc Social Sciences (Hons)

    • Home: £9,250

    • Overseas/International: £19,800

The US is more standardised in that they do not charge different amounts for different undergraduate courses, but they are generally more costly than the UK. For a sample:

• Harvard

• Boston University

• USC

• Carnegie Mellon

• UC-Berkeley

Make sure that you consider these different factors before you make a final decision about your higher education. Both the UK and the US come with their own sets of advantages and disadvantages, ultimately it’s about which university structure fits your needs the best and seems the most appealing to you. 

The SAT is Changing: Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Aspiring SAT test-takers were greeted with a welcome overhaul of the testing this year. College Board, the non-profit that administers and develops the SAT along with other standardised tests and curricula, introduced new modifications to the SAT, chief among which will be its new digital avatar. The SAT, or Scholastic Assessment Test, is a multiple-choice exam that tests for ‘college-readiness’; however, the rigidity, stress and length of the test along with the barriers presented by the global coronavirus pandemic have brought attention to pre-existing structural divides that create huge disparities in testing college-readiness reliably. 

No more paper wasted circling bubbles, long testing hours or waiting times for results. This format will be rolled out in stages – internationally, at first, in 2023, and then in the United States in 2024; in fact, in a pilot launch of the test, 80% of the participants reported the digital test to be a less stressful experience overall than the traditional paper test. As 1,800 four-year colleges plan to make standardised testing optional while hinging admission on other factors like extracurricular activities, recommendation letters and essays, the new changes to the SAT are a necessary adaptation to the evolving demands that colleges can realistically expect to test through the SAT.

Overall, the new changes to the test are aimed at making the test more approachable, convenient and inclusive, given the constraints of access to technology and preparation material. Apart from the general format of a maximum score of 1,600 points and testing that takes place on three subjects - reading, writing and maths - there have been some wide-ranging changes designed to alter the experience of giving the test, making it more conducive to better performance. So let’s take a look at some of these changes:

• Digital format: While this test cannot be taken at home yet, the College Board has facilitated a more convenient testing experience which allows students to take the test on a laptop, tablet, school-provided device, or even a device borrowed from College Board. This is especially important as it is inclusive of children from low-income families. The test will also be conducted under the supervision of a proctor, as before, and the difficulty of subsequent questions will intelligently adapt to the performance of the participant.  

• Shortened Test Day: College Board has reduced the duration of the exam from three hours down to two. This extends to the experience of the questions too: rather than facing complicated blocks of texts, each tied to the one before, the questions will still be analytically complex while reducing how lengthy the passages are. The digital nature of the format also makes it more environmentally sustainable, as the proctors can save up on time and money by avoiding the packing, organizing and provision of test materials. 

• Use of Graphing Calculators Allowed: The use of a calculator will now be used across the board while attempting the maths section; this is contrary to the previous case where only a section of the maths segment allowed a calculator. Now, the calculator can either be brought from home or will be provided on the day of the test since they are fairly expensive, and doing so reduces the test daybarriers

• Expedited Results: Due to the digital nature of the test now, the sheets submitted by the students containing the circled bubbles in an SAT attempt will now be followed up by the score reports, in a matter of days. The content within the report itself will undergo a more wholesome transition, as the College Board plans to include resources about local community colleges, workforce training and career options on top of simply percentile rankings and the student’s score (which was always present).