Declaring a history minor?

[TotallyNotAnEaglesFan]

I am a Biology major on the pre-med track. I really want to declare a minor just to do something I like because I'm paying thousands for college anyway and I want to make use of my scholarships, so why not? Anyway I'm torn between declaring a history/music theory minor.

Has anyone here ever declared either of those minors? What sort of course load should I be expecting? I heard that music can be a famously hard minor and my school is very art-heavy so I don't know SDN! My gut feeling is telling me history but I feel like the board would love seeing a music minor. I like them both equally.

Thanks SDN!

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[litmajor]

Do what your gut tells you. I.e., do what YOU want to do, not what you think adcoms want to see. That way you will do better, get better grades, and when you talk about it in your interviews your passion will come through. Also, can't you do a history minor and just participate in one of the school choirs or do the school musical or play in a school band or something? All these things you can do on the side and still include in your ECs.

 

[gyngyn]

Majors and minors are for you, not us.

 

[Spinach Dip]

Adcoms generally dont care about minors. Do what you want, not what you think will impress.

 

[Goro]

I love history, so more power to you!

I am a Biology major on the pre-med track. I really want to declare a minor just to do something I like because I'm paying thousands for college anyway and I want to make use of my scholarships, so why not? Anyway I'm torn between declaring a history/music theory minor.

Has anyone here ever declared either of those minors? What sort of course load should I be expecting? I heard that music can be a famously hard minor and my school is very art-heavy so I don't know SDN! My gut feeling is telling me history but I feel like the board would love seeing a music minor. I like them both equally.

Thanks SDN!

 

[theriomorphos]

.

 

[Lucca]

In terms of course load, culture, class work, professors - ask your history and music theory colleagues at your school. Do whatever you like best or seems to have the best environment at your school. Sometimes a subject can be fun but the department can be super toxic (some of the languages at my school, I've heard).

 

[rugbyram7]

I minored in history with a biology major and I loved it. I'm not a musically inclined person, though, so that wasn't ever an option. Music of any sort though I feel can be very intense. At least it was at my school. With history I had to take the basic intro to history classes, but then I got to choose whatever upper-level classes I wanted. I ended up taking a lot of really awesome courses I would never had had the chance to take. It was also a nice break from lab write-ups, chemical structures, and pathways. History does involve a lot of reading, though. I think in one class I read three books for the course alone plus two more for a term paper. If I could go back in time I would probably have taken more classes to double major!! Oh, and because I was also focusing on history, I was able to study abroad and take a lot of history classes that way, which is more difficult for science majors.

Edit: don't think about what adcoms think. My history minor never came up in a single interview, though personally it has shaped where I want my eventual career in medicine to go.

 

[tokeneconomy]

I'm also a huge history fan (and minor) and definitely recommend it. The classes aren't tremendously difficult (time consuming sometimes) and it's a nice break from science classes. Though I'm not sure how music is at your school, at mine (which has a big music program) it's definitely a GPA deflator.
Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[RedPhys]

I also vote for the History minor.

Disclaimer: I love reading, though.

 

[Omppu27]

If you like it enough to have to take the extra classes that literally won't account for ANYTHING, go ahead. But just think about the times where you're gonna have to study for those courses when you could rather be doing research, volunteering, or, god forbid, living your life and having fun.

 

[biodome92]

I was an English minor and focused largely on literary theory and criticism. My "thesis," however, was a semester-long research project on the history of child labor in the United States in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was very time consuming, but I loved it. If you're into history, go for it. College is more than career prep, and there is much to be had outside of the sciences.

Do not make your decision based on a desire to avoid a rigorous course of study. A humanities/art minor by itself will not be tremendously helpful during your app cycle, so seek out what you enjoy most. The writing skills and style you will develop, however, will prove valuable. There's also something to be said for studying and beginning to reach an understanding of the human condition. You know, the small stuff...