I wish I was an English Major...

[powerful_squib]

So I am a cell bio & neurosci major at my university and I decided to take it easy this semester after taking Orgo I and II this past summer. I decided to pursue an English minor so now I'm taking three english classes and Physics II... and now I wish I was an English major. This semester is so easy I don't know what to do. I think if I was an english major from the get-go, the premed classes would of been so much easier to get through... and my GPA would show for it... does anyone feel the same way...well not just about english but about any major other than the one you are pursuing now?

P.S. I do love my major I really do! I <3 neuro!

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[Bacchus]

So I am a cell bio & neurosci major at my university and I decided to take it easy this semester after taking Orgo I and II this past summer. I decided to pursue an English minor so now I'm taking three english classes and Physics II... and now I wish I was an English major. This semester is so easy I don't know what to do. I think if I was an english major from the get-go, the premed classes would of been so much easier to get through... and my GPA would show for it... does anyone feel the same way...well not just about english but about any major other than the one you are pursuing now?

P.S. I do love my major I really do! I <3 neuro!

When you get into the upperlevels of any major you will wish you were pursuing a different degree.

 

[blurry]

*Patiently waits for an English major to read and respond*

 

[jochi1543]

*Patiently waits for an English major to read and respond*

I dunno, I took 2 300-level English classes, as well as lower-level ones, and got As in all of them. I thought it was pretty easy - but I'm already a good writer. Back in high school, lit classes were tough for me. One time, my lit teacher even said "Everybody's essays were really good, except for this one...and I'm gonna read it so everyone knows how NOT to write." And then she read my essay.🙁 And now, some 7-8 years later, everyone is telling me to write a book. 😆

Honestly, I didn't even read a good majority of the books in those classes - I'd read a few chapters and listen to the discussions, and it was enough to write an A essay.

Now, would I wanna do it for a major? No, I'd be too bored.

 

[powerful_squib]

I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything. To me, personally, I think that English is easy. It may be different for others. I really like English as a major though, although its too late for me to change, and it won't erase the science GPA that I have now. It would be great if I could double major though.

 

[blurry]

I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything. To me, personally, I think that English is easy. It may be different for others. I really like English as a major though, although its too late for me to change, and it won't erase the science GPA that I have now. It would be great if I could double major though.

Aww.. I was really looking forward to something exciting on a boring afternoon. I guess it's back to my crosswords.

 

[TexanGirl]

So I am a cell bio & neurosci major at my university and I decided to take it easy this semester after taking Orgo I and II this past summer. I decided to pursue an English minor so now I'm taking three english classes and Physics II... and now I wish I was an English major. This semester is so easy I don't know what to do. I think if I was an english major from the get-go, the premed classes would of been so much easier to get through... and my GPA would show for it... does anyone feel the same way...well not just about english but about any major other than the one you are pursuing now?

P.S. I do love my major I really do! I <3 neuro!

If you really wanted to be an English major, you would've known to use the subjunctive "were" in future conditional sentences to describe a situation that has not occurred, but one that you hope will occur. If you had said, "I wish I were an English major," maybe MAYBE I could've taken you seriously--but alas, it's clear you're just destined to become another cell bio/neurosci major.

😀 LOL, I'm pretty sure both forms are acceptable.

 

[Isoprop]

it's not the future conditional (i wish) is present indicative. the subjuctive is used because you are expressing a wish or want.

 

[whateva07]

English was the best class during my undergrad years. I wish all my classes were like that. Haha I'm also waiting for some english major to storm in here and tell us otherwise but it looks they may agree (ahh who am i kidding, this is sdn and everyone is their own advocate)

 

[TexanGirl]

it's not the future conditional (i wish) is present indicative. the subjuctive is used because you are expressing a wish or want.

Correct, not conditional, my mistake. However, the traditional rule in formal English is still to use the subjunctive "were" rather than "was" in a contrary-to-fact statement. Since the OP's statement has not occurred yet, "were" would be more appropriate.

 

[hopeful2007]

I was an English major and the classes were definitely not easy. In fact, my major GPA was lower than my overall. At smaller liberal arts college, the humanities majors do their share of very hard work. Don't know how it is at bigger schools.

 

[jad2121]

I was an english major, and you are right, it was totally awesome. In the beginning it was kind of tough with all the papers, but after a year or so you can write a paper about anything and get an A on it. I feel like if i were a science major my GPA would have been awful. then again i had to do postbac...

 

[jochi1543]

I was an English major and the classes were definitely not easy. In fact, my major GPA was lower than my overall. At smaller liberal arts college, the humanities majors do their share of very hard work. Don't know how it is at bigger schools.

Eh, I took all of my English courses at a small LAC as well. And I didn't have the same prof for all of them, so it's not like I just lucked out with an easy prof. I have like a 3.9 average in humanities, while my recent science average is only like 3.6. Economics, on the other hand, was the worst thing to ever happen to me in college...even worse than physics.

 

[Bartelby]

I wasn't an English major, and I do love English classes, but even though they are "easy" they are time consuming. If you read 1-2 three hundred page novels per class each week and take 3-4 classes, that adds up very quickly. It may be fun to sit down and read a novel, but pretty soon you find yourself with hours and hours of reading. You cannot "cram" all of that reading in right before an exam or essay very easily either.

There may be some concepts in science classes that take longer to grasp, but the amount of time I spent working in an average science class was way lower than the amount of time I spent working in an average English class (assuming I was trying for an "A" in each).

 

[spanamit]

This is going to turn into: "your major is easier than mine."

 

[exeunt]

in high school i LOVED english. i love classic lit, i read very quickly and i don't mind writing essays, so i came in as an english major premed thinking it would also have helped my gpa.

i'm a bio major now. it might be the grading curve at my school (2 A's per section) but english was just too hard..to each his own

 

[powerful_squib]

The reading for my lit and psych class that I am taking now is a bit time consuming, but the material is interesting. I loved english in High School, but I loved History more at that time. I'm also taking a 20th century poetry class and it is great. I'm not a big fan of poetry, but everything is so arbitrary in that class. If you think a specific poem means this and you back up with a proper argument on the exam you can get an easy A. In fact I was pretty afraid of that exam because I never had a "written blue-book" exam before and I only had a day to study for it. I know not all english classes are like this, but I have to say it is indeed enjoyable.

 

[LadyWolverine]

Correct, not conditional, my mistake. However, the traditional rule in formal English is still to use the subjunctive "were" rather than "was" in a contrary-to-fact statement. Since the OP's statement has not occurred yet, "were" would be more appropriate.

"Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener........"

😀

 

[mountainhare]

The reading for my lit and psych class that I am taking now is a bit time consuming, but the material is interesting. I loved english in High School, but I loved History more at that time. I'm also taking a 20th century poetry class and it is great. I'm not a big fan of poetry, but everything is so arbitrary in that class. If you think a specific poem means this and you back up with a proper argument on the exam you can get an easy A. In fact I was pretty afraid of that exam because I never had a "written blue-book" exam before and I only had a day to study for it. I know not all english classes are like this, but I have to say it is indeed enjoyable.

I too sometimes wish I'd been an English major, but not because I think it would've been easier. Not to be condescending or mean or anything, but I sort of think of college as a time when you get to study the things you love, the things you're passionate about. If the reason why you like the class isn't because you're "a big fan of poetry" but because you're a big fan of "an easy A," then maybe you're not making the most out of the classes that you take. In the long run, in a cosmic sense, easy A's matter less than spending your precious few college years doing things that you *are* a big fan of. Don't get me wrong, I highly encourage people to study poetry even if they aren't already "big fans," since everyone was a non-fan before they became a fan, and I don't like it when people act all elitist about poetry as though it weren't created as a gift for the masses. I just think that with an "easy A" mindset, you might not be getting as much out of your classes as you could be.

And I think the reason why many English classes give you full credit for an answer as long as you back it up is not because they're dupes but because they're trying to train you to think originally, the way that people who make a living as literary critics and poetry scholars think. Coming up with an original interpretation that you can defend is just as important a skill as regurgitating facts on science tests that aren't graded "arbitrarily"; it's how knowledge is furthered in the humanities. Please don't treat your English exams as a chance to trick your professors into giving you "easy A's" for writing BS, just because you can get away with it; instead, put down answers that you believe in, because you owe it to yourself.

In the long run, even in scientific fields, your success won't be evaluated objectively and non-"arbitrarily." Some day when you're a PI, you'll have an idea for an experiment and another PI will have an idea for another experiment, and no one's going to be assigning you objective, non-"arbitrary" grades to tell you whose idea is more valuable. Just like answers to essay questions on English exams, things like that can't be measured objectively, either. I think that's just the way the important things in life are.

 

[Sir Buckethead]

While I do think that English and other humanities majors are easier, it is nice to be in a major where objective grading is the norm. In fact, we just had a thread a little while back where many people were agreeing that a harder science exam can be preferable to an easier humanities project.

In science, you study hard and get a direct return on your effort. You can never be sure that a humanities prof will be feeling charitable when he's grading your paper.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

in high school i LOVED english. i love classic lit, i read very quickly and i don't mind writing essays, so i came in as an english major premed thinking it would also have helped my gpa.

i'm a bio major now. it might be the grading curve at my school (2 A's per section) but english was just too hard..to each his own

English was considered to be a fairly challenging major at my school if you wanted to make good grades. The professors were notorious for very rarely giving out A's. Not to say that there weren't plenty of people who did well in English classes there, but I wouldn't pick it as a way to pad your GPA.

 

[midn]

I really felt that English was hard. At least in science, most of the facts you need to know are explicit whereas in English you have to dig and dig to get to some ambiguous (at least to me) meaning. Also, writing papers lends to very subjective grading which can make or break you.

I'm happy being a science major because I can do well in it.

 

[just thoughts]

Okay, I'll bite. English was one of my majors, and while I loved it and would (probably) do it again, I can say that I wanted to changed majors (both of them) on many occasions while I was in college.

I don't think that English is easy or hard. The processes of reading, interpreting, articulating, and writing make some majors want to not just write great papers, but to really push their thinking and ability to convey ideas. You want to experience a connection between Chaucer's Wife of Bath and Morrison's Sethe and craftily demonstrate it in your writing. You want to not only incorporate major themes, but also the relevance of the rhythm of the writing, how the text "speaks", as well as, historical and social contexts. And you want to do it all effortlessly.

When you're done with that, you realize that you've just finished the introduction to your thesis, and not just any old paper. You also realize that the simultaneous beauty and defectiveness of the English language will prevent you from fully articulating everything in your mind, so you just do the best that you can.

Like everything else, your major is what you make of it and that depends on how much you choose to invest yourself in it. We can all be run of the mill English majors that just take the three dead white guy + seven other classes, but then you'd be the English major on SDN wishing that you had majored in Chem.

just thoughts

 

[vandyland10]

I'm fairly sure that I should be an English major instead of a bio. major, since I'm sitting here thinking, "It's supposed to be 'I wish I were an English Major.'" Actually, I know that has more to do with grammar, but that was just the first thing that popped into my head. I do agree with you though, since I haven't made anything lower than an A- in any non-science classes.

😱Wow, I really sound like a neurotic freak...I swear I'm not, I just have had really intense grammar teachers.

 

[Med_Leviathan]

This kid talks a big game for someone who failed orgo, comments on the med school "Cirriculum," and goes to Rutgers.

 

[Writer1985]

Okay, I'll bite. English was one of my majors, and while I loved it and would (probably) do it again, I can say that I wanted to changed majors (both of them) on many occasions while I was in college.

I don't think that English is easy or hard. The processes of reading, interpreting, articulating, and writing make some majors want to not just write great papers, but to really push their thinking and ability to convey ideas. You want to experience a connection between Chaucer's Wife of Bath and Morrison's Sethe and craftily demonstrate it in your writing. You want to not only incorporate major themes, but also the relevance of the rhythm of the writing, how the text "speaks", as well as, historical and social contexts. And you want to do it all effortlessly.

When you're done with that, you realize that you've just finished the introduction to your thesis, and not just any old paper. You also realize that the simultaneous beauty and defectiveness of the English language will prevent you from fully articulating everything in your mind, so you just do the best that you can.

Like everything else, your major is what you make of it and that depends on how much you choose to invest yourself in it. We can all be run of the mill English majors that just take the three dead white guy + seven other classes, but then you'd be the English major on SDN wishing that you had majored in Chem.

just thoughts

Well-said.

OP, you could always add literature as a second major. That's what I did right before choosing classes for my final fall semester. Best decision I ever made. Depends on the number of courses you'd have to take, of course.

Regardless, every prospective English major should take a course in literary theory. I had expected to hate it, but it actually provides an excellent framework for textual analysis. The lack of that background is probably why most non-English majors hate discussion sections or think they are a waste of time.

 

[jochi1543]

While I do think that English and other humanities majors are easier, it is nice to be in a major where objective grading is the norm.

However, science classes can also involve assignments where grading is not so straightforward. For example, my environmental chemistry midterm 2 weeks ago involved a 15% question that asked me to "describe the appearance of photochemical smog and the reactions that produce it." I know I'm gonna get at least half the credit for it, but there's no way for me to know if I receive 10%, 13%, or 15%. I wrote my essay-style answer and listed a few reactions, but there are like hundreds of reactions in photochemical smog...are the ones I wrote down the ones my prof is looking for or not? This is an example of less than objective grading in science.

 

[HumidBeing]

Dang! I'm not normally critical of grammar and spelling in posts, but there is something about any post in which the poster expounds the joys of becoming an English major, that makes criticism irresistible. Since no one else has yet remarked on the following two errors, I will. The correct wording is would have been, not would of been. In your second, Squib, you also omitted the apostrophe from the contraction of it is. I'm not going to knock the lack of capitalization in the word English, because I assume that was simply a case of convenience for quickly posting.

I'm sorry, Squib. I don't mean to pick on you. If your post had been about anything OTHER than wishing to be an English major, I would have simply ignored the errors. I, myself, tend to accidentally omit words while typing.

Now, to comment on the actual subject of your thread. I have always truly enjoyed a good English class. Reading, analyzing, comparing, and discussing good literature are pleasurable activities. It is not possible, however, to major in every subject which I find interesting. I will, in fact, probably never again take another English course, because my English 102 class has been the most unenjoyable class I have ever experienced. It is being graded with a tainted subjectivity, by an instructor who believes that students are incapable of "A" level work. Obviously, too many courses of that type would play havoc with my GPA.

There are many other subjects which I enjoy even more than I do English. In those subjects, the grade reflects the individual student's actual performance. I prefer to concentrate my classes in science, math, and other subjects in which the grading is objective, rather than subjective. I am not even slightly tempted to switch my major to English.
____________________________________________________________

Perhaps if everyone were to clap hands and say, "Humid deserves an "A" in English 102," the prof's heart would soften, and she would believe, as well.😉

 

[powerful_squib]

I too sometimes wish I'd been an English major, but not because I think it would've been easier. Not to be condescending or mean or anything, but I sort of think of college as a time when you get to study the things you love, the things you're passionate about. If the reason why you like the class isn't because you're "a big fan of poetry" but because you're a big fan of "an easy A," then maybe you're not making the most out of the classes that you take. In the long run, in a cosmic sense, easy A's matter less than spending your precious few college years doing things that you *are* a big fan of. Don't get me wrong, I highly encourage people to study poetry even if they aren't already "big fans," since everyone was a non-fan before they became a fan, and I don't like it when people act all elitist about poetry as though it weren't created as a gift for the masses. I just think that with an "easy A" mindset, you might not be getting as much out of your classes as you could be.

And I think the reason why many English classes give you full credit for an answer as long as you back it up is not because they're dupes but because they're trying to train you to think originally, the way that people who make a living as literary critics and poetry scholars think. Coming up with an original interpretation that you can defend is just as important a skill as regurgitating facts on science tests that aren't graded "arbitrarily"; it's how knowledge is furthered in the humanities. Please don't treat your English exams as a chance to trick your professors into giving you "easy A's" for writing BS, just because you can get away with it; instead, put down answers that you believe in, because you owe it to yourself.

In the long run, even in scientific fields, your success won't be evaluated objectively and non-"arbitrarily." Some day when you're a PI, you'll have an idea for an experiment and another PI will have an idea for another experiment, and no one's going to be assigning you objective, non-"arbitrary" grades to tell you whose idea is more valuable. Just like answers to essay questions on English exams, things like that can't be measured objectively, either. I think that's just the way the important things in life are.

If you read my above post I said that "I'm NOT a big fan poetry". ANd I completely agree with you. I <3 neuro. I picked cell bio & neurosci because I love it, I love the brain and I love the challenge. I was just remarking that it would of been easier on my premed courses if I were taking all english courses and not the crazy hard science classes I take. That's all. I'm a big fan of cold hard facts, black and white, and that's why I love science.

 

[exeunt]

I wouldn't pick it as a way to pad your GPA

i didn't think it would raise my gpa because it was easy. the english department here is notoriously hard (ranked #6). i thought it would raise my gpa because i would be able to do well and probably better than i would in my science classes, but that didn't work out as i thought...

also, i agree with how frustrating it is to take a class where the grading is subjective. can't stand it

 

[powerful_squib]

This kid talks a big game for someone who failed orgo, comments on the med school "Cirriculum," and goes to Rutgers.

1. Who cares that I failed orgo... only I should be worried about it not you. Plus, how is this even relevant to this thread.

2. I asked a genuine question about med school curriculum because I'm curious.

3. There is nothing wrong with Rutgers.

 

[HumidBeing]

I'm sending you a pm.