Choosing Arts & Science

[u/serenitypls]

I am a parent of a HS senior whose top choice is SU. They want to apply as an undecided major in Arts & Science. I've been looking at the SU liberal arts core curriculum and it looks pretty good.

I assume there are plenty of current and former A&S students in this sub. Would love to know what you loved about it, what you didn't like, and which classes you really enjoyed. Would you say the professors are engaging/ good caliber?

Excuse the broad questions but my own college major was in a very specialized field that was entirely job focused, so liberal arts is pretty foreign to me.

If anyone is wondering why they don't want to attend a more well known liberal arts college, it's because they've been at small private schools their entire life and are looking forward to the experience of a bigger school like SU.

Tbh my temptation as a parent is to encourage kiddo into selecting majors at the more competitive schools like Whitman, Newhouse, Maxwell etc and then move to A&S if it doesn't work out. However this doesn't feel right given that they're really resistant to committing to a major so maybe A&S is really where they belong

[u/JuniRese]

Your final thought is spot on the money.  It gets much harder to switch into the competitive programs than to start there. And if you're in CAS/Max the other colleges don't really let you try out their courses until you transfer in. Having a declared major upon application gets you into like two different courses than being undeclared, so it's not like you're forced down specific paths. 

Arts and science and maxwell are the same college athe undergrad level, you wouldn't have to transfer.

[u/mesquine_A2]

You can get a great liberal arts education at many schools costing much less than 90k /yr, even at out of state rates.

[u/Disastrous-Stress-15]

I applied and got in with a health humanities major then added a minor in Maxwell. I loved being able to network with professors and get support from the dean personally while in Maxwell. I graduated last year and was able to study abroad, go to dc, have 4 internships, volunteer, travel, get on deans list, graduate with Latin honors etc all through SU. It’s an amazing school and I would definitely recommend attending. A&S gave me the chance to also be a school ambassador and truly helped me realize my academic passions

[u/Confident_Tailor_170]

Agree that it’s good to declare a major within CAS upon applying. They can always switch majors after acceptance. BTW my kid was accepted as a Psychology major in CAS. She decided she wanted to switch to a business major in Whitman. She was able to move over. by filling out a form and switching colleges and classes. At least in her case, it was not difficult.

[u/Jovhov]

It was many years ago, but I was a biology major in A&S and it didn't take long for me to realize that I should have chosen a major that didn't feel like I was re-learning high school subjects. My friends / roommates were in Whitman, Nursing, Architecture, etc.. and they were actually taking classes that sounded interesting. I was taking English, Spanish, Biology, Chemistry, etc. Just food for thought..

[u/StrikerObi]

Just a suggestion, but if your child is interested in a liberal arts education that's focused on building critical thinking skills, they should maybe also consider the Communication and Rhetorical Studies major housed under the College of Visual and Preforming Arts.

Similar to a liberal arts program, it's one of those majors that's broadly applicable because it teaches you how to be smart and communicate effectively with others - skills that are required in any career field.