When I posted my piece in November about double majors, Allison--currently a student an Occidental College--commented about an important aspect I overlooked: at some universities, especially large ones, switching majors can be very difficult. High school students who really do plan on double majoring should make solid plans ahead of time to facilitate it. I agreed with her point...and then recruited her to tell me more about her own mind-changing switch to a double major.
Changing your mind
Today we hear from Gisele, possibly the most upbeat, optimistic, and enthusiastic student I ever taught. She's now at Dartmouth. I asked Gisele to tell me about when she changed majors and why she took a gap year to pursue a music project, and her responses surprised me. Plus, she's still considering making some tweaks even after coming to terms with what she wants.
Admissions departments are biased
Recently Kira Talent, a group that designs holistic application processes for universities, conducted its annual bias survey of over 100 departments. Their conclusion probably won't be a surprise: the average score for working against bias is a "C+." What does that mean?



