Today was the first of two days for admitted students on campus, and I spent some time talking to prospective students about both our study abroad programs and the English department. After talking to so many people, I found myself repeating a few nuggets of knowledge to pretty much everyone, which I would like to share here:
There seems to be this misconception that studying abroad will make you fall behind, and that’s just not true. I was just a minor in Spanish before I left for Costa Rica, but I picked up so much Spanish credit while I was abroad that I only needed to take a few classes here at McDaniel to finish up the major upon my return. The key is planning with your adviser and the International Programs Office to make sure that your credits will transfer.
Don’t put yourself in a box. We really love hearing students say that they are undecided at Admitted Students Day because they will most likely explore various fields of study and student organizations before organically coming upon the best fit. I talked to students who did not feel that they could study abroad or take writing classes because of the major they had chosen, but I really encourage exploring all options for study, especially when we have to fulfill the McDaniel Plan anyway!
You can combine areas of study to fit your needs. I met some students who had interests that spanned across a couple of our majors, such as English, Communications, and Cinema. It can feel daunting when you are looking at the information for all of our different majors and minors, but it is pretty easy to study all the things you love by doing dual majors or taking on a minor. Be sure to talk to professors in all the departments you are interested in because they have probably had students with the same skill sets and will know from experience how to accommodate your interests.
Happy Admitted Students Day! We will be holding another one in one week on Sunday, April 14.
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