LAST WEEK, I had one of those awkward encounters that instantly make you feel discouraged or misunderstood. My encounter, however, had nothing to do with most things people associate with awkwardness. I was simply asked about my major.
For us English majors, this moment is one we dread, not because we are ashamed of our area of study but because of the question that inevitably follows our reply: "So, are you going to teach?" I admire teachers and often rue the day I discovered my dislike of children from ages 5-18, but as I emphatically tell most people I meet, teaching is not my only option.
A 2006 national survey found that 70 percent of first-year medical students took a social science class for personal interest. While this statistic alone is not surprising, comparing it to the 1999 survey in which only 58 percent of medical students took a social science class for personal interest says a lot.
These days, it seems, many students are viewing college as a chance to study what interests them, and -- believe it or not -- even institutions like medical schools are starting to notice. Newsweek notes that more liberal arts majors are applying and getting into medical schools because of an emphasis on being well-rounded. Humanities students, in fact, fare better on the MCATS, out-scoring biology majors in all categories. Gwen Garrison, vice president for the medical school service and studies at the Association of American Medical Colleges, was quoted in Newsweek as saying, "The Schools are looking for a kind of compassion and potential doctoring ability. This makes many social science and humanities students particularly well-qualified."
With all of these surprising trends occurring, it is easy to see why we need to throw out our antiquated ideas of simply going to school to become a doctor, lawyer or businessman and, instead, replace them with a more logical view of the college experience. Being in the Commerce School or studying biology are not the only keys to being successful in life, and studying the liberal arts can often be just as useful.
We often joke in our English classes about the stereotypes of the English major. Our only hope of being successful is to live in books for years and become a professor; otherwise we will end up in a cardboard box or teaching middle school English. This, however, is a narrow view on the merits of a liberal arts education. Being a liberal arts major never goes out of style. Good writing skills, good analytical skills and the ability to argue in a persuasive and logical way are not only practical skills to have, but skills that will be useful in any profession. Many lawyers were once liberal arts majors, practicing their talents in the courtroom in an essay on the merits of T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land." Many businessmen were once liberal arts majors, learning the ability to woo clients in a discussion of Shakespeare's "Hamlet." And yes, even many doctors were once liberal arts majors, learning the ability to listen to patients and read between the lines after a reading of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven."
Of course, becoming a lawyer, businessman or doctor requires specialized courses in those specific topics of study, and no English major could pick up a scalpel without some serious medical schooling. But the skills learned through a liberal arts education are valuable nonetheless.
The ability to write is often underestimated the most. Many math or science majors view liberal arts as too subjective, seeing papers as some whimsical form of grading not comparable to Scantron tests. But in the real world, no one will hand you a bubble sheet and ask you to pick the right answer. In the real world, most questions cannot be answered with A, B, C or D, and writing letters, reports and files is commonplace. Would a client feel comfortable investing with a firm that cannot write an intelligent and thoughtful business letter? Or would a patient feel comfortable with a doctor that cannot explain, in layman's terms, their case and condition? Writing and reasoning are useful in any field, instilling confidence of your intelligence in others.
Beyond any of the practical applications of a liberal arts education, it is simply enjoyable. There is no other time in your life when you can learn about pretty much anything and everything you've ever wanted to know and not have to sacrifice something else. Taking classes purely for medical or business school is extremely limiting and joyless. Outside of work, no one will ask you the quadratic formula or how fast a mass falls, but they will reference Shakespeare, World War II, Monet and Freud. The liberal arts are everywhere, and there is no reason to dismiss them as unimportant.
Lindsay Huggins's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at lhuggins@cavalierdaily.com.
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