48 options; 11 to 20 requirements. Your parents probably think your choice will make you either a billionaire or leave you living in their basement for the rest of your twenties. If you’re proud of yours, you may even decide to buy the $200+ diploma frame at the Coop to show off the fancy title of what other schools just call majors.
Concentrations.
Choosing a concentration is hard. There are so many friends, family members, professors, advisors to listen to and so many factors to consider. As an Engineering concentrator who switched concentration tracks, and was considering everything from History of Art and Architecture to Applied Math sophomore fall, here is my hopefully straightforward advice on our most important academic choice at Harvard.
Pick what you genuinely enjoy studying.
As simple as this may sound, this is very important. Your best memories from Harvard will not be from classes or problem sets–you may learn way more from your peers than your professors–but college is most likely your last chance to really read and discuss works of important philosophers or spend hours struggling through a beautiful, theoretical math problem. Picking classes and lectures that you find intellectually exciting is actually, honestly the most important advice I can give anyone. Be excited about your concentration; be proud and be able to give real reasons for why you love studying what you study, and not why it will land you a great job.
You don’t have to concentrate in what you’re best at.
What you are best at during your sophomore year of college may not align with what you enjoy studying the most, and that’s completely okay. I know plenty of people who were Science Olympiad or Math Team “nerds” but declared Sociology or Social Studies as their concentrations. Your passion for the new field, your willingness and ability to change focus, and your unique point of view will make you successful at your concentration anyway.
Don’t feel pressured to relate your concentration what you think you may want to do in the future.
Your liberal arts education at Harvard will teach you how to think, communicate your thoughts, and be critical despite your concentration. While you may initially think that your concentration will open and close doors to certain careers, what you study at Harvard may matter much less than you think. I know dedicated pre-meds studying History of Art and Architecture as well as Economics concentrators considering going to graduate school in Engineering. Your summer internships and interviews will probably matter way more in your job applications than your concentration. Again, this goes back to my first point: make sure you study what you really care about.
However, if you do have a very clear idea of your future career, think about how your concentration will relate to it.
If you think you are really sure about what you want to do after you graduate, consider how your concentration will help you in achieving your goals. This does not necessarily mean you have to pick the most closely related field. But if you do want to go to graduate school in a field, work in a different part of the world, or work in a field most often sought out by graduates with a certain degree, recognize what your concentration will mean when you get to the next stage of your life. For example, I know I want to go to design school one day, but I really enjoy my quantitative engineering classes and know that my engineering skills will definitely help me with my future career as an architect.
If all goes wrong, remember that your decision sophomore fall does not have to be the final one.
This is very important. You can switch tracks within your concentration. You can switch concentrations. You can always pick up a language citation or a secondary field if you wish! However, do be aware of certain concentrations that do have gateway courses that you must take sophomore spring, junior spring, etc. If you are choosing between two concentrations or think you may switch concentrations later, it is a great idea to keep track of the requirements for all of your potential picks.
And think about a lot of other things too…
There are, of course, a million other things to consider. How many other concentrators are there? What is the concentration community like? There’s a big difference between being one of 577 students in Economics and being one of fours students in South Asian Studies. Who is the concentration advisor and what do other students say about him or her? Is studying abroad encouraged? Is research highly recommended? Do you have to write a thesis in a certain track?
Don’t forget that this is supposed to be a great stepping stone, not a stressful choice.
Good luck, sophomores!