In high school, where you sat in the cafeteria was crucial because it likely defined your “clique.” You had the popular girls, band geeks, overachievers, jocks, theater kids, and hipsters. In college, choosing your major is an important decision- some may say it defines you. Sometimes we feel like we can relate to stereotypes within our majors. Other times, however, we laugh at how inaccurate they are. Let’s have a laugh at the way some college majors are stereotyped, be they true or false.
Nursing: Nursing students choose their majors because they like to help people. Almost half of freshman girls start out in nursing and one fourth of them switch to a simpler major like communication studies or education because of GPA busters like organic chemistry and anatomy. You can find them at the library with their Vera Bradley backpacks, stacks of textbooks and notebooks.
Business: Business majors think they’re going to be the next Warren Buffett or Bill Gates. They always dress for success, sporting a blazer or sports jacket. Their shoes of choice are ballet flats, heels, loafers or Sperry’s. They typically carry a messenger bag or a Swiss Gear backpack while reading a copy of the New York Times.
Fashion: Fashion students dress up for class like they’re going to a photo shoot. Most of them major in fashion because they like to shop and dream of working in New York City. Fashion majors love using #girlboss in their Instagram posts, even if it doesn’t relate to Sophia Amoruso’s book or starting a business. For example, a freshman fashion major’s Instagram post might read, “Found the perfect outfit at Goodwill to wear to Karra’s party #girlboss.”
Visual communication design: Visual communication design (VCD) students are a mysterious bunch. They’re always working on projects and portfolios, so they never have time to hang out, which is why VCD majors are mostly friends with other VCD majors. Sometimes they venture outside of the art building to smoke a cigarette and talk about their critiques.
English: English majors are pretty elusive. They’re either reading, working on their Legend of Korra fan faction or writing another chapter of their novel. One out of three English majors owns a cat and is a tea connoisseur (or so they say).
Geology: Geology majors love an adventure. They go hiking and biking on the weekends. They’re also very environmentally conscious, sporting their Tevas shoes and always keeping some homemade organic trail mix on hand.
Athletic training: Athletic training majors are in sweats 24/7 and spend more time at the gym than at the library. They dream of becoming trainers for the NFL or NBA.
Theatre: When they’re not watching Doctor Who or Glee, theatre majors love to gossip. They are constantly singing in the hallways or doing vocal exercises in the bathroom. They believe their degrees are tickets to Broadway.
Women’s studies: Unfortunately, people like think women’s studies majors are easily summed up by three words; young, angry, and feminist. Their favorite writers are Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf. They’re active in protests such as the Free the Nipple campaign, pro-choice protests and the period tax campaign. Cisgender, patriarchy and privilege are the most popular words in their vocabulary.
Political Science: Political science majors love a good debate. Whether it’s issues like immigration, gun control, abortion or simply whether Coca Cola is better than Pepsi, political science majors will always tell you how they feel. Most of them have helped campaigned for a presidential candidate and have stickers promoting their favorite politicians on their laptops.
Engineering: Women are the majority on college campuses, but they’re highly underrepresented in STEM fields. Female engineering students around the country have been tearing down sexist stereotypes by posting #iLookLikeAnEngineer pictures.