We asked Penn kids about their ‘major’ problems

Let’s be real—majors are like marriages. None of them are absolutely, positively 100% perfect.

The Tab decided to look into a few majors and some of their major problems.

Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE)

A popular college major, PPE tends to attract Pre-Laws because the vast material tends to encompass things that would be useful in Law School.

PPE can also prepare its students from anything from public policy, to consulting, or even international affairs.

Jin Kim, Senior

“I chose to major in PPE because I really liked how it blended qualitative aspects, which are one of my main passions and where my academic interests are, with the liberal arts side without losing sight of the quantitative side with economics.

“I think that the hardest part for me was choosing a theme to study because what I wanted from the major wasn’t that fleshed out and there were so many courses to choose from.

“My theme didn’t become fleshed until my senior year because I kept focusing on the breath of the courses and not so much the depth.”

Pr(eMED)

Pre-Meds naturally have to do a lot of work—from taking math to physics to chemistry to the dreaded organic chemistry.

Engineering PreMeds (eMeds), on the other hand, have to take on those same requirements while fitting in their engineering classes to fulfill the degree requirements.

Jessica Fan, Junior

“I love being able to look at medicine from an engineering perspective as an engineering Pre-Med. I guess it adds a practical application to engineering by seeing how you can directly impact someone else’s life. It might be a lot of work, but it’s extremely rewarding.

“I think the biggest part of being an eMed is time management. A lot of people think that engineering Pre-Meds just hole themselves up in their room and study all the time. That’s not true.

“We have a lot of work, but we take time to make time. Of course, it means you have to be really, really efficient with your time, or else things just don’t get done.”

Finance

At Wharton, finance is the most popular concentration. Compared to other Wharton concentrations, it’s relatively easy to concentrate in finance.

Along with taking the core requirements of Wharton Finance 100 and Finance 101, students only have to take four additional classes in the Finance department for a grade to be able to declare a finance concentration.

Isabelle Zhu, Sophomore

“I chose finance for a couple of reasons. My parents are both in finance, and they like to joke that they brainwashed me into choosing the major.

“I think that finance is interesting, especially the investment banking side of it. I think it’s cool to be able to use finance to help achieve optimal firm growth.”

“I also like how it’s so easy to get multiple concentrations in Wharton, so I think it’s worthwhile to do a finance concentration to take full advantage of my Wharton education. It’s a lot of work, but everything’s a lot of work.”

Nursing

Penn is the only undergraduate Ivy League to offer an undergraduate BSN, and Penn’s program is one of the best in the country. For a nursing student, clinicals can be 6-12.5 hours a day, depending on the semester.

In addition to caring for patents, students must also pick up their patients charts to create a plan of care the day before.

Casey Smith, Senior

“I guess 5 adjectives I would use to describe nursing are difficult, exhausting (physically, mentally, emotionally), fulfilling, practical and enriching.

“There are a lot of things I love about nursing. I love the daily guarantee that I will contribute to someone’s life in a tangible way every day, just by going to work and doing my best.

“I love the combination of the science of the human body and the art of healing juxtaposed into a calling, career and discipline. I love how it has broadened my capacity for compassion and empowered me to help others’ suffering. I also am hopeful that I will find a job.

“As we are taught how to best take care of patients, nursing students are often subject to academic requirements that prevent us from taking care of our own selves. By the end of the day or week, I’m too exhausted to go out or be socially functional.

“I’ve had to sacrifice many interests in order to succeed as a nursing student. Many of my non-nursing peers don’t understand the level of commitment and subsequent exhaustion that we experience, and this can be frustrating.”

Christian Perucho, Junior (Right)

“I chose nursing because I have always had a passion for healthcare and have always wanted to make a direct impact on the lives of others.

“When I first got to Penn, I wanted to become a pediatric nurse practitioner and work on improving public health outcomes for children in developing countries, but as a junior, I’ve become more interested in the gerontologicalpopulation and am considering a career in palliative/end-of-life care.

“I think that the biggest challenge of the major is how taxing it is on your body, both physically and mentally. On top of clinical hours and getting the patients info done the day before, we still have to juggle our lecture classes, simulation labs, and extracurricular activities.

“So sometimes it’s hard to make sure that I get enough sleep or eat correctly, which is slightly hypocritical because we’re the ones that are supposed to be promoting good health practices to our patients.”

“Additionally, we see patients throughout the life spectrum, including birth and death, which can take a toll on you emotionally. However, having the privilege to experience something as personal as that is one of the reasons why I love my major and can’t imagine myself doing anything else.”

Undeclared

This major is popular among freshman and sophomores. Penn’s academics allow for students to explore different majors, especially since Wharton and the College only require students to declare their majors at the end of sophomore year. For engineering, students must declare at the end of freshman year.

Chigozie Amon, Freshman

“As an undeclared pre-med, I feel there’s a lot of pressure for me to get in all the sciences and the requirements that Med schools’ want to see. That and the fact that I’m still not quite sure what I want to major in puts added pressure to decide.

“It’s hard to explore your interests when you must take certain classes to fulfill requirements.”

Vivian Dai, Freshman

“I’m undecided because I’ve never been really sure where my interests lie and I don’t really know what I want to do with my life.

“Sometimes, I feel extremely pressured to choose by my mom and by my peers who already decided on majors, and there’s the added pressure of being part of this very professional university.

“I feel that there’s pressure to conform to some kind of track, whether it’s like pre-med or business. I know I have time, but I’m scared. I have no idea what I want to do.”