Finding My Major: Clara Meister
"My honest suggestions would be to 1) talk to upperclassmen and 2) keep an open mind. College is a time to explore. Take classes across a bunch of different disciplines-even if the only outcome is that you fulfill a WAYS requirement. "
- Clara Meister, '17
Do you have a story about finding your major?
"I was pretty unsure of my major before arriving at Stanford. I contemplated quite a few, from Physics to Economics. I actually discovered my major by talking to my resident writing tutor (there are no longer residential tutors, but you can make an appointment with a tutor at Hume Writing Center). He recommended I look into Mathematical and Computational Science since I liked applied math. Mathematical and Computational Science is an interdisciplinary major that combines courses from math, computer science, statistics, and management science and engineering. At first, I was incredibly scared at the prospect of pursuing a major that involved computer science. I was not very tech savvy so therefore I would be awful at computer science, right? That wasn’t a very practical assumption. I finally bit the bullet and enrolled in CS 106A (Introduction to Programming) and absolutely loved CS. I am currently starting the process of declaring my major and haven’t thought twice about it. My honest suggestions would be to 1) talk to upperclassmen and 2) keep an open mind. College is a time to explore. Take classes across a bunch of different disciplines-even if the only outcome is that you fulfill a WAYS requirement. Ask upperclassmen about their experiences. They’ve been in your shoes, and you might actually find out about majors or classes that really interest you."
Why should I take classes outside of my expected major?
Clara Meister
Mathematical and Computational Science
Class of 2017
If you have a Stanford Story you would like to share, contact melissas@stanford.edu.