Liberal arts student at USNA

[Jarhead1775]

Hey all,

So I'm a candidate for the USNA class of 2018 waiting to hear from admissions and my nomination sources for my admission status. If admitted to the academy I would be entering one of the most technical schools in the nation, thriving on brilliance in the math and science fields. However, I have been blessed with a passion for the humanities and liberal arts, as I plan to major in history or political science in college. Math and science have never been my strong sets and I'm a B and sometimes C student when it comes to them. On my SAT I scored a 580 on my math while I scored a 610 in verbal.

My question to you is if admitted, can a "words guy" like me succeed in a "numbers guy" environment?

 

[Jayceguy]

I know of a few people who weren't words guys but took words guy courses, like majoring in English because it was easier than aero engineering. They did this so that they could have a higher class rank, and thus be more likely to get the branch selection they wanted.

Sent using the Service Academy Forums® mobile app

 

[Hurricane12]

Like you, I performed significantly better on verbal than math, and just in general did "okay" (B to B+) in my math and science courses in high school while excelling with ease in my humanities courses.

I struggled with calculus and some of the technical courses, but it's more about good study skills than aptitude. It took me a year and a half to realize I shouldn't use classes I found boring as naptime. By second class and firstie year, I figured out what worked for me in those classes and did fairly well in them.

If you do actually really struggle while putting out effort with the STEM courses, the profs are usually very helpful and there are lot of resources, both official and unofficial (classmates, friends, etc) to get you where you need to be.

 

[usna1985]

Roughly 35% of each class majors in "humanities," including Poly Sci, history, economics, English, Arabic or Chinese. However, as you well know, you must take and pass many technical courses.

I echo Hurricane's comments -- they could have been my own in my days there. You need to figure out how to study for the technical courses and be willing to get extra help early and often. There is much more formal support in that regard than when I was there.

 

[Jarhead1775]

Thank you very much everyone. Very helpful information. I would say that this is a pretty good problem to have, all things being equal and I hope I get the chance to run into this issue oddly enough. Thanks again.