MajoringinEnglishforFunandProfit

　　Thestudyofliteratureisnotonlycivilizedandcivilizing—encompassing,asitdoes,philosophy,religion,thehistoryofeventsandthehistoryofideas—butpopularandpractical.One-sixthofallthosewhoreceivebachelor’sdegreesfromtheCollegeofArtsandSciencesareEnglishmajors.Thesegraduatesqualifyforasurprisingrangeofjobs.TheirexperienceputsthelietothepopularsuperstitionthatEnglishmajorsmustchoosebetweenjournalismandteaching:infact,Englishmajorsalsoreceiveexcellentpreparationforfuturecareersinlaw,medicine,business,andgovernmentservice.　

　　　Undergraduateslookingforwardtolawschoolormedicalschoolareoftenadvisedtofollowastrictregimenofcoursesconsidereddirectlyrelevanttotheircareerchoices.Futurelaw-schoolstudentsareadvisedtotakecoursesinpoliticalscience,history,accounting,businessadministration—evenhumananatomy,andmarriageandfamilylife.Futuremedicalschoolstudentsaresteeredintomultiplesciencecourses—actuallyfarmoresciencecoursesthantheyneedforentranceintomedicalschool.Surprisingly,manylawschoolsandmedicalschoolsindicatethatsuchspecializedpreparationisnotonlyunnecessary,butundesirable.Thereareno"pre-law"courses:thebestpreparationforlawschool—andforthepracticeoflaw—isthatpreparationwhichmakesastudentcapableofcriticalthinking;ofclear,logicalself-expression;ofsensitiveanalysisofthemotives,theactions,andthethoughtsofotherhumanbeings.TheseareskillswhichthestudyofEnglishisdesignedtoteach.

　　　Entranceintolawschool,moreover,generallyrequiresabachelor’sdegreefromanaccreditedinstitution,aminimumgradepointaverage,andanacceptablescoreontheLawSchoolAdmissionTest(L.S.A.T.).Thistesthasthreeparts.Thefirstevaluatesskillsinreadingcomprehension,infigureclassification,andintheevaluationofwrittenmaterial.ThesecondpartofthetestevaluatescontrolofEnglishgrammarandusage,abilitytoorganizewrittenmaterials,andcompetencetoedit.Thethirdpartevaluatesthestudent’sgeneralknowledgeofliterature,art,music,andthenaturalandsocialsciences.ClearlyanundergraduatemajorinEnglishisstrongpreparationfortheL.S.A.T.

　　　Asformedicalschools,themainrequirementforadmissionisonlythirty-twohoursofsciencecourses.ThisrequirementiscertainlynoimpedimenttoamajorinEnglish.MoreovermanymedicalschoolsrequireaminimumscoreontheMedicalCollegeAdmissionsTest,anothertestwhichoffersanadvantagetothewell-roundedliberalartsstudent.TheM.C.A.T.evaluatesfourareasofcompetence:skillwithsynonyms,antonyms,andwordassociation;knowledgeofbasicmathematicsfromfractionsthroughsolidgeometry;generalknowledgeofliterature,philosophy,psychology,music,art,andthesocialsciences;andfamiliaritywiththosefundamentalsofbiology,chemistry,andphysicstaughtinhighschoolandinintroductorycollegecourses.TheEnglishmajorwithasolid,basicgroundinginscienceiswellpreparedforthistestandformedicalschool,wherehisorherskillsinreading,analysis,interpretation,andprecisecommunicationwillequiphimorhertoexcel.Thestudyandpracticeofmedicinecanonlybenefitfromtheinsightsintohumanbehaviorprovidedbythestudyofliterature.　

　　Suchinsig