Changing My Major

In my first three years at Penn, I changed my major an equal amount of times. I came to Penn looking to major in History, as that was my favorite subject throughout high school and where I thought I would excel the most. It also seemed like a good idea for law school since most skills would be easily transferrable. After a year, however, my passion for history waned out. Not because of Penn, our History Department is phenomenal, and the courses I took were truly incredible. The access to world-class historians and premier primary sources were more than I could have ever imagined. On the contrary, those experiences fomented my curiosity, and I wondered what else was out there. I knew there were so many majors and courses at Penn, and part of me wanted to take them all. Looking for a more interdisciplinary course of study, I switched to Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE). My experience was amazing, as I got to take a wide breadth of classes, from Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Law, and Economic Analysis of Law. However, after taking Microeconomics, I quickly realized the latter part of the major was not for me. And that’s okay. I was frustrated in the moment, but now, as a senior, I realize that’s the beauty of the College. Towards the end of my sophomore year, I ended up switching to the Criminology major, and I have never looked back. For starters, all the courses I had taken, even those in my other majors, were easily adjustable to my new one, and I did not fall behind in any manner. Penn’s curriculum is so flexible, that every course was able to fit into one of the three components: General Education, with Sector and Foundational requirements, the Major and Minor itself, and Elective courses. And so, just like any major is good for law school, I was able to switch and choose any major at Penn, without any drawbacks. On top of it all, I was able to find the only Criminology major in the Ivy League, something which I have loved and has allowed me to focus my passion for the law to Criminal Law specifically.

-Humberto C.