Rumors often circulate about the demanding, life-threatening nature of the University's various pre-professional schools such as Commerce, Engineering and Architecture. Inevitably, a swarm of students drop out of these schools each year, which either perpetuates or proves the rumors -- or both. And yet, a solid number of students remain. The decision can be founded on any assortment of factors, but ultimately, whether a student stays or goes depends on the individual.
Second-year College student Julia Bottiny was recently accepted into the Commerce School. She said she knew that she wanted to apply since she came to the University.
"My dad is an economist and my brother majored in marketing, so I've always been around business, and it's a good program here," she said.
Application to the Commerce School takes place the spring semester of a student's second year. A number of pre-commerce students decided not to apply after taking the course COMM 201, Bottiny said.
Although she did go on to apply to the school, Bottiny said hearing so many negative comments about the Commerce School affected her to some extent.
"I was discouraged because I heard that if you got into the Comm. School you just live there," Bottiny said. "And when I was a pre-Comm., people would say, 'Oh it's another pre-Commer.' So yeah, it was really hard, but I knew I wanted to do it."
Still, Bottiny said she persisted because of the advantages she believes the Commerce School offers.
"I know that the Comm. School gives you a lot of opportunities to get you good jobs because they give you a lot of contacts," she said.
Similar to the Commerce School, the demanding nature of introductory Engineering classes can discourage some students from pursuing a major in the school.
Third-year College student Elena Fotiou said she was one of those students last year, dropping out of the Engineering School in the spring of her second year.
Fotiou cited a range of reasons that led her to leave the school.
"It was a little too stressful, lots of work and I just didn't enjoy being in the school," she said. "I actually wanted to do computer science, and after taking C++ I realized I didn't want to do that, and then I thought chemical engineering would work, and that was what made me miserable."
Unlike students who are pressured by their parents to remain in a certain school, Fotiou was the one who stuck with her plan.
"I had more pressure not to do it, which is why I waited until spring of my second year instead of dropping out earlier," she said.
Fotiou acknowledged that remaining in the Engineering school was somewhat an act of defiance against her parents.
Another concern of some students dropping out of a school is falling behind in the major-selecting process. However, Fotiou said dropping out did not place her at a disadvantage because many of her credits transferred to her new major.
"It actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be because I switched to chemistry," she said.
Other students change their minds in the reverse direction. First-year College student Tamar Shafrir had initially applied to the College, but upon coming to the University, decided she wanted to be in the Architecture School. She is now in the process of applying and is preparing for the upcoming interview.
"Something that really attracted me was that since the school was much smaller than the College, there's a stronger communal sense among the students," Shafrir said, adding another source of motivation. "It gives you a more definite direction towards your career path."
Shafrir is putting a great deal of faith into her decision to transfer schools.
"I hope I get in, because I have absolutely no Plan B," she said.
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