Collegiate FIRST competition

[Chris is me]

Perhaps I'm jumping the gun on Collegiate FIRST. Sorry about that.

Originally Posted by RoboMom

<a slight veer off-topic>

Chris. Perhaps a little research is in order.

I really should do some... I was going off personal experience and such. At RPI for example, engineering is a very difficult program to get into, and they have other disciplines they are kind of sort of working to build upon. I don't think they would be willing to finance a program that would make people stay at RPI longer after a late major shift, or one designed to overbloat their engineering program by making another 25 or so people jump ship every year..

While a lot of schools have large and broad programs in many disciplines, unlike high school many colleges specialize in liberal arts or the sciences. If you applied to MIT and got in, chances are you don't despise STEM and have already thought about this kind of thing.

Originally Posted by Brandon Holley

College students I believe fit that criteria. I think where your and my opinion is different is that once you hit college and choose a major your life isn't set in stone. I know tons of people who become engineers (aka earn a degree) who are not cut out to be one and shift gears way after their undergrad days. I also know quite a few people who became engineers long after they earned their first bachelor's degree. Who's to say you can't change your mind sometime down the road.

I agree completely, but at the same time I guess I find it hard to believe that there would be an extracurricular that would successfully attract non-STEM students to work on an incredibly hard challenge in a discipline they didn't consider before college. It's hard enough getting "non robotics kids" on the team in high school, where every 10 seconds you're told you can do anything you want to with your life. How could this program appeal to different disciplines?

Originally Posted by Mark McLeod

I have a friend who's an MIT graduate in History. He does have to explain his degree whenever the topic comes up.

I actually know of someone who graduated from Caltech with an English degree. He did explain that he was one of 3 in his class year, and that the majority were double majors.