Major/minor Dilemma

[SmokeyG]

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I have no idea what to do. No idea. I'm interested in damn near everything. I'm very capable of double majoring, but there are four subjects I want to focus on. They are Spanish, Biology, Mandarin, and Marketing.

I test into 300 levels for Spanish - no matter what (I've already talked to my college consoler). I also have AP credit in 9 classes, so that will help free my schedule (although I'm retaking a large portion of them to boost the GPA).

So I'm confused. I know minors mean next to nothing. I do not want to overwhelm myself, though; I want to enjoy college. I'm thinking I might just double in Spanish and Marketing. Is this wise? Truth be told, I'm not a giant fan of business classes, but my parents insist I take some because the believe they are great classes that I'll be able to use in any field. As they are both grads of the same school I'm going to, I respect their opinion and see their argument.

Let me know what you think, and thanks for your insight!

 

[AHorseOffCourse]

There's going to be portions of school that are very difficult. I would major or double major in something you absolutely adore and love. I started out in engineering, partly to pleas other people. I quickly realized that even though I was capable of being a good engineer and excelling, it wasn't what I was passionaite about and I switched over to something more biolgoy oriented.

Yes, now that I'm in the working world, I can see the application of business classes, but I have to tell you - I would have hated every minute of my UG if I had tried to do it back them, becuase I simply didn't ahve anything to relate it to.

I completely respect you for trying to respect your parents views etc. i get that. However, I would also caution you that double major has a major risk of burn out etc, and if I did it, I would make sure the two subjects I was majoring in were for MYSELF and things I loved.

IMO it's very easy to make up the business stuff later as an MBA student etc. The business side of my job hasn't been too difficult ot pick up on either. I WILL be trying to take business oriented classes in vet school, but I don't think it necessarily set me back by not taking them as an UG.

 

[obscurehero]

I think one of the bigger questions you need to ask yourself is what do you expect to get out of a college education? Why are you going to school in the first place? Where does your final degree actually put you, and at what cost?

A double major is nice because of the exposure you get to diverse fields. It might improve your chances at medical schools because of such a difficult transcript and such a diverse educational background. However, I'm not terribly sure it's going to give you that much advantage as a doctor. Also, you might not be capable of getting as high of a GPA as a double major student. You could also consider your schools honors program as opposed to double majoring. Likewise, having fun in your undergrad is important but if you just wanted to have fun from 18-22 then you could save a lot of money and just not go to college. People who go to college solely FOR the college experience of binge drinking, frats/sorrorities, college sports, etc. etc. are terribly misguided IMHO. So that's something to bear in mind.

I definitely had a similar experience as a high school senior. I liked the sciences (had thought about medicine, but probably wasn't going to do it), but I also like political science, economics, philosophy, and theology. I had a lot of AP credits as well.

Double majoring with that many AP credits, as well as testing high into Spanish shouldn't be terrible trouble. It depends on the school, the amount of credits is required...etc. etc. Remember that if you're going to be a pre-med and major in a non-science major, you'll be taking classes that really don't qualify towards a major or minor unless you declare one.

Given your position in Spanish you need to either major or minor in it hands-down. From there you can go undecided for your first year and check out some classes in marketing, biology, mandarin, etc. You can see how you like the department and programs. Understanding a bit about everything is one of the nice things about a liberal arts education...However, don't expect that you're signing up for a specific product when you go to college. You need to make your college experience your own...that is, your education will be what you make of it no matter the prestige or lack thereof of your undergrad.

Sure there's more time for school later...make sure whatever you choose you can do well...no matter how much you "love" it. Yes, everyone tells you to pick something you love. However, you also need to understand sometimes your career won't be something that you love...and even a field you major in might have a few classes you hate. Just take the good with the bad.

 

[sgtbrushes]

The other thing is, I'm assuming you'll be a freshman this fall. You can pretty much take anything you want your freshman year, regardless of major. I have one major and no minor, and I am very happy with what I'm learning. The only point of a minor is to take classes which interest you. You can just take one or two classes a semester in an elective sort of fashion. Try take 1 or 2 electives each semester your freshman year to hone in on your major. Try your best, and have fun.

 

[Journey2become]

I have no idea what to do. No idea. I'm interested in damn near everything. I'm very capable of double majoring, but there are four subjects I want to focus on. They are Spanish, Biology, Mandarin, and Marketing.

I test into 300 levels for Spanish - no matter what (I've already talked to my college consoler). I also have AP credit in 9 classes, so that will help free my schedule (although I'm retaking a large portion of them to boost the GPA).

So I'm confused. I know minors mean next to nothing. I do not want to overwhelm myself, though; I want to enjoy college. I'm thinking I might just double in Spanish and Marketing. Is this wise? Truth be told, I'm not a giant fan of business classes, but my parents insist I take some because the believe they are great classes that I'll be able to use in any field. As they are both grads of the same school I'm going to, I respect their opinion and see their argument.

Let me know what you think, and thanks for your insight!

After taking the CHM classes I needed Gen I/II, Organic I/II and BioCHM I already had my minor in CHM, I thought about double majoring in CHM but did not want to jeopardize my GPA. Also, if you take the recommended amount of upper division Bio classes you would essentially have a minor in it too. So I would caution in a double major in two fields that are not in the area of required classes because you will end up doing the work of two majors and two minors.
Since you would be able to test out of several credits in Spanish it would be a natural option for a double major - but I would pair it with another science major so that all of your medical pre-requirements actually will count toward something in your degree.
If you want to go to medical school you should plan your classes around when you want to take the Mcat and then take classes that are needed or that would be beneficial before taking it. Then you pepper in other classes you think you may enjoy.

 

[SmokeyG]

Wow, Journey, that was very insightful. I'm very glad you posted...I'll be taking that into consideration!

 

[vivalavie]

The other thing is, I'm assuming you'll be a freshman this fall. You can pretty much take anything you want your freshman year, regardless of major. I have one major and no minor, and I am very happy with what I'm learning. The only point of a minor is to take classes which interest you. You can just take one or two classes a semester in an elective sort of fashion. Try take 1 or 2 electives each semester your freshman year to hone in on your major. Try your best, and have fun.

This. You need to realize that nobody cares if you double or triple or quadruple majored. Minors don't mean anything at all, most people I know who minored just realized, "hey, if I take this one additional class I can declare a minor in that. huh."

I recommend taking lots of very different classes freshman year and declaring sophomore year when you find something that interests you. I started as a History major and ended up doing Neuroscience... you probably have no idea where your interests lie at this point.

That said, practical majors are always good because the majority of medical school applicants aren't accepted. If you can find something you love and can make a buck at, major in it. Don't play the double-major game, it doesn't pay: you get a much more well rounded education and you tend to do better GPA-wise if you use your electives for things you actually want to know about.