I wasn’t sure what category this should go in, so I just chose college life.
My number one choice college is Syracuse. It’s an expensive school, but from what I’ve discovered, it’s the only one that offers a double major program with both the majors I want (Biochemistry & Finance).
I know that balancing two majors will be really hard. And on top of that, I plan on going to med school afterwards, which requires that I finish undergrad with at least a 3.5 GPA. But I’ve worked really hard in high school and I have good work ethic/time management skills, so I’m confident I can handle it.
However, my parents are helping very little, and I’m hoping I can get financial aid (Syracuse is really generous with aid, so I’m counting on that). My mom wants me to work in college, but I doubt I’d be able to with two majors. She says I’m just making excuses, but I didn’t even have time for work my junior year of high school, and that was with only one AP class and band.
Does anyone have experience working AND managing a double major? Or just a job and college in general? Would I be able to manage it, or am I right in that I probably won’t have time?
Yep, I had a double major, a minor, was active in clubs and organizations, and had a job. That’s not really saying much, since it depends largely on you. For me, having a double major wasn’t any more stressful than only having one major, since I was still going to be taking 16-18 credits either way. Academics came first, and I was lucky to find an on-campus job that was very flexible with my schedule. I was also very organized and was able to juggle everything at once. If you don’t think you can handle it, you probably know yourself well enough to say that. Maybe wait a semester to get settled in before taking a job. For me, I was under less pressure than you might be since I had all my costs covered and worked for “spending money”, basically.
Syracuse is not the only school that offers both biochem and finance. My university offers both (and you can double major in them) and I’m sure many others do. Keep looking if Syracuse will be expensive for you (not saying you shouldn’t apply- but you want to make sure you have affordable options). Run the Net Price Calculator!
I’m a double major (math and CS) and double minor (music and dance). The majority of my friends also are double majors and or have minors. Almost all of us have part time jobs (and all have pretty extensive ECs- most of my friends are from music and theater). It’s really quite common to work a job in college (although not work full time)- you’ll have a lot more free time in college than in high school.
Personally, I take 18 credits of academics a semester, work part time (about 8 hours a week), and have many extracurriculars (15+ hours of music rehearsals a week in addition to practicing, volunteer org which I’m leadership for, theater, math research, and multiple honor societies). It can be difficult sometimes but I have a >3.5 major GPA and >3.7 cumulative. You learn to manage your time.
Honestly my schedule now is easier than high school I would say, but my high school was insane (I didn’t even take many APs- just 2 each year junior and senior year).
@guineagirl96 @elliebham Thanks both of you! I’ve just been hearing nothing but horror stories about how people can barely handle their first semester of college. And I didn’t mean that Syracuse was the only one with those two majors; I kind of worded that wrong. It’s the only school that offers everything I’m interested in, has the best housing/meal plan options for me, and is as generous with financial aid as they are. But I am looking at other cheaper schools just in case. But thank you guys, I think after my first semester or two of college I should be able to handle a job no problem.
Hey there! I just realized I commented on your last post. I’m an upcoming freshman at Syracuse and I am planning on double majoring in Sociology & Biology working towards going to medical school. I’m also participating in work study. You are right about Syracuse’s financial aid. They were very generous with grants and merit based scholarships. All in all, I’m paying about $4,000 a semester to go there (including a local scholarship) and my EFC was $12,000. I think you will definitely be able to balance a double major and a job, especially if you are planning on majoring in something you have an immaculate interest in. I’m taking 15 credit hours next year (Intro to Biology, Intro to Physics, Sociology of the Families, First Year Seminar, Writing 105). After sorting out my first semester schedule, I have three free days. Even though I have classes for the other four, there are three to four hour long awkward periods where I won’t have anything to do (except sleep/study/or maybe partake in my work study job lol). I have found that even though the thought of a double major is very intimidating, it really didn’t make a difference in my schedule because I would have wanted to have taken a couple of Sociology classes anyways. I hope everything goes well with the application process and financial aid. Go Orange!!!
I double-majored (two humanities majors) and worked in college, but not very heavily until I got the swing of things first. I started taking upper-level classes the second semester of my freshman year, and I worked a bit then (babysitting 3 days a week for like… 12 hours a week?) and then started working at my summer job (and another on-campus job) during the year when I was a sophomore.
I worked the most the last half of my degree (20-30 hours a week sometimes), and I was able to do it because I got set in a grove. I knew my professors, learned how to read and skim appropriately, knew how long it took me to write a paper, etc. It was hard sometimes and I got very little sleep and sometimes missed homework assignments, but it can be done. I kept my GPA up too (3.9+), but it just really depends on the person.
Although I’m not a student at Syracuse, I am a current college student at a major public university. I am in the honors college, have two majors and a minor, hold office in a club for one of my majors, and am an active member of a coed service fraternity. This year (I will be a sophomore), I am planning on working part time as well because I want to make money and I feel like I have enough time. Even with my double majors and minor, extra curriculars, etc, I actually feel like I have more free time than I did in high school.
Of course everyone manages time and will experience college differently, but I would say you can try working and if it’s too much, you can always quit and focus on your majors. That’s what I’m planning to do.