<p>I'm currently an undergraduate student at Drake University planning to triple major in Physics, Math, and Computer Science. After taking a year's worth of classes I've decided that CS is something that I really enjoy and I plan to focus my efforts on that. Note, I'm majoring in physics and math as part of a scholarship so I can't drop those majors. However, after taking an electrical engineering J-term at Washington University in St. Louis I'm starting to consider utilizing the dual degree (3-2) program between our schools to get a dual degree in physics and electrical engineering. If I choose this I would get a B.S. in physics, math, computer science, and electrical engineering in five years. I am confident I can handle the work load (I have a 4.0 GPA currently) so that should not be a problem. Given I want to go to graduate school for CS or EE is this a worth the time investment to pursue the dual degree in electrical engineering? Any other comments regarding my college plan are much appreciated as well!</p>
<p>I think that having 4 BS degrees is a negative. A recruiter might think that you can’t make up your mind. No one wants an indecisive employee. You may be better off sticking with just the BS in Physics and Math. But, try to position yourself so that you can knock off as many pre-requisites as possible that are required for an MS in CS. Keep in mind that just because you like a course it doesn’t mean that you have to major in it. I’m not sure why you would really want to add EE to the mix.</p>
<p>I think a double major in Physics and CS would be best if you want to do the 3-2 and get an EE degree. I can’t see EEs needing or using much math beyond PDE/Complex Variables at the highest, so getting a full math major with all the proof/theoretical classes may not be very efficient. Physics will help you get familiar with electronics and electromagnetic fields/waves which are everywhere in EE, and CS is extremely useful for the programming knowledge.</p>
<p>If you only want one major, go for physics if you’re leaning towards the magnetic field/signal processing/mathematical side of EE, or for CS if you want to do more CpE related stuff such as hardware/firmware/etc</p>
<p>I don’t know how many free electives you have with the current triple major, but if there are any electives, you could use them for the EE classes that you are interested in and just do the other three majors. You seem to be less interested in the two majors that you are required to do which is unfortunate because if you could just do EE/CS that would be a great combo and you could get some physics and math out of EE while getting all of the EE that you’re looking for as well. Anyway, in your situation, I’ve never seen someone with a quad major before so I don’t really know how it’s looked at by employers, but I can definitely assume that you will not be getting the most you can get out of each major since you just won’t have the time. Now that may or may not matter considering that you will have 4 very strong majors. Sorry that I can’t be more helpful, never seen this situation before. Good luck in all of your endeavors.</p>
<p>An employer is only going to hire you for ONE of your majors, so there is no need to triple major. It’s not like that employer is going to give you any additional salary or anything. You can dual or double major in order to open yourself to more job opportunities but an employer is going to hire you for ONE major.</p>
<p>Many employers will only hire those with engineering degrees. Those with engineering degrees are often paid a good $15,000 more per year than physics majors. </p>
<p>Even though you ARE SURE you will go on to grad school life has a way of messing with your plans. I would get the EE degree too. </p>
<p>Just do it. It beats spending a few more years in night school to get a masters.</p>
<p>Also tell us, how much is that scholarship worth. Maybe you can consider dropping physics and math. Also, I’m not really aware of any scholarships that would require you to major in BOTH physics and math. That seems a little odd…</p>
<p>The scholarship is full-tuition so dropping math and physics is not really a viable option… As much as I might like to drop the extra majors I’d end up in major debt after school if I did.</p>
<p>Do you have more details on why physics and math are both required?</p>
<p>It’s called the drake physics prize. I won the scholarship by first taking an exam my senior year of high school then interviewing in front of the physics faculty. You would be able to find more information by just googling it. Also, math isn’t required by the scholarship, but the number of math classes I have to take for physics and cs basically earns me a math major since I only need two more classes after fulfilling the basic requirements for those majors.</p>
<p>I hate saying this but… YOLO. Go for it. Even if you do decide to go for employment rather than grad school, you can just put the major the job wants on your resume, and if they are interviewing you it’s not going to hurt to explain the story (unless the job wants a Math/Physics guy, because you will have told them you really want to do something else) if it comes up. For grad school it’s not going to hurt you, and depending on what exactly you decide to do, some of that might be helpful. Not just for admission, but having a broader knowledge base about things similar to what you’re researching.</p>
<p>Its not worth it. If you want a job upon graduation, CS is your solution.</p>
<p>^I’m positive either one would get the OP a job upon graduation.</p>
<p>I agree about it not being worth it, though. If it were me, I’d do EE and minor in CS. I guess it depends on which one you liked the most.</p>
<p>I’m a 5th year BS/MS EE at WashU, and I know a good chunk of the dual degree students. What kind of grad school are you thinking? MS or full on PhD program?</p>
<p>If you want to do PhD, don’t bother with the dual degree program @ WashU. Imo, it’d just be a wasted year of your time when you could be starting your graduate level work your sooner (instead of having to wait until your sixth year in school).</p>
<p>On the other had, if you want to only go for a MS, there are 2 options I see based on the info you’ve provided:</p>
<p>1) Physics/Math/CS undergrad at Drake. Don’t bother with EE at all. Then grad school for a masters in EE/CS whatever you decide in a few years. Total time: 5.5-6 years if the MS is done full-time.
2) Physics/Math undergrad at Drake in 3 years. EE and/or CS at WashU for your last 2 (I know dual degrees double majoring in those two here, so it is possible). Do the BS/MS to tack on an extra year to get an MS in one of the two. Total time: 6 years.</p>
<p>The real question with this though… can you even afford WashU? You have a scholarship at Drake, but it is NOT guaranteed to carry over to WashU. They’ll meet what your fafsa/css says you need, but you might disagree with that/your parents are unwilling to meet it. Also, financial aid does not carry over to the MS year for WashU if you went that route (you could get up to a 50% scholarship based on GPA though), so that’s another possible issue (if you’re talking MS, not PhD of course, but I don’t think you should dual-degree if you’re thinking PhD).</p>
<p>If you have any WashU specific questions, feel free to ask (either here or through PM).</p>