<p>I am interested in majoring in History of Science and/or humanities. would this be possible? (i know that i have to GET IN to Yale before asking such questions, but since Yale is the only school that I'm applying to that does not allow "minors" i m guessing it would be very hard to do both)</p>
<p>Not necessarily. There are majors that allow you to mesh two fields together (political science, for one, allows this). I'd imagine that if you really wanted you'd find the room to do two complete double majors.</p>
<p>No. I recall several of my classmates doing this. I almost doubled majored too. Econ/Poli Science and History. All I needed to finish the History requirement would have been a Senior Level research seminar. Since E/PS required one too, I decided it would have been foolhardy to do both. </p>
<p>Funny thing is that I banked enough credits in Hist to definitely "minor" in many other colleges' definitions. LOL</p>
<p>The Yalie who led my tour was a double history/microbiology major and was expecting to graduate on time pretty easily. I don't mean to suggest that the coursework was easy, just that the credits and major advising was strong enough that she didn't seem to have to worry about fulfilling major/graduation requirements too much.</p>
<p>Double majoring is very possible. I think something like 10% of undergrads complete two majors. Some majors have to be done as second majors (International Studies, for example). I may be doing a double major in biology and classics. The disadvantage is that you have a lot less elective time to explore fun random classes, of which there are many. They're wonderful. </p>
<p>Triple majoring is NOT possible. Only a psycho freshman would even consider it. But it's actually disallowed, and you wouldn't have enough time to do 3 majors.</p>
<p>Yale has combined or “joint” majors such as Mathematics and Philosophy allowing you to major in distinct subjects in a single major while saving you many courses compared to double majoring in the distinct subjects. The fact that Yale has so many options for majors can be a very good or very bad thing. Some students (like me) are prone to hanging oneself when given too much rope. I managed to double major in (Physics and Philosophy) and (Economics and Mathematics) by taking roughly 5 years worth of courses in 4 years.</p>
<p>It’s possible, but rarely worth it, honestly.</p>
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<p>I agree with both statements.</p>
<p>My interviewer (who I have stalked) doubled in Biophysics and Biochem.</p>
<p>yes, people do it, yes, it’s easier if your majors overlap, yes I’m considering it, no, it may not be the easiest thing to do , and also consider that you may have to sacrifice DEPTH in both of your majors…most people do one for a reason…but hey, it’s Yale, we’re all crazy intense here. </p>
<p>But more than the random class you miss, also consider the costs in terms of:
what you’re going to be getting out of your majors(if you have no compelling reason, don’t do it, if you do, still think about it first),
social life,
extracurriculars,
summer(if you’re taking classes over the summer to finish on time, you miss out on the study abroad/internship/really cool job/other stuff),
SLEEP(you WILL need to sleep at some point in college…),
health (related, yes, I know),
and general enjoyment of life. </p>
<p>Don’t double major just because(I’m not saying you specifically, but the type of people who get into Yale tend to be very driven and brilliant, double majoring is not the NECESSARY “next step” in college).</p>
<p>I feel in many ways I might actually work less in college than high school. I know, blasphemy. I haven’t learned too much about Yale yet, but for Harvard and Brown at least I know students take about 4 classes per semester-- half of what I do in high school. I figure having maybe 5 or 6 will not be too too bad.</p>
<p>Heck, I won’t mind being a C student at Yale. That would be good enough for me.</p>
<p>@adchang: I don’t know when your interviewer graduated from Yale, but for the past several years at least, Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry has been a single major known as MB&B. Also, 4 classes may sound like an easy load after taking 7-8 in high school, but seriously, college courses =/= high school courses. I don’t mean that there’s a ridiculous jump in difficulty, for the most part, but you will have plenty of work. I too was a bit surprised that we are only expected to take 4-5 courses per semester, but 5 classes last semester turned out to be enough on my plate (plus extracurriculars of course). In fact, your residential college dean will not sign off on a schedule of more than 5.5 credits except in exceptional circumstances - and definitely not for a first-semester freshman (at least my dean won’t).</p>
<p>MB&B has been a major for at least 30 years.</p>
<p>There really is not that much of a reason to double major. It won’t impress anybody at Yale, certainly. One note: it’s not a double major, but there are plenty of people who are fulfilling premed requirements in addition to a regular major–which may be in a non-science field.</p>
<p>Actually, my dean signed off on 5.5 credits for me both semesters of freshmen year. It’s tough, but manageable, and of course, depends on what you’re actually taking and what your definitions of “tough” and “manageable” are. </p>
<p>And honestly, college classes ARE NOT the same as high school classes(though, again, this varies based on what you HS classes were like…). It makes no sense to overload yourself because you think you can handle it. Taking 6 classes is pretty much impossible as a freshmen. Also, why are you willing to be a “C student” at Yale? I’m not saying c students don’t exist, but why load on the classes until you can only get C’s in them? That’s pretty much antithetical to what the majority of Yale students believe in. you get to Yale by trying to do your best with whatever you have access to. Why is mediocrity suddenly acceptable? Is getting into an Ivy the be-all end-all of your life?</p>