Double major?

<p>Hi everyone. My question is: is it better to graduate in 3.5 years
(1 semester early) or to double major and graduate in 4 years??</p>

<p>I would do a double. These are the best four years of your life and you have to work the rest of your life. Enjoy all college has to offer. Also with the market the way it is, having a double major might set you apart from others. Stay in school.</p>

<p>i would like to know the answer to this as well</p>

<p>i am premed and have heard countless times that med schools dont look all that extra "favorably" on someone who has done a double major than one who has done well in just one</p>

<p>i plan on DMing in cog sci (neuro) and MCB (neuro)...if i do just cog sci with the neuro emphasis and my premed reqs i end up doing practically all except for a matter of ~2 Upp divs to get a BA in MCB, i believe. so of course, it seems much more logical to me that i just go for the DM. also, i have finished all but one of by 7 breadth sequence out of HS, so i know i can still do the DM and finish in 4.5 or less years so i am not too concerned about graduating on time.</p>

<p>my questions are:
1) is a cog sci/mcb major too hard to handle?
(i did a 4 year plan and i will be taking ~15 units/sem for 4-4.5 yrs)
2) the two extra mcb UD's i mentioned above...will they alone kill my GPA because then it doesnt seem as worth it...</p>

<p>so would it be better for me to do just cog sci (or maybe even just mcb since although it is a gpa killer, i can get a degree sooner and then work/intern for like 3 years and then apply to med school) </p>

<p>for#2) i saw that cog sci had a reasonable avg gpa and mcb was 2.96, so am i harming myself by adding on mcb? also, is anyone here in cog sci that knows how cog sci UD's are? how is cog sci as a major? i already know the list of classes...i just want to know the nature of classes' difficulty level, comprehension and work-load wise..</p>

<p>sorry for the long post, lol :) its just i havent met ANY cog sci-premeds so far at cal...only BioE-ish ones if anything</p>

<p>One condition is that your two majors can only have 2 overlap UD courses. You said you only need ~2 courses for MCB so I'm not sure that would work out since you're overlapping more than 2 UD courses.</p>

<p>actually it would work out because while there are more than 2 overlapping UDs, the overlaps are for the cog sci emphasis (which is not even mandatory for cog sci which also has a general track) and wont afftect my DM application... i already talked to a cog sci advisor about this and she said a DM would work out just fine.</p>

<p>What about getting a simultaneous major in the College of Engineering and L&S? I'm currently a BioE, but I really like Math yet I like my current major two. These two majors overlap some, but not too much. Do I need to do breadth? And is it a good idea?</p>

<p>Don't do Cog Sci Neuroscience and MCB Neurobiology. It's the biggest waste of time, especially for a premed. Stick to one or the other.</p>

<p>^are u cog sci and mcb by any chance tastybeef? why is it a waste of time only for premed? at any rate i will still take time off after graduating (in 4-4.5 yrs) to work, etc so could you elaborate a little more why this double major isnt worth it? also, is cog sci/premed an unusual Dm combo in general? jw...</p>

<p>No, I'm neither a CogSci nor a MCB Neurobio major.</p>

<p>Med schools don't care about your undergraduate major or how many you had. If your ultimate goal is med school, then it makes no sense to take extra classes for an extra undergraduate major. The only degree that matters for a doctor is the MD.</p>

<p>It's an unusual and useless double major combination in the sense that it is pretty much the same subject.</p>

<p>i dont know if i agree that mcb and cog sci are the same but i geuss it makes sense that the only degree title that ultimately matters is MD...</p>

<p>does anyone know how difficult it is to pursue cog sci neuro...(emphasis incl mcb 160/L)</p>

<p>Thanks, Leftist! I was also wondering if major requirements can also fulfill breadth, because the College of Engineering does really have a 7-subject breadth but my current major requires that I take certain classes, which can fulfill breadth. Also can certain classes be counted toward both R&C and breadth?</p>

<p>Hi anon5524485 or anyone else… I always hear that MCB is a GPA KILLER. However, I am always confused about what people mean by this. Does this mean that the curves always hurt you or does it mean the subject itself is hard? Therefore, even if you study your butt off for all the classes, is it hard to get good grades in those classes? My concern is that I am also a premed and people around me tell me not to do MCB because it will only kill my grade…and that med schools do not care for the undergrad major but just the GPA. Also, there are several subdivision/tracks under the MCB major and I was told that if I want to do MCB, then I should do CDB. However, I was interested in the Biochem track. However, if this major is desiged to kill your major, then I think I will be better off doing IB…</p>

<p>Also, then back to the original question. Would it be better to graduate in 3.5 years wit a single major in order to do some lab assistant work full time or will it be better to graduate in 4-4.5 years with a double major if your ultimate goal is Medschool?</p>

<p>Thanks for the valuable input, anon5524485 ^^^^
Anyway, what do you think of Nutritional sciences Metabolism/physiology
as a major? It sounds pretty interesting to me, but do you know anything
about the department?</p>