<p>To current UCSD students:</p>
<p>I'm thinking of doubling in Literature and Economics. I've been looking at the four-year plans for Sixth College, and it seems like GEs are going to take up a decent amount of space in my schedule if I go to UCSD. Also, there are, surprisingly, a lot of upper-div courses for both Literatures in English and Literature/Writing (I haven't decided which one I would study yet). I'm a Regents Scholar, so I have priority enrollment, but I also have to maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA.</p>
<p>Given all this background info, what can you tell me about the level of difficulty of double majoring in Sixth? I know that Lit and Econ are both liberal arts, so it shouldn't be ridiculously hard, but I'm worried that those two majors combined with Sixth College GEs will make it near impossible to finish my degree in 4 years. And I do NOT want to be taking more than 4 classes per quarter to cram it all in. </p>
<p>What do you think? Would this be manageable, or do I need to choose one major if I want to avoid being perpetually stressed?</p>
<p>Geez, aren’t you an overachiever. Honestly, just choose one major and specialize in that. It’s going to be near impossible to graduate in 4 with a double major. It can be done, but at what cost? If you don’t mind the stress, then go for it. Double major won’t help you that much especially if you go for Literature/Economics. That mix of majors won’t be what stands out for a prospective employers. Just think it over and do what you want</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard from college graduates and others, once you’ve graduated and are looking for a job, companies don’t care as much about your major(s) as what classes you took, what experiences you’ve had (volunteering, internships, jobs, extracurriculars, etc; make lots of connections, get great letters of recommendation from professors and mentors), and skills you’ve gained. If you’re really interested in another topic, you can take classes in that topic, even get a minor if you end up taking enough classes to qualify, but a double major isn’t worth much more than a fantastic letter of rec from a a professor who you’ve worked with and knows how you perform in the real world.</p>
<p>I could not figure out how to start a new thread so i just thought I’d do a post.
I have to do a college project for school and I’m not entirely sure what i want to do/become when I get older. Lately, I’ve been leaning towards becoming a physical therapist and majoring in Chemistry or Biology, something of the sort; but when i took a career aptitude test it came up with a lot of business careers. So now what I am thinking about doing is double majoring. One in Biology or Chem (for physical therapy), and one in Human Resources for the business part (in case physical therapy does not work out). I’m not sure if this is a good idea or not though and some input would be helpful. Also, if you double major, should you have a minor?</p>
<p>It’s definitely possible. It’s something I would talk to your academic advisor about and get their feedback on. My girlfriend is double majoring and she will be graduating in 4 years so it’s just something you will need to plan out in advance when you make that decision.</p>
<p>All very true points. Maybe it would help if I explained why I was thinking of double majoring.</p>
<p>If I were choosing my major PURELY based on how much I like it/care about the subject, then I would go with English, hands down. But the job opportunities are narrower with an English degree, AND the jobs that are out there tend to pay less. Economics is more marketable and more likely to help me secure a higher-paying job. </p>
<p>That being said, I’m thinking about double majoring because I want to be able to study something I love (English) along with something that I like that is more useful for a career (Economics).</p>
<p>And I don’t know what career I want to go into, anyway, so having a double major would give me the footing for either field. But if I majored in English alone and wanted to go into, say, finance for example, then my English degree is definitely not going to help me.</p>
<p>Thoughts? Is it still a better idea that I study one major? Believe me, I would do just that if I knew which one to pick.</p>
<p>Well I guess by that reasoning it makes sense. My only concern is that if Econ is something that you really don’t have a great interest in doing moving forward. Is it more marketable that English? Perhaps, but that really means nothing if you don’t really have a passion for it. There are jobs in English and those who take what they’re doing seriously are the ones who will end up with those jobs. I’m not saying you’re not interested in econ (it seems that you are or you wouldn’t want to double major in it) but it’s just something to consider as you move forward. But if you want to double major to find out what is really for you or just for the experience in both fields, then go for it if you can make it work with your schedule.</p>
<p>My background: I’m a double major in bio and psych and I’m scheduled to graduate in 3 years. I did do two quarters with 5 classes, but even if I didn’t I would still graduate in less than 4 years. I decided to double major because I equally loved both subjects.</p>
<p>I would do a very rough 4 year plan to see if graduating in 4 years is possible when taking 4 classes a quarter. You don’t have to do it now, but you’re going to have to do it eventually to file for double major. We can’t help you very much here in this regard. Your major websites with course requirement listings, your GE listings, the course catalog, and the AP credit chart can help you start planning. The college advisers will look over it for you, but they won’t help you plan everything out.</p>
<p>The second thing I’d have to say is I don’t want you to make this decision lightly. Besides the extra coursework and less time to make contacts and do other things, there are downsides to double majoring. You won’t have the time to take courses for interest - I’ve passed on some great psyc courses because they conflicted with some much needed bio class. Two majors means double the limitations on your schedule. </p>
<p>As you can tell, I do discourage people from double majoring, particularly because it’s a decision you make very early in your college life that isn’t so easy to drop later on. I don’t think adding a second major for practical purposes is a very good reason to double major because of all the reasons mentioned, but I’d like to add one more: We have business and accounting minors. Many econ majors seriously considering a career in business pick up quite a few minors and dedicate a lot of extra time to internships. Can you do all that with your English major taking up extra time?</p>
<p>To double major or not isn’t a decision you have to make right away, but definitely keep other options in mind. Sorry this got way longer than expected hahah</p>