<p>so...
I am currently a sociology major and almost done with requirements. I think that I want to double with econ and possibly study abroad. Also considering trying to take as many accounting classes as I can...but not sure about that yet. </p>
<p>Some people have suggested graduating early and starting graduate school already.</p>
<p>Pros and cons? Is a double major a waste of my time?</p>
<p>I think a major like econ can actually be useful. I’ve heard its <em>almost</em> as useful as business.</p>
<p>Majoring in economics would probably improve your job and career prospects over majoring in sociology.</p>
<p><a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Econ.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Econ.stm</a>
<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Soc.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Soc.stm</a></p>
<p>sooo are there any advantages to graduating in three years?</p>
<p>Other than time and finances (which can be a lot for some people), no. You’re better off using that extra year to do whatever you want: study abroad, take fun classes, double major, better your application for grad school, etc. There’s a ton of advantages for staying the extra year as opposed to graduating early.</p>
<p>But then again, if time or finances matter to you, then by all means graduate early. Despite my own advice, I most likely will simply because I want to get my PhD earlier.</p>
<p>I’m assuming you’re going to graduate school for sociology? Like people said taking econ and accounting classes will help your job prospects but if you are set on a career in sociology I don’t see why not just go for the early graduation.</p>
<p>There is literally no advantage to graduating early other than saving costs or maybe getting a job.</p>
<p>The problem with graduating early is that you will be a “year” behind everyone else, and the class you will be competing with for jobs,etc will have had 1 more year of experience than you. This will hurt you if you are planning to go to grad school right away, unlike what the previous poster said. Grad schools look at the first 3 yrs of undergrad (maybe 3 and first semester 4th), so if you graduate early, they will see 1 year less of courses than everyone else. In other words, there is almost no way to go to grad school right after you grad early, you would have to work for a year or something then go to grad.</p>
<p>I would definitely double major. Graduation early might save you a year in time, but a double major in something else is a good investment that will stay with you until you die.</p>
<p>I disagree - I know plenty of people who have gone to grad school after finishing undergrad in 3 years. Why does it matter that you have one year less of courses, if the total number of courses is the same? In fact, graduating early automatically shows them that you can handle heavy workloads. My biggest issue with regards to graduating early is that you might have less research under your belt than your peers. If you think you’ve done enough to get a place in grad school, then you should go. If you think the extra year of research is necessary to cement your application, then stay.</p>
<p>Actually, I would be considering graduate school in something other than sociology. If I were definitely doing that, all I would really need would be the soc requirements and I would be set. Meakame, what you said makes a lot of sense, but do you think it’s possible that a double major could also show that I could handle a heavy courseload in the same way graduating early does?</p>
<p>@KnitKnots
Very few top universities offer business as a major. Economics is usually as close as you can get.</p>
<p>I would double major so I can graduate with my friends. What’s the point of rushing into the work place.</p>
<p>@meakame: I’m not referring to the actual courses you as a student took, but the grad school application process. Like in high school, they will not see a semester of your work (the semester that you are applying!) because you have not completed the classes yet (like 12th grade second semester). If you graduate in 3 yrs, they will only see 2 and a half years of your coursework. If you graduate in 4 yrs, they will see 3 and a half years. If you can graduate that much earlier, chances are you got many of those credits from APs, etc. These are not weighted as heavily as college courses.</p>
<p>But if you take all summer sessions and take a lot of units per sem, etc, it is possible to have the same number of classes as the people in 4 yrs. But chances are these 4 yrs will be on a better pace (will have had more research opportunities, more time to practice for standardized testing), etc, like you mentioned. Another crucial point is teacher recommendations. It is much more difficult to get adequate professor recs in 2 and a half years, especially when grad schools prefer them fom your upper half of college.</p>
<p>That said, if you are doing a major like psychology or sociology where grad school is necessary, I would definitely consider 3 years, but you’ll be working against the current.</p>
<p>It all depends on you as a person. I know someone who graduated from Cal in 2 years and was accepted to every graduate school she applied to (she thought Berkeley was too easy). She is now at MIT pursuing a PhD in pure mathematics. I also know someone who graduated from Cal in 5 years. He also was accepted into every graduate school he applied to. He’s now studying economics at Harvard. If you feel like you’re ready for graduate school, go for it. </p>
<p>That said, if you don’t feel really ahead of the game or behind everyone else - or maybe you just love undergrad - you should definitely stick with four years of undergrad. My brother entered Cal with about 60 units from AP tests, and I’m entering with about 50. He graduated in four years, even though he technically could have easily finished in two. And if it matters, he’s now attending Yale for graduate school.</p>
<p>I’m not too sure about double-majoring, but I’ve mainly heard it’s a waste of time (you’ll only pursue one major in grad school).</p>
<p>@dottler, @starryburst:</p>
<p>I see what you mean by AP units. Hmm. Maybe I’ve just never had this problem - I have a couple of AP units but not as many as others, and right now I’m stuck in summer school. I also tend to be suicidal and take lots of units each semester. But I hope that if one were to graduate early to go to grad school, he/she would be dedicated enough to have taken more classes than absolutely necessary to graduate. In any case, the major requirements are at least set in stone (you can’t “cheat” with those) - so graduate schools should hopefully see that you have the same number of relevant courses as others.</p>
<p>It is indeed difficult to get adequate recs, but I think that also ties in to the problem of research. Personally I think the way to get around this problem is to start your upper div courses early. Compress freshman/sophomore years into your first year and do the others more “normally”.</p>
<p>A double major will definitely show that you can handle a heavy courseload. It’s not that graduating in four years removes that; it’s that you have a bit of an advantage over people with single majors who took fewer units per semester, all else being equal.</p>
<p>Starryburst, I guess the question is, are you ready for grad school? And do you think you’ll be able to get in? We don’t know how much research you’ve done or how well your professors know you.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Possible reasons to double major:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>You are interested in both majors, and they are closely related so that doing both makes sense (e.g. math + economics, math + statistics).</p></li>
<li><p>You are interested in two majors. The one you are passionate about has poor job and career prospects, while the one you merely like has better job and career prospects. For example, you are passionate about English literature, and merely like computer science, so you take computer science as a second major along with English so that you have a backup job and career option if your plans to go to graduate school in English to become an English professor at a university do not work out (or you want to work for a while with good pay to save up money before going to graduate school in English).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the subject of double majors and their application as far as medical school is concerned. I am currently on track to major in radiation biology as well as ethics and public policy. I could nix the double major and graduate early with a bs in philosophy, and have all of these extra credits. My query is that if medical schools dont care as much about double majors, then there is no point to spending all that money on an extra semester, and miss out on working and volunteering etc.; but if finishing with the double major is better in the eyes of the medical school’s admission’s board, as opposed to a semester of working and volunteering at a hospital more so, then I should get the double degree and not minimize my chances at acceptance. So if anyone has some advice as to whether or not to stay the extra semester and get the extra degree, or just finish up and do extra curricular things, I would greatly appreciate it.</p>
<p>After spending a lot of time on SDN, I’ve come to the conclusion that medical schools care about three things (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong): GPA, MCAT, and your related coursework/experience. I think a feces studies major with a good GPA, high MCAT score, and abundant experience would have a better chance than a double MCB/Physics major with average GPA/MCAT scores and minimal experience.</p>
<p>^feces studies major</p>
<p>for a while i thought you were actually trying to make a point with studies about feces. hahaha yeah i’m slow</p>
<p>KnitKnots, you are essentially correct. If for some reason two candidates were otherwise exactly tied, which is very unlikely because selection is not by arithmetic scoring under some formula, then the one that took a harder major or more challenging courses would be picked. however, with the huge variety in volunteering and shadowing, the differences in essays, the different impressions made during an interview and the rest, two candidates with identical numerical GPA and MCAT are really never going to be in a tie. It does appear that they ‘look down upon’ taking the med school prereqs in community college, but the numbers suggest that if they do factor the results for quality and difficulty of university, it is only a tenth or two in GPA equivalent even for HYPS and schools like Cal. </p>
<p>If you can get a very good MCAT score, that will likely compensate nicely for the somewhat lower GPA you might earn at Cal for most med schools, but not for the top, because there you will be competing with others that scored just as well on the MCAT but ALSO have near perfect GPAs and sterling recommendations from well known faculty members who are on their colleges premed committee (which doesn’t exist at Cal). </p>
<p>Keep in mind, however, that most pre-meds here end up doing something else, not attending medical school. Most. That means if you major in fecies studies with a 4.0, it isn’t going to help much with research grad school or a nice job (except perhaps for the local department of sanitation that might want new interns at the solid waste treatment plant).</p>
<p>All of these responses have been really helpful! I guess at this point, I don’t think I would be ready for graduate school. I still have concerns though and just wonder if completing a second major in a social science will actually do me any good. Unless I have some amazing opportunity to take after my third year, I guess I might as well considering using that fourth year productively.</p>