<p>Just wondering what are the pro's and con's for graduating in 3 years with a single degree in chem bio (i'm also pre-med for the moment). I can easily graduate in three years by taking 3-4 classes per semester.</p>
<p>My other option is to double-major in L&S. Right now i'm looking at Economics, which is apparently pretty easy (well in terms of number of classes i need to take) to do. If I take 4 classes each semester for the next 7 semesters, I can graduate on time with both degrees.</p>
<p>My question is... is a degree in Economics useful at all? I might not do pre-med... And... what other major besides Econ would be more useful?</p>
<p>I figure while I'm at Berkeley, I should make the most of it.</p>
<p>this was my exact dilemma not too long ago. i can get a single degree in public health if i stay for one more year (bringing me to a total of 3 years for college) or i can stay for 4 years and get a double degree in public health and mcb. im staying for 4 as of right now because i dont want to regret leaving berkeley too soon and missing out on college just to have saved myself year of tuition, which I can hopefully earn back easily later in life.</p>
<p>What is your rationale for trying to double in Econ? You asked for useful majors - a useful major is one related to a career field you want to enter. Do you plan to go into finance/i-banking? Is that why you want to double in Econ? Or is it because you’d like to go to grad school for Econ? Depending on the answer, you will need to either get an internship or get a head start on research as an undergrad. </p>
<p>Are you sure you can handle all of that while padding your resume in preparation for medical school? If not, the Econ major will be useless, unless you have a genuine interest in the subject and would have taken all of the major requirements anyway.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that Chem Bio has many major requirements and Econ has many college-specific requirements (7-course breadth which is not required for CoC). Are you sure you’ll be able to get into all of your major-required classes each semester you want them? If not, you may not be able to graduate on time.</p>
<p>I would suggest using the extra classes to take classes relevant to your field that interest you, or taking a lighter courseload so you can focus on your med school extracurriculars. You could also graduate in three years, then take a year off to apply to med school - many pre-meds take a year off after graduation anyway. But I would consider reevaluating your reasons for wanting a double major in a subject you may or may not know you like.</p>
<p>I’m a big supporter of double majors, even ones that have nothing to do with each other at all. I’m actually double majoring in MCB and Art Practice (I’m premed as well). Those definitely have nothing to do with each other, but I do want to be a reconstructive plastic surgeon so I can see the tie… Anyway, I only recommend double majoring in chemical bio and economics or anything else solely if it interests you. It’s proven that although double majors can diversify your coursework and make you a subject of higher interest in certain fields, it will not effect your salary. In other words, only do it if you really really really want to do it because you love economics. I know that that sounds strange but that really is the root of double majoring. You do it because it interests you.</p>
<p>Amidst all the planned tuition hikes, double majoring is probably not a wise choice if you can get a job with a single degree straight out of college.</p>
<p>You have to have backups in case telebears screws you over. Though you get better times if you declare double major, some classes may be super small and you might still not got in. In that case, you don’t want to be stuck with 2 half finished majors when you want to graduate. Be sure to at least complete one so you can drop the unfinished one if you see the need to do so.</p>
<p>Okay it sounds rather ridiculous when I say this but I feel like I need to have a backup plan. Both of my parents are computer hardware engineers and right now, both of them are sitting at home, unemployed. But they are currently earning money through other means. If I weren’t doing science, I know I would probably go into business, something along the lines of ibanking or some kind of business related on-the-side career, like applejuice said. I am not interested in Economics grad school; I just feel like a degree in Economics would make me seem more qualified when I apply for something outside of science related to business.</p>
<p>So am I wrong in my reasoning… and is an Econ degree completely worthless?</p>
<p>And I have figured out a way to take 4 classes per semester to fulfill the 7 Breaths and Econ/chembio req’s. That is, like you guys said, if i can get into the classes I want each semester. I do have junior standing already, and I know I can probably attain senior standing by the end of my freshman year. Econ is pretty flexible (some required, but they have a wide selection of upper div classes), I have looked into this.</p>
<p>I did like Econ in high school, whatever of it our AP Gov teacher crammed into our last semester, anyway. It’s hard to tell at this point in my academic career whether or not Econ truly interests me. So it’s hard to say whether or not I would be interested, either way.</p>
<p>Oh and is it better to stay for all four years and take 3 real classes per semester/focus on extracurriculars more or to graduate in 3 years and take a year off and prepare for med school? if i were to just do chem bio?</p>
<p>TeleBEARS does not generally screw over double majors. Double majors and simults get TeleBEARS right after the Athletes, DSP students, and graduating seniors</p>
<p>Well, I graduated in 3 years this May, majoring in MCB - Biochem. I’m taking this year to work and to prepare for med school next fall. I thought about double majoring in Comp Lit, since I already took so many courses from the department that I just needed two more classes to major in it. But I eventually decided to graduate early so I can start saving for school. It really depends on what you want to do in the future, although you might only be a freshman. While graduating early might save you a year of tuition and give you a break from all the studying, but on the other hand, you might not have good enough activities, MCAT score or GPA to apply for grad or med schools. In my case, I planned out all my courses and even activities from my freshman year, so when I applied for Early decision this summer, I was prepared for it. So, planning out everything is really crucial, even though it might seem too early. Good luck on whatever you decided to do.</p>
<p>Realistically (and I certainly would know) most math classes required for the math major aren’t going to be useful unless you want them to be. That is, if you are interested specifically in hunting and sniffing out opportunities for you to use higher mathematics. </p>
<p>Here is my advice: do a hybrid of what AppleJuice and Derivate tell you. Science degrees are stimulating things to obtain, and can lead you to jobs, but for the sole purpose of having lots of job opportunities, some of the things you can do best for yourself to make yourself comfortable with various career prospects include learn a little economics, learn decent computer science skills (and I’m not talking computer science as in theory, but actual programming-oriented courses), and learn some statistics. Courses like the CS 61 series, Stats 134, etc, really seem to be universally applicable. Mathematics is universally applicable if you want to deal at a very high level, but not necessarily so if you want the widest range of career applications – typically for those, again you’d have to resort to things like CS and stats. </p>
<p>I’d say to possibly get a minor in one of the 3 “universally practical” things I mentioned, and take classes in what you like for the remainder of the time. And don’t graduate early unless you seriously feel like you’ve known since senior year of high school precisely what you want to do and have been doing exactly that and wouldn’t gain anything out of staying the extra year…or if the financial reward of not doing so is too great to resist.</p>
<p>Now Apple may have already meant what I’m suggesting, but I do want to emphasize that I don’t at all see it a bad thing to tack on something like economics when you don’t necessarily think it’s your thing. Same with some programming courses. Because realistically, they could be good for you. Things like law school and finance-oriented careers may attract you later from the sound of it.</p>
<p>Math majors with sn’s like Derivate and mathboy of course would advocate me pursuing a math major. Math is great and all, but i’m currently in math 1b right now and it’s hard.</p>
<p>I didn’t take BC in high school, but got a 5 on the BC AP exam. I am in 1b because 1) 53 lecture interfered with my labs 2) i didn’t feel too confident with BC material. I should have just not done math at all this semester…</p>
<p>I’m indeed a math major here at Berkeley, and it’s quite fun stuff, though as always if one commits to enjoying it rather than worrying about how math is too ridiculous to begin to think about getting anywhere with :D</p>
<p>I personally wouldn’t really recommend you to do a double major just because you have the extra year to spare and you feel like you should get an extra degree. Instead, I think if you are serious about becoming a scientist, you should enrich yourself by taking courses that will help you greatly in research but is not required at all for your major (ex. programming course such as the CS 61 series or E7, statistics, some math, physics, MCB…etc). I also thought about double majoring when I was a first year but decided that I would just go with a major in MCB, biochemistry. I can easily graduate in 3 years since the curriculum for MCB isn’t all that hard. However, I am taking a whole bunch of extra courses such as math and programming, and will be spending my senior year taking a couple of graduate courses required for MCB and chembio grad students. </p>
<p>Think seriously about what exactly you want to do and then pursue it. If you want to do a double major, think about if it makes sense and how do you want to combine your knowledge in both fields to pursue a certain career.</p>