<p>I've been working on my Long Range Plan with my advisor, and the paperwork is almost settled. I'm almost entirely done with curriculum requirements, and even with my remaining major courses (including those required for honors), I'll have 14-15 elective courses to spend freely. I plan to spend a year at the marine lab, so that takes care of about half. I still have an entire year's worth of electives, though, which means I have several options.</p>
<p>1) Double major. In theory it sounds good, but I'm not sure. I've taken subjects in a wide variety of areas, especially English and Classics, but nothing really grabs my attention. In any case, I'm not sure that a double major is helpful if you plan to go to grad school.</p>
<p>2) Get a BS/MS. Again, this sounds attractive, but I've heard that this doesn't help much in grad school admissions, and I plan to go for a PhD anyway. </p>
<p>3) Graduate early. I know pretty much what I want to do, and I have a vague idea of where I would like to go. My grades are good, and with this summer and a year at the marine lab, I'll have plenty of research experience. I'm a bit apprehensive about jumping in a year early, though. I'd rather spend another year in undergrad and get into my top choices (MIT/WHOI, UNC, UCSD/Scripps) than go early and get rejected.</p>
<p>My personal feeling is that double majors aren't that helpful. When I was applying, one of my professors expressed surprise that I was unsure whether I would get into my top choice program -- "But you have two majors!" So at least for some professors, a double major shows initiative, or passion for knowledge, or something. YMMV, and if you're not sure what exactly you'd double in, that's probably a sign that it's not the right choice. :)</p>
<p>Graduating early sounds like it would be the best choice for you, and if you feel that you have enough research experience, you should be fine. I mean, worst case scenario, you could apply to your top-choice programs, not get accepted, and work for a year before reapplying.</p>
<p>If I were y ou (and I know NOTHING about grad school, I'm a sophmore UG so tkae what I say with a grain of salt.) I'd just take more advanced classes in your own major or take grad courses so as to be better prepared for grad school.</p>
<p>I don't think graduating early has very much effect on admissions so I wouldn't stay the extra year unless you will spend it doing something that will really boost your admissions chances.</p>
<p>I would do the marine lab and add in some independent study/research stuff. I would assume that marine lab indicates some interest in the biological sciences??? So choose something that DOES grab your attention and relates to what you would want to study in grad school. I would say that the single best thing anyone can do to help themselves get into grad school is to do research. It shows initiative and the ability to do research, ability to work independently, and it can garner you some great recs. If you graduate early, you're losing out on the opportunity to do research that others will spend the time doing before they apply. I suspect this is even more important in the sciences, where it isn't as easy (or cheap) to do research outside of an institution.</p>
<p>I thought about that, actually. The only problem is that Duke has a residency requirement, so I'd have to make sure I was took enough classes at Duke to enable me to do so (esp. with a year already spent at the Marine Lab).</p>
<p>I decided to get my BS/MSE in four years. It will most likely help me by showing that I can excel in the graduate atmosphere and do independent research. </p>
<p>My situation is a little different than yours, because it would have been nearly impossible for me to graduate early (senior design). If I were you, I would graduate early. The year I am spending on my MSE will save me some time in grad school by getting me out of some courses, but will not cut my time by a whole year. I think it is a better idea to get to work on your Ph.D. if you can.</p>