<p>Hello everyone, currently i am a sophomore majoring in chemistry, I'm on track to graduate in three and a half years easily due to a large amount of ap credit/insane course load i seem to enjoy taking(currently at 19 hours this semester). However i am debating whether or not i should stick around to take a full year of biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, and molecular biology as i am very interested in pursuing a graduate degree in biochemistry .Or i could pick up a double major in biology or math but i am not sure if i want to take all those crap plant classes and that much more math. I'm heavily involved in research at my school and have decent grades but am wondering if there is any reason to stick around for another half year solely to take courses that i do not need for my degree but may help me get into a good graduate school/help me when i get in.
I really want to spend half a year climbing out in yosemite, backpacking the appalachian trail and around Europe, and spending time in New Zealand before hitting graduate school and graduating early would allow me to do this. However is it going to hurt me in the long run to skip out on those extra courses/ the potential for a double major?</p>
<p>Other options to consider that may not be as heavyweight as a second major:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Minor(s) in biology, math, or other subjects (e.g. statistics or computer science) that may be useful in graduate school and career.</p></li>
<li><p>Specific courses in biology, math, or other subjects (e.g. statistics or computer science) that may be useful in graduate school and career.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>If you are heavily involved in research, you may want to think about research papers that you have read. If they make use of concepts that you are unlikely to learn in your major courses, you may want to take the courses in other departments that cover the concepts. E.g. if you find a lot of statistical analyses in the research papers, you may want to take some statistics courses. Or if you find yourself doing a lot of computer work which would be aided by some computer science knowledge, you may want to take some computer science courses. Obviously, if you are interested in biochemistry, you may want to add some biology and biochemistry courses.</p>
<p>I graduated a semester early since I ran out of courses within my major to take. I also minored in a field complementary to my major. Your graduate school applications are due before your last term even starts, and I only recall a few schools asking for predicted courses (I just wrote I was planning on graduating). It didn’t seem to have any bearing on my admissions to various schools.</p>
<p>I had originally planned just living at home and working a fairly simple job to earn some pocket money and to help motivate me to make the best out of grad school. I wound up moving back out three weeks after moving home since I couldn’t readjust to living with my parents (even though we get along great!). I wound up working for a professor from my undergrad school for nine months until I started grad school.</p>
<p>I’d stop and take a breath and look at the job situation before plowing ahead with that grad degree. I wish I did. Instead I have a chem and biochem MS that are useless and I am worse off than If I never went to college at all. </p>
<p>I’ve covered it pretty well in my other posts but if a decent job is your goal a science degree or even grad degree is no way to get there.</p>
<p>Do yourself a huge favor by adding a second major in Mathematics or Economics with a Math minor to make yourself more marketable.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. Well my goal isn’t just to get a good job, if all i wanted was a good job with a steady paycheck i would major in chem e or business. I’m interested in my research and field of study and want to add to the knowledge base. Would a second major in math really be that helpful in terms of making me more marketable? I know that it would help in terms of thought proccess and logic but by grabbing a double major in math it would exclude me from taking a year of bio chem, genetics and molecular biology along with graduate level courses in organic chemistry and organometallics. So really my options are to graduate early and have fun while saving money, tack on a second major in math ( those plant classes would kill me in biology) or improve upon the depth and breadth of my primary major by stuffing my transcript full of classes such as more biochemistry, some advanced bio courses and a couple of graduate level courses. So really my question is would those final two options be worth the cost of losing out on the awesomeness of a 8 month trip around the world? And if yes which one should i pursue?</p>
<p>You may not care about getting a good job now, but some day you may want to settle down and have a family or buy a home. Heck you may even desire health insurance and employment past the age of 45. I’m afraid science is generally not a good means to have that.</p>
<p>8 month trip around the world. Do it. Don’t think about it. You’ll never get that opportunity again.</p>
<p>A double major, and extra classes don’t mean as much to the admissions committee as most people think. You have to realize, that EVERYONE who applies to graduate school looks good on paper. The hard part for the admissions committee is figuring out who actually is GOOD in person.</p>