I’m attending Johns Hopkins next year as a freshman. I’ve always had a passion for Computer Science, so I definitely want to get a major in that. Additionally, a double minor with Computer Integrated Surgery and Bioinformatics/Computational Medicine interests me because I’d like to have a medical aspect to my education, and those minors overlap in the courses taken with Computer Science. After looking at the courses, I realized I could easily double major in Biomedical Engineering which overlaps with CS and the minors (one of Johns Hopkins’ most reputable programs). I’ve always had a big interest in BME, but there isn’t a minor for it so I’d have to double major. If I were to double major and double minor, I’d have to average 17.5 credits a semester, which is around the average for engineering I believe. Is there something else I must take into consideration about doing this, and would anyone recommend it or recommend against it? Is the 17.5 credits a semester not an accurate representation of the work load required for a double major and double minor?
Congratulations on getting into Johns Hopkins!
When you read my reply, please keep in mind that I don’t go to Johns Hopkins nor do I major or minor in any of the disciplines you’ve described.
That being said, I don’t know the maximum credits that an undergraduate is allowed to take per semester at Johns Hopkins, but I would believe 17.5 would be nearing the maximum. With a double major in Computer Science and Biomedical Engineering, and double minor in Computer Integrated Surgery and Bioinformatics/Computational Medicine, I would imagine the courses in your 17.5 credits a semester would include dense courses that are considered to be of the more difficult courses. As I don’t know you, I can’t say whether or not I would recommend it for you.
However, I believe Johns Hopkins has the policy of covering first semester grades. So if you’re able to double major and minor as you’d like, you could see how you would do first semester and evaluate your decisions after.
If I were you, I would look into this policy and how it would affect my undergraduate career. I’d also plan out all the courses I would need to take over the next 4-5 years in order to complete the majors and minors by semester, and see if it is feasible. Lastly, I would speak to an advisor and try to get in touch with students who are in the majors and minors and see what they have to say.
Good luck!
@ahuynh Thanks, the maximum credits for engineering is 18 for freshmen and 19.5 for upperclassmen. The classes are dense I suppose, and I’ve planned out a 4-year schedule for it. I’ve heard of people doing double majors in CS and BME at Hopkins, so it’s reasonable I think. Is there extra work required for each major and minor usually such as big projects or research that would be why people don’t usually double major and double minor?
If you haven’t already, I would make a weekly schedule for your projected first semester so you can see how much time you’ll need to dedicate to your classes.
I’m not sure if projects or research will be required for your majors as this likely varies between schools. This would be a good question for your advisor and Johns Hopkins peers.
As to why people don’t usually double major or minor, I would imagine that it would vary from person to person. Some people intend to go to pharmacy, medical, dental school or graduate school, and they may not want to take extra classes if the classes do not have a significant impact on admissions to said schools. They may choose to devote time to extracurricular activities such as research or volunteering instead.
Some people enter college with their major as undeclared, and would like to explore disciplines before committing themselves to a major and possibly minor.
You don’t have to decide this today- or even before you get there or even the first year. Line up your first semester courses. Talk to your advisor. What I have seen (I know 2 current and 1 just graduated students in various parts of the programs you are looking at) is that depending on you and where you are coming from, JHU can require a lot of adjusting. @ahuynh’s advice is good- lay out a plan of attack, and see how it plays out. Don’t get too stuck into the idea of majors and minors- they really aren’t as big a thing as you might think. Grad schools will see the courses you take (and will notice the relevant ones) even if it doesn’t say ‘minor’ anywhere on your transcript. That can sometimes be freeing when you are feeling overwhelmed with school work and research- just take the courses you like from that prospective minor.
Main thing is: you don’t have to commit to anything just yet- go get your feet wet first.
^I came to say what collegemom3717 says. While you may speculate on whether this is possible or a good idea, the best person to talk to about this would be an academic advisor at JHU. You haven’t even taken any classes yet to get a feel for how difficult they might be, how much of a strain taking 15 vs. 18 credits a semester might be, whether you really like college-level CS and engineering and actually want to stick with it…these aren’t decisions you have to make today. Focus on finishing out your senior year of high school 
Also, as she said, college majors and minors really aren’t as big a deal as you think. You certainly don’t need two majors and two minors - one of each is enough.
LMAO. Survive one semester first before deciding to add two minors and a major. Kids these days… :))
I would not go to Hopkins (or any school) expecting to double major. Take the standard course load and see how you do and incrementally add more units. Plan ahead and be reasonable. Also determine what the value of the additional degree would be. Talk to people in the industry you’re interested in and ask them if they see value. If you’re applying to med school or graduate school in general I can tell you double majoring is silly since it will most likely lower your GPA and that is what matters, more than showing you’re “special” and “eclectic”. Take this from a premed who double-majored and regretted it in hindsight since I saw there was limited value for the sheer amount of work put into it. You can pursue passions and take an additional class or two without having to sacrifice an enjoyable college experience trying to fulfill credit requirements.
I might also point out that even if you did magically pull off the two majors and two minors and you did keep a reasonable GPA and did enjoy your college experience, where does that leave you? On your resume you’re going to be listing this slew of degrees which might impress someone or (and just as likely when I was inquiring in professional settings about this) employers may assume you are someone with a less-specialized or in-depth skill set and may consider you less valuable and/or less qualified. There are specific industries and jobs that clearly value double majors and diverse skill sets; however, what I’m seeing on your part is not a well thought-out end goal but the more common “I love all these things and want to study them all,” which is not a good reason to pursue a double major (let alone this four degree business).
You can definitely double major at Hopkins because of the flexibility of requirements! In fact, I know many of my peers who are double majoring with a minor at JHU