<p>How doable is a double major like the one I'm interested in at Wellesley? Do any current students have experience with double majoring in a science/math and another pretty full/difficult major? (I'm also planning on being on the pre-med track...) If I were to attend Wellesley, I'm thinking about doing math and international relations (either polisci or econ). I do have a lot of college credit (not sure how well Wellesley deals with those) in math (I've taken up to cal 3, lin alg, and app stats), so maybe that will help with the math side of things? (Unless I just end up taking even harder courses instead...)</p>
<p>I don't want to double major in these two things at the expense of a social life or my GPA (I'm aware of the shadow grading system, so maybe I can just try it out first semester and see?). I'm thinking about either law school or medical school, and both require a tippy-toppy GPA (I'm aiming for a 4.0 but won't be too disappointed with a 3.8). </p>
<p>Not a current student, but you need to remember that wellesley has a LOT of breadth requirements that you need to take care of. So I advise going to the Wellesley website and make a list of all the courses needed by a math major and an IR major INCLUDING the breadth requirements AND premed courses. It’s a lot.</p>
<p>But considering you have the credits, maybe a minor is more doable for you.</p>
<p>IR is one of the most challenging majors at Wellesley, not necessarily in terms of intellectual content, but because it requires so many courses to fulfill. Ironically, IR majors have a harder time studying abroad because of these requirements. For this reason, my D decided not to pursue an IR major. She wants to study in France her junior year and she couldn’t see a way to make it work.</p>
<p>Double majoring with pre-med unless one of the majors is chem or bio is going to be difficult. This is true not just of Wellesley but anywhere. Not sure what the actual value of a double major would be anyway. Medical schools won’t care and will be more concerned with science GPA and overall GPA. Wellesley takes AP but mostly for placement. And for GPA protection for pre-meds, it might be better to retake things rather than place up. No one can say how you’ll do, but many Wellesley student find that they aren’t straight A students anymore in college, and a 3.8 upon graduation is quite a feat.</p>
<p>It’s a very Wellesley thing, though, to try to major in everything:)</p>
<p>^^^What NJSue said. A lot of people at Wellesley double major (choosing a “fun” major like philosophy with a more practical one like econ is a common theme). D hasn’t decided yet. She is leaning toward history and music or history and French, but can wait until next fall to decide. I don’t care what she chooses as long as it’s something she really enjoys. She’s going to grad school, anyway, at some point.</p>
<p>My D is a sophomore and has changed her major plans four times. This week, she’s a double major in Art History and German. She may have the coursework for an Econ minor but Wellesley does not allow double majors to officially declare minors. </p>
<p>Wellesley students are intellectually curious, and it’s encouraged. You don’t have to declare your major(s) until the end of sophomore year (end of fall of sophomore year if you want to apply for a full junior year abroad).</p>
<p>Double majoring in two non-sciences as a pre-med is probably not advisable. You’ll spend all your time completing introductory levels and, counterintuitively, lower your GPA (due to grade deflation in those courses). Also, I don’t think the double major adds as much as people think. People are far more interested in you having a deep knowledge and sophisticated expertise in one area, than they are in you having done a little of everything.</p>
<p>If you’re applying to medical school, and interested in other subjects, I would highly recommend majoring in a non-science. It’s a LOT more interesting to the committee when you’re applying to medical school. The stacks of applications from bio and chem majors can be boring and indistinguishable after a while (I read and rate them for my medical school). If instead you, say, rocked an honors Art History degree with a Math minor (since you already have so many credits) and completed your premed requirements, you would do yourself more favors.</p>