McGill or George Washington University?

<p>im gonna double major, but thats just me.</p>

<p>Is double majoring really hard? Because i plan on being an east asian studies and Poli sci majors. Or is that too much do you think? Im I really want to do it because i really want to learn about that kinda stuff. How hard do you think it would be to stay competetive for top gradschools (mainly JHU SAIS, Columbia SIPA, and LSE). So basically how hard would it be to maintain a 3.5ish in a polisci and east asian studies double major?</p>

<p>And yes, i know this is kind of getting off topic to the original post but whatever.</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=336073%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=336073&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>read the second paragraph</p>

<p>yeah, well i dont really care what he says. Im not doing it to look smart or good for employers. I will do it because i am extremely interested in East asian studies and politics. Im not going to want to take other classes outside of those two fields because all other academic fields bore me.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Hahaha, how so? This may seem childish, but the picture that appears in my head, is one of a kid with a gun to his head, and someone telling him he has no choice but to double major.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You come from a culture where your wishes supercedes those of your parents... Now having to do what they want you to and doing what you want to do, while possibly conflicting, is by no means mutually exclusive, if you can pull it off.</p>

<p>/and that's two degrees, one of which was a double honours...</p>

<p>I don't understand what the difference is then (between double majoring, and getting two degrees). </p>

<p>What happens at commencement, when I finish two separate programs, with one say in English, and another in chemistry?</p>

<p>A double major is one degree, i.e. 90 credits (usually, freshman year not included, I think it's 120 credit for most Engineering programs), most of which will be from classes split pretty evenly between the two departments in which you are majoring, and you'll have more required courses and less electives than a single major. You get one diploma which states what type it is (in Science, Arts, Engineering, or Education, etc) but the piece of paper does not mention majors or minors (your transcript does). Two degrees taking twice as many classes/credits and getting two seperate diplomas (so something like 210 credits for a B.Sc plus a B.Eng). Most sane people who get two bachelors degrees do them one after the other...</p>

<p>Drmambo - I literally stumbled on the answer to your question. Go to commencement info on the website - it's interesting...</p>

<p>thank you both blobof and woody.</p>

<p>"yeah, well i dont really care what he says. Im not doing it to look smart or good for employers. I will do it because i am extremely interested in East asian studies and politics. Im not going to want to take other classes outside of those two fields because all other academic fields bore me."</p>

<p>I think you can stick to what you wanted to do. As for me, I like chemistry and physics and am planning to take joint honor in Chemistry and Physics in McGill. It may tough to do both things at the same time; but, many have done it before. So, I suggest you stick to what you want and go for it.</p>

<p>yeah, your double major will probably be harder for you cause of the workload, but it's good that you are self motivated.</p>

<p>^easy with the honours talk....extremely few people actually stay in joint honours as a % of the total student population. I'm sure it's possible for you to do it, but it's not just something you decide on and it's done.</p>

<p>why's that? If end up going to mcgill, i will use AP credits for all of my core classes. Why wouldnt someone be able to double major in whatever they please? It is not necessarily harder than single major (because then you have to take elective classes you arent necessarily very interested in). I could see a double major in sciences being really hard though. Even 1 science major is probably harder than alot of liberal arts double majors for that matter.</p>

<p>The issue is not just the difficulty, it's your level of interest in each subject. As you take more advanced courses, your interests and motivations may (in fact most definitely will) change, shift and/or focus. You may like subject A and B right now somewhat equally because you actually don't know too much about them. Once you study both more deeply, you may like one less than the other (or start not liking either), enticing you to switch to a single major with a minor (or two). I've seen brilliant students do this, even in their last year. They could have finished with double honours, but they had lost the motivation to work so much in one of the two subjects.</p>

<p>So yes, few who actually enroll in double (or triple) majors/honours actually complete their degree with the program they started. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try. If you do like subject A and B just as much right now, why not do a double major. If you change your mind later, there's no shame in that. If you actually stay the course throughout, you'll be one of the few really smart and dedicated students who succeed in very challenging programs.</p>