Hi everyone, this is my first post so I don’t know if I’m doing this right and if this is in the right forum, but I’m just gonna give it a go 
I wanted to ask people about their opinions/advises on double majoring. I am a rising sophomore student in the college of arts and sciences. I’ve always had multiple interests, and I was still undecided between Physics and Neuroscience by the time of course selection for this upcoming semester. With my APs and my freshmen year I’ve fulfilled a lot of prerequisites for both majors, and by the end of my sophomore year I should easily be able to finish prerequisites for both majors. That is why I began to have a thought about double majors. I’ve been told by many that it would be gruesome, and I can certainly see how it can be so, but I’d really like to do both majors. I’ve had a relatively challenging but manageable freshman year, but above all, I certainly enjoyed it, and I’d like to continue on both paths. After Undergraduate studies I’m thinking of going into med school and becoming a doctor or a surgeon (neurosurgeon would be nice), and then retiring after a while and doing PhD studies for physics, but that is way later in the future. Right now I am worried about graduating Undergrad with 2 majors. Is it going to be too much work? Do you recommend it?
“Do you recommend it?”
I recommend you pick the major(s) you are interested in. If that’s both Physics and Neuroscience, go for it. But being a double major is not a wow factor for med schools. Having competitive GPAs, MCAT, convincing adcoms with your LORs, ECs, secondaries, and PS that you have the qualities (eg maturity, altruism, compassion, team player etc) that they believe will make an applicant a good physician, and then finally demonstrating via interview(s) that you’re not just pretty on paper but can actually hold an intelligent, mature conversation and are not rude, arrogant, etc. will get you an acceptance if you apply strategically enough.
“Is it going to be too much work?”
Maybe, maybe not. Nobody here knows you so it’s impossible to answer. How are your GPAs currently? When I say GPAs, med schools will break down your GPAs by year and cumulatively and also look at your science grades (bio, chem, math, physics) and all non science courses by year and cumulatively. Any ECs yet? How do you plan to fit ECs in? Any plans for a social life? Do you plan to apply after junior or senior year? When will you prep/take MCAT? Don’t forget you’ll need to squeeze in intro psych and sociology courses in for MCAT. Lots for you to consider. (As a note, I dont need an answer to above questions). In last cycle almost 60% of those who applied failed to get in anywhere. So I’d guess the one upside of being a premed double major is it gives you a head start on a plan B if med school doesn’t pan out. Good luck
I would not recommend two majors if it takes you an extra year of college. Since you are planning to go to medical school, you really do not want to add additional debt for the last year. If you can do them both in 4 years then OK but otherwise, i would suggest majoring in physics and taking as many of your elective courses from the neuroscience program after you have taken all the basic medical school requirements.
You need to listen to the Xrayman, there. You don’t need the neuroscience degree for anything, but you will probably need the Physics Bachelors to go back to school after your medical career.
You’ll be most likely going into Research and Development if you were to pursue Physics as a major. In neuroscience you’ll find most of your work in the hospital. Research the work environment of both your majors and see which one you wouldn’t mind. Physics wouldn’t be bad as a complementary to neuroscience.
Thank you for your replies. Thank you especially, Jugulator, for your thorough response. I’d like to point out that the “wow factor” is not what I am looking for in looking into double major. Instead, I am thinking of the path purely because of my self-interest. As I mentioned briefly before, I’d like to career into the field of medicine, make income to be able to sustain my family, then move on to researching physics/neuroscience after retirement. That is why I wish to, as strange as it may be, get a BS in Physics rather than BA in Physics. Any opinions on that choice?
Also, the factor of EC you’ve mentioned is something I’d been overlooking. Thanks for reminding me. I’ve never been a great EC kind of person - most of my interests and strengths lay academically, so I never had time to do ECs even in high school. How important are ECs when applying to med school? What are some things you suggest I can start now, if it’s not too late? I do have some experiences with robotics, game designing, etc.
As to importance of ECs in med school app, one way I’ve seen it expressed is:
“GPA/MCATs will get you to the door, but it’s **ECs, etc ** that will get you through the door.” (Quote is from Goro who is an adcom on SDN.) I added emphasis on ECs, etc
A med school app has a lot of components GPA/MCATs, ECs, LORs, PS, secondaries, interviews. Very generally speaking med schools are going to first ask if an applicant can cut it academically (GPAs, MCAT) (aka get you to the door). If yes they are going to look at other parts (eg ECs, LORs, PS, secondaries) of app to see if applicant has qualities/characteristics the school is looking for (eg altruism, compassion, team player, communication skills, fit in with school’s mission statement, research, etc). If yes, they’ll extend an interview invite to see if you’re more than pretty on paper and can you hold a conversation, maturity, etc. A poor interview (eg, rude, arrogant) and you can kiss your chances at that school bye bye. So acceptance to med school is a process and weakness at any point (eg ECs) can get you rejected, waitlisted, or hopefully an acceptance
Correction of last sentence: weakness at any point (eg ECs) can get you rejected or waitlisted. Hopefully you have a competitive app in all aspects and receive an acceptance
Double majors add a lot of extra work, and they aren’t going to make you any more or less appealing for grad school admissions. But if you want to double major out of sheer interest, then go for it. However, I will say that your plans may not be realistic. Going to med school and becoming a surgeon for a while and then pursuing PhD studies in physics might seem realistic…but it may not pan out that way. These are both careers that require a serious amount of dedication. I’m doing dual degrees in physics and math, and this is a very heavy workload. However, these two majors have much more in common. Have you considered anything like biophysics? Biophysics is one of the more active fields of physics research, and many biophysicists work in the medical research field. One of the biophysics at my university (UIUC) is researching the quantum nature of motorneurons and micro tubules in the brain. It’s a fascinating area of research that really blends a lot of neuroscience and physics.