I would like to major in four things: Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering/Biomedical Engineering, Molecular Biology, and Computer Science. I am also going to be applying to many T20s (MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton etc) If I get accepted (crossing my fingers), do you think it’d be humanly possible to quadruple major? Also, I know for schools like MIT, Yale, Harvard and Princeton you can only go up to a double major, but for a school like Stanford, or UPenn, or Columbia, do you think I could major in all 4 things and still come out alive?
Ok thanks! What about if I took some college classes beforehand? Also, you can do a joint concentration at Harvard, which is like a double major I guess.
Also, you don’t need to major in everything you’re interested in. Your major will only be about 35% of your courseload over 4 years. 30-40% will be distribution requirements, general education, core curriculum (various names). 20-30% of your courseload will be electives. So, you could take 4 courses of interest in CS, add an elective from engineering, etc.
BTW Chemical engineering and Bioengineering would likely have a common curriculum the first year (calc, physics, chemistry, English, plus a seminar on Engineering as a field/profession, plus general education.) Differences would involve first year seminar, which could be major-specific but you can only take one even if you want to double major, and biology courses,which you could take out of a personal interest alongside Chem E or CS courses.
A key element would be for you to remember that you’ll be able to study many topics even if you don’t major in it, because college is in fact built for it.
BTW this is true at a T20, T50, or any university.
A joint concentration at Harvard is not a double major. It is one major taking elements from 2 departments that need to be woven together into a course of study. It requires more courses than a single major, but fewer than a double.
College courses taken before college enrollment will rarely be able to be applied to a major. Some colleges, like Penn, consider them as preparation for college and award no credit at all.
Got it! Thanks! Sorry, I was just worried, because there are separate things I want to learn in different subjects. I know that Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering are very similar, but there are certain aspects to each major that I want to study, which led me to believe I should apply for a quadruple major. Thank you for this advice! I did some research and found out that with some extra hard-work, I could actually learn those other aspects to engineering in one of the majors, so they’re interchangeable. So, I am pretty sure I will be applying as a triple major, which I know is difficult, but possible, because I’ve seen people go to Ivies and do it, so thank you!
Don’t apply as a triple major. Apply as a student with three potential majors of interest. It’s very different.
(Applying to be a triple major means you’re a clueless HS kid who doesn’t understand how college majors and curricula work. Indicating three potential majors of interest that are backed by your HS curriculum and ECs means you’re intellectually curious and academiclly capable. INdicating majors of interest that are not backed by your HS background and EC’s is a problem.)
At least MIT, Stanford, and Harvard do not admit by major. At MIT your alleged intended major is used to help them pick your freshman year advisor.
It is hard to imagine why anyone would want to have four majors. However, you can start off taking courses that would be relevant to each of these majors, and then narrow it down during your second and third years.
Your screen name suggests that you might be an international student. In the US, you typically take quite a few classes that are outside of your major. As one example, I was a math major at MIT. I had to take a lab course. However, this was because a lab course is a requirement for every student regardless of major. If I had wanted to, I could have taken a lab course in one of the areas that you are interested in, even though that was not my major. Similarly I also had to take a chemistry course. You can choose from among many “lab” and “chemistry” courses. I took ones that interested me. You could take ones that interest you even if this is not your major.
It also depends on the curriculum set up. I went to a T30 college with a liberal arts focus- I was able to double major and have a separate minor. But I am the first to admit that it was ridiculously unnecessary and a complete nightmare- I barely slept.
You’re getting caught up in the academic “arms race” - if some people double-major, then you’ve got to be “better” and triple or quadruple major. This is not how it works. Where is that supposed to lead - are you going to have four careers after you graduate? Having a range of interests is terrific, but at some point it all has to converge on one life path.
Your major (or at most double-major) is just a framework for pursuing your interests. The requirements built into that framework assure that you cover the ground necessary to earn your degree. Then, you build upon that framework. You may get involved in research, and/or pursue extracurriculars, that relate to your interests and goals. You may write an undergraduate thesis in an area of greatest interest, choosing a topic that may span more than one academic discipline. You may pursue internships that are appropriate to your developing skills and career goals.
Majors aren’t trophies. Your resume can describe any number of pursuits and skill-sets; you don’t have to have a degree in each one. As MYOS already said above, indicate all of your areas of interest to colleges, but don’t make yourself look naive and self-aggrandizing by insisting on your determination to triple or quadruple major. AO’s will not be impressed by this. Show that you are intellectually curious, ambitious, and open to a range of possibilities; and show that you trust the experience at their institution to give you ample opportunities for exploration and self-development. Look into the kinds of research being done at each institution, and express genuine excitement about specific examples of projects you would love to get involved in. Show an understanding that your experiences at their university will shape your path once you’re there… and that your choice of major is only one piece of that puzzle.
Sorry that you thought of me like that. No, I really have a plan that involves all of those majors, that I don’t feel comfortable sharing online. I might double major, but triple major is still a thing in my head. I know there is no way that I might be able to finish that now, thanks to everyone who replied, but I’m not going to fully forget it.
P.S. I don’t think of majors as trophies, I think of them as another step to where I want to be in life.
I don’t think there’s a single T20 school (whatever your definition of T20 is) allows quadruple majoring for all practical purposes. Even triple majoring, for a school that allows it, would require going through a process that makes it nearly impossible for almost any student.
You have plenty of other (and better) ways to demonstrate your interests or academic prowess, as others have suggested.
You sound defeated by the idea quadruple majoring is impossible, but understand that you do NOT need to major in a subject in order to study it.
Experiment:
Pick your favorite college. You’ll either take 4 4-credit classes or 5 3-credit classes (or a mix, for a total of 15-16 credits a semester).
Make a chart with all 8 semesters. Add summer session after freshman year. Fill it out, using all your college’s requirements, then add the classes you find interesting from all majors, and compare with the actual requirements for these majors. You’ll see that you can major in one subject, minor in another, and still take classes of interest in several subjects.
Sorry that you thought of me like that. No, I really have a plan that involves all of those majors, that I don’t feel comfortable sharing online.
I don’t know what your plan is, but I would still be willing to bet my next paycheck that it does not require quadruple majoring, triple majoring, or even double majoring.
Your college degree is not by any means intended to prepare you for anything that you might choose to do after college. There is still so much to learn - on the job, through your career, through a potential certificate program or graduate degree, just through life. I work in UX and I did not take a single UX class before I got this job.
Personally, I recommend selecting a single major for the vast majority of students. Some students have a very specific field of study that would benefit from a double major, and are also planful enough to successfully do this in 4 years. Talk to your advisor once you actually get into a school about your plan.
Do note that it is also possible to take classes in other areas even if you don’t major in them. You could major in chemical engineering, for example, and take the classes you want in all three of the other areas.
Just be aware that most employers will look at this (if allowed, after 5-7 years) and think “3/4 his person’s interest isn’t what we’re looking for. Let’s interview someone better aligned with what we want”.