<p>I am in the class of 2014 and wanted to get some queries answered. Here they are-</p>
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<li><p>I am currently undecided but would be doing some sort of engineering. What are the maximum possible number of minors I will be able to complete in four years of undergraduate study (assuming that I bring about sixteen AP credits)?</p></li>
<li><p>Let's say I decide to do a double major. Is it still possible for me to do a minor along with that in four years of undergraduate study (again assuming that I bring about 16 credits)? I know it will be very demanding but is it possible?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it possible for sharp kids to complete their degrees earlier? I mean, can someone, with let's say no AP credits complete his major in three or less than three years?</p></li>
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<p>Congrats on getting into Hopkins! As a recent engineering alum, I’ll try to answer your questions. First of all, I would recommend that you don’t try to focus on getting as many major/minors as you can in your time at Hopkins. I had a similar mindset when I came in - I saw the requirements for some of the minors and thought, “Well, geez, I can do a handful of these while I’m there”. It’s great to want to pursue something outside of your major, but I would take some time to take intro classes in the non-engineering fields you’re interested in and see if you really like them enough to minor (or double major) in them and not just minor for the sake of minoring. (I’m not saying that that’s what you’re trying to do, but just some general advice). I actually came in with two or three different departments that I thought minoring in but I ended up double majoring in a completely different department and not getting any minors. </p>
<p>As for your questions,
It’s really going to depend on what minors you want to do. It will be significantly harder to do minors that don’t overlap with your major requirements and aren’t in the humanities/social sciences. If you do decided to pursue a minor in the humanities/social sciences, it actually works out pretty well because you can count your minor department courses as your H/S requirements and only have to take a couple extra classes beyond the number of required H/S credits. As an engineering, it’s also pretty easy to get a minor in Math - depending on your major it may actually be one extra math class (though it will be a 300-level math class, so it’ll still be challenging)</p>
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<li><p>Again, it depends on what major and minor you pursue and how much you’re willing to pack your schedule. The “easiest” route would be a humanities/social sciences major, but you’ll still need to plan out your four year schedule this summer to make sure it will all fit together. You’ll probably need to be taking 18 or more credits each semester and won’t really be able to study abroad unless you plan it out really well. </p></li>
<li><p>It’s possible but again, not easy. You’ll need to pack your schedule and double up on major requirements courses (ie take the sophomore year courses freshman year). This will be much more difficult without AP credits as most of the engineering sophomore courses are going to require calculus and physics as prerequisites.</p></li>
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<p>tanman-You mention studying abroad. Do many engineering majors study abroad? If so, is it only during the summer, or are they able to fit it into the regular school year?</p>
<p>In general, the majority of engineers who study abroad do it over the summer. A lot of people find research internships at various places around the world and the engineering school actually has a scholarship program for engineers doing research abroad. It is possible to study abroad during the fall or spring, but it’s far more difficult. Many of the engineering programs have relatively well-defined schedules for major requirements, but if you know that you want to study abroad coming in, it may be possible to plan your schedule so that you’ll be able to spend a semester abroad. You’ll need to plan it out so that you can take all your engineering courses while at Hopkins and take your humanities/social science courses while abroad as it’s difficult to take engineering courses abroad (except at a few select universities) because of accreditation requirements, and in order to do so, you may have to double up on major requirements</p>