<p>It is better for me to do a double major or a specialization as my undergradute study in order to improve my chance of getting accepted by a grad school in the US?</p>
<p>Definitely specialize.</p>
<p>Edit – Oh damn, I just messed up my ‘1337’ post count.</p>
<p>depends…what grad school program? is it inter-disciplinary? </p>
<p>econ major always goes well with many other fields…esp. if policy is what you wanna do.</p>
<p>Neither as long they complement each other.</p>
<p>someone-</p>
<p>I’m a chemical engineer pursuing a computer science minor and deciding whether to double major or do a minor in math.</p>
<p>I want to go to a top notch school. I have people telling me to do a lot of research and other people telling me to double major and take grad level classes. I’m totally torn.</p>
<p>I hope you don’t mind if I ask the same question in your thread… I’m looking at pursuing an MPP degree and I’m sincerely torn in my undergrad program. What would be the better preparation: an honours in political science, or a double major in political science and economics? </p>
<p>My university would also allow me to combine honours political science with a major in economics, but I’m not sure if the extra work and time spent in undergrad would pay off in grad admissions. Would it be worth it?</p>
<p>(I should also mention that I’m only applying to policy schools in Canada and Europe - being a Canadian citizen with relatives living in the EU. I’m not planning to apply in the US.)</p>
<p>A few quick notes:</p>
<p>Honors programs do not generally influence grad admissions, and when they do it is rarely for the better. Challenging courses and research help, but honors programs often place unwieldy requirements and demand excessive time and effort. There are sometimes other benefits - preferential treatment at your school, scholarships, inflating your already swollen ego - so it may be worthwhile for you, but it will not usually help with getting into grad school.</p>
<p>Double majors rarely help either. At the end of the day, they are concerned about your preparation for a course of study and research that is so narrow that probably less than a dozen people in the world will ever read yout PhD thesis - including you, your advisor, and your mother, excluding your committee who generally have better things to do. A double major shows that you have taken a certain set of courses, but then so does your transcript, and since that research area is so narrow, only a handful of courses on your transcript will even really apply! Take those few courses and spend the extra time getting that GPA higher into the stratosphere.</p>
<p>Think about your desired research area, and ask what undergrad major is closest to it. Then ask yourself what courses outside that area would best help prepare you. If the sum of those courses add up to a minor, fine. If they add up to a second major, check the current students in that area and see how many of THEM did double majors, and then recheck that list. Get in some research, and don’t stress if it is not in the same exact area you want to research in grad school - it’s more about the experience than the specific result.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Edit: Woo-hoo!! Post 500! I will be producing and posting a half-hour retrospective special shortly!</p>
<p>congratulations on the 500th post cosmicfish, nerd. I have one more question.</p>
<p>So if I decide to settle with a math minor, are you saying that I would benefit in taking helpful math classes even though it might not even apply as credit in my major? Do grad admissions really see those classes that you take for personal gain?</p>
<p>ISU,</p>
<p>Yes. You have to remember that grad admissions is very individual. In the final round of admissions, interested professors are scrutinizing your application package. They know that their area of research requires preparation in fields x, y, and z, and they look through your transcript to see how closely you fit that need. I have yet to interview with a professor who did not discuss my transcript with me.</p>
<p>Oh I see. They actually interview you. Do all interested professors interview you? and during those interviews, do they look at how well you respond to questions and how your background might influence your inner qualities? I know that displaying a good first impression will definitely help. I’m just wondering how big of an impact your ‘whole package’ will have.</p>
<p>Whether or not they interview you depends a lot on the program and funding, but in most cases they will at least do a phone interview if they are seriously considering you. All of the programs that accepted me did phone interviews prior to offering me admission, and then brought me out to campus to meet with the professors. I generally only did phone interviews with 1-2 professors per school, but on visits I typically met with 3-5 potential advisors. During the phone interviews they were mostly asking questions to determine my level of interest and preparation in their specific areas, while the live meetings were to discuss the program in more detail and “woo” me.</p>
<p>I am aware that some programs do more extensive interviewing pre-offer, but apparently not in my field…</p>
<p>thanks, you’re very helpful</p>