Triple major

<p>Anybody out there with a triple major? How tough is it?</p>

<p>Are you in college yet? If not I’ll say that triple majoring is a ridiculous idea unless you intend to only study extremely similar fields (eg, geology+geophysics+hydrology). You’ll need to essentially come in with enough college credits to wipe out your gen eds and lower div prereqs if you want to graduate in four years.</p>

<p>I can understand wanting to do a double major, but I can’t see what the particular benefit of doing a triple major is. If they’re closely related fields, I don’t think you would gain a lot from doing 3 vs. 2 majors. If they’re not closely related, you are setting yourself up for a long time in school without probably gaining post-grad over having focused more in college.</p>

<p>If this is coming from an uncertainty about what to study in college, so you think you might as well do all 3, things will probably become much more clear when you start. You will realize quickly what appeals to you and what doesn’t once you actually get into the content at a college level, which will make narrowing down to 1 or 2 majors much easier…</p>

<p>What majors are you considering?</p>

<p>It all depends on the major. The majority of the time though, a triple major is going to be relatively pointless. I had this dream of triple majoring in physics/math/computer science for a while. After I started to really look at what would be required though, that idea quickly went out the window. It honestly really isn’t even that beneficial most of the time.</p>

<p>In my own personal situation, the option I’ve gone with is majoring in physics, with minors in math and astronomy. I’m also taking a couple of introductory computer science/programming classes. This is a far more feasible plan. The astronomy minor isn’t even set in stone yet. That depends on whether I decide to take an extra year to finish my undergrad or not. If nothing else, I’ll take a couple of astronomy classes as electives though.</p>

<p>The time that would be spent triple majoring would be better spent focusing on a wider variety of classes in a more specific field the vast majority of the time. If you’re looking at three majors that are pretty closely related, it’s important to realize that a lot of schools have policies regarding that. Some schools won’t allow you to take two majors that are closely related to one another, like double majoring in biochemistry and microbiology. That’s going to vary a lot from school to school though.</p>

<p>Many schools won’t allow the credit from a single course to be applied to more than two majors. When I was considering my triple major idea, this was something that I found out really quickly. Some of the math classes would have been requirements for all three majors, but I only would have been able to apply that credit to two majors, meaning I’d have to replace x number of classes with x number of additional classes. In and of itself, that can sound appealing in some respects, but when you start looking at how you have to complete 50+ classes in 4 years, on top of your gened requirements…it gets a bit less appealing.</p>

<p>It’s possible, but highly uncommon. We have a friend whose daughter is triple majoring in CS, Math and Econ at a small prestigious research uni. She started with a good number of AP creds (but not an extraordinary number) and earned summer credits after her first and second years.</p>

<p>Here’s reality.</p>

<p>A triple, and even a double major, is not worth much. You are MUCH BETTER off using the extra time to get experience and skills through research participation or internships. </p>

<p>Believe me.</p>

<p>^^^ That.</p>

<p>I’ve heard it many times. People think that their job prospects are going to be far greater if they have 3 majors under their belt. In reality, most employers would rather see that you’ve already put some of that knowledge to work. Having a broad education is fantastic, but showing that you can take that education and apply it to the real world is a lot more important.</p>

<p>Some universities offer dual majors, which are different from double majors. They combine the requirements of both majors, so instead of having to take 2 entire majors’ worth of courses, it comes out to about 1.5 times as many major-required courses as a single major. That might be a good way to compromise as well, if that’s available.</p>

<p>It depends. Math+CS+Econ is essentially an econ and cs double major, with just pure econ and cs classes as the shared math of the three, if allowed, takes care of all of that. A physics, dance and history triple major, however…</p>

<p>Yes, a lot of schools offer combined majors that are specially tailored for people interested in certain aspects of several interconnected fields.</p>

<p>Double majors like CS and math or physics and math are pretty mutually compatible though. A lot of classes are going to take care of requirements in both majors. If the multiple majors in question are things that have absolutely nothing to do with each other though, it’s gonna be rough.</p>

<p>I’ll second the idea that double or triple majors hurt your job prospects unless they are extremely related fields. I am hiring you to do A job, not two or three. I want someone who wants to do THAT job and NOT someone who hasn’t really chosen a field yet, and therefore chose to do a multiple major. </p>

<p>It costs the company a considerable number of dollars to hire and train you. You may think you know it all after you graduate from college, but in many fields you have only scratched the surface of the profession. </p>

<p>I also want someone with more than the minimum number of classes in the field in which I am hiring them to work in. I always have enough resumes with what I am looking for that I can easily round file the others.</p>