<p>Hey all --</p>
<p>I'm thinking about pursuing a triple major/double degree at Rice, specifically</p>
<p>B.S. : Electrical Engineering, Physics (Applied Physics option)
B.A. : Mathematics</p>
<p>Before anyone kills me on here, let me just say that I'm planning to take a full 10 semesters to complete the coursework for this (in addition to the distribution and the other stuff in which I'm sure I'll want to dabble). My main goal is to begin in the direction of a career in quantum computing architecture/design.</p>
<p>Is there anyone from Rice who could comment on the feasibility of this? (I also want to do very well for grad school, not just adequately). I appreciate any and all comments. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Only a Rice Mom here-- but what you describe sounds like a marvelous plan. And something I suspect you’ll handle with grace. </p>
<p>Querer es poder – you’ll be in terrific company along the way!</p>
<p>EE and physics are considered to be difficult majors at Rice. Unless you judiciously choose courses so a significant number of courses count towards more than one major, you won’t be able to pull this off in 5 years. I was a mech and applied math double major and I had to take about 18 credits a semester consistently to pull it off in four years, even with 30-ish hours of AP credit. That being said, I had a friend who pulled of a biochem, chem, physics triple major in four years. However, there was significant overlap between his majors.</p>
<p>As someone who just completed the grad school application process, I’ll tell you that grad schools in engineering are just about as hard to get into as med school and law school. Usually a 3.7+ GPA, excellent GRE scores (1400+) and a record of research activity (publications, conference presentations) are required for you to be competitive at the top programs. At the elite programs, it also turns into a crapshoot so your prof’s recommendations often become the deciding factor.</p>
<p>I should also mention that my friend went to TAMS (a sci/eng magnet where the students take all college courses at UNT) so he came in with about 60 hours of credit and was able to take all sophomore year courses during his freshman year.</p>
<p>I’m coming in with a significant amount of credit (close to 50 hours >> ~30 applicable hours), but there is significant overlap between the Physics A.P. Option and EE, (and of course there is overlap between both of these and the Maths major) which allows for reduction in classes. I’m hoping I can pull off the equivalent of 3.75+/4.00 (since Rice sits on the 4.33 scale, that would be around 4.05+/4.33) with a lot of work in research. I’m sure I’ll have to work hard, but I’m prepared to do that.</p>