<p>Hi everyone,
I am applying ED to the University of Rochester and I am considering triple majoring in physics (BS), math (BA), and Russian (BA) (as well as completing a social science cluster). I was wondering how easy it is to triple major at Rochester? I've heard that the open curriculum makes it very easy to do so.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Physics and math are naturals for a double major. You will only need to add 2-3 math classes beyond what you’ll need for your BS physics to complete a BA in math.</p>
<p>UR will allow up a 3 course overlap between majors so MTH 282 and 2 of your 2xx level physics courses can be counted toward both majors.</p>
<p>Russian plus a cluster will add another 11 other classes to your schedule. </p>
<p>I would suggest creating a trial 4 year schedule to see if you can fit it all in your schedule.</p>
<p>(Don’t forget if you have plans that include grad school to include space for research.)</p>
<p>Great, thank you! I used the curriculum builder on their website and found that I could do all of those by only taking one extra class in one semester, but that was without overlapping any classes, so it all should work out. Thanks again!</p>
<p>There are a few Russian Studies social science clusters that you could use to maybe overlap with our Russian major too</p>
<p>OP–One thing to remember is that freshmen cannot overload. (At least not during your first semester. Permission from your major advisor is required for all subsequent semesters.) So be sure to factor that into your potential schedule. </p>
<p>You may not want to overload during fall semester senior year either if you plan to apply to grad school since you will [hopefully!] be traveling for interviews and will miss many days of class.</p>
<p>Also both physics labs and language labs are time consuming AND mandatory. The required programming class can also be time-consuming. </p>
<p>Go ahead and plan for a triple major, but be prepared to bail on the plan if it proves untenable and hurts your GPA.</p>
<p>If you can’t triple major, there’s always the possibility of double major & a minor. My d did that without overload, and with multiple internships & a semester abroad.</p>
<p>You also have to be aware that your schedule will not likely leave you without any opportunity for any electives outside these majors or major/minors and that for many of the language classes the recitations meet 4 days a week so you could have schedule conflicts. That happened with my d. She did semester abroad in Vienna and wanted to continue with German and had hoped also to continue with French electives but the scheduling never worked as many of her music dept required sequences were at the same time schedule as the language recitation sections and no getting around those conflicts.</p>
<p>Thank you for the responses, everyone! I do plan on going to grad school for physics (PhD), and so I would probably overload (if I had to) sometime in my sophomore or junior year. If I’m accepted to Rochester, I’ll probably go in planning to triple major, but, as some of you suggested, I can always demote on of my majors to a minor if a triple major isn’t working out.</p>
<p>Word of advice since you’re planning grad school----You will definitely want all the math you can get. Not necessarily a major, but definitely math beyond the requirements for a BS physics.</p>
<p>(DH is a physics PhD. He always said the more math the better because you’re going to need as many calculational/computational tricks up your sleeve as possible for your grad classes.)</p>
<p>WayOutWestMom: Thanks for the advice! It is great to know that the extra math would help. I absolutely love math, so that is a plus.</p>
<p>You can also research the Take Five opportunity. While requirements may have changed since my d graduated in 2010, she had several friends take advantage of this opportunity. You apply during junior year I believe by submitting a proposal on what you would like to study tuition free for a fifth year. Tuition is free, other expenses are on you. I don’t anything about financial aid whether available or not…but this program is designed for someone who is perhaps a major or double major in one area but presents a compelling proposal for studying in an entirely different area. You can still be involved in campus activities as a Take Five Scholar.</p>
<p>You generally can’t do Take Five to complete a major. </p>
<p>I’ve been somewhat surprised to learn that 3x majors happen. I don’t see the point. But I know of one who was music, physics and english, meaning no overlap. </p>
<p>I also understand a number of kids do a major in ASL - yes, American Sign Language - and/or Psych because they’re relatively easy to get done and they can do another major with that. I think Psych may have the fewest class reqs.</p>
<p>My D did a double major with Psych and Stats with a minor in math.</p>
<p>Yes, you cannot do a Take Five to complete a major however if your double major is time confusing you can do a Take Five to pursue that third area of interest. To clarify what I meant by being involved in campus activities as a Take Five, you can continue to participate in theatre productions, you can sing in chorus, you can be in performing ensemble, not certain about team sports but I would think so. I would think you can get on-campus job although those are pretty limited in the first place to work study students.</p>
<p>No one should enter school thinking about taking a 5th year to complete yet another major.</p>
<p>The point of Take Five is not to complete another major… and no one would or should ever go to college with that assumption in mind. Number one, you need to be able to afford an extra year of living expenses to pursue a subject of interest that may not be directly relevant to your future career plans and you need to write a compelling project submission as to why the university shoud cover your tuition to allow you to do so. It is highly competitive to be accepted. My daughter has known several people to do so who are currently in professional school, MA/Ph.D programs, or about to enter grad school for performing or visual arts. 2 of that group used part of their Take Five year for study abroad as they could not or did not do so during their undergraduate years. The university previously has promoted the concept … want to go to medical school or law school but always wanted to study Japanese or piano performance or music theory, this would be your chance to do so. It would be harder of course to say one is planning to go for an MFA in painting but would really like a year to explore neuroscience as an option.</p>
<p>Sorry for my absence over the past week.</p>
<p>I am actually really liking the sound of the Take 5 Program. I do have a couple more questions about it, though:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Is it alright if I do not want to use it to complete any research? So, would I be able to use it to just take various Russian language and literature courses?</p></li>
<li><p>How is a T5 year looked upon by employers or grad school admissions? (i.e. would it make me seem indecisive about what I want to do with my life?)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you to everyone who has responded so far; I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“Students : College Center for Advising Services : University of Rochester”>Students : College Center for Advising Services : University of Rochester]Here[/url</a>] is a Take Five web page with links. You have most of 4 years to think about this. These are not timely questions.</p>