triple majoring.

<p>should i do a triple major in political science, sociology, and psychology or from college in two years with one major?</p>

<p>i will finish in 4 years if i decide to do a triple, and i feel that i would fullfill all the requirements without overstretching myself at all.</p>

<p>i'm working on my poli sci major atm and will be finished before winter quarter of my sophomore year. i have been taking 24 units each quarter and its been pretty chill. i have had time to party and experience college for all its worth.</p>

<p>i know double majors are neutrally looked upon by law schools, what about a triple major, maybe it would turn some eyes because its rare? i am 90% sure that i can maintain a 3.7-3.8 gpa while triple majoring. the risk isn't there and i don't mind a little extra work, should i do it?</p>

<p>what are the benefits of doing a triple in general, and for law school?</p>

<p>I see no real advantage in triple majoring, unless it keeps you in college for the full four years.</p>

<p>Why the rush? Your life's work will be waiting for you when you get out.</p>

<p>Speaking as someone who is just a fellow applicant, not an admissions professional, I gotta say that that combo doesn't overly impress me - I think you'd be more advantaged by taking those extra 2 years to gain work experience or applying to law school right away and knocking out the better part of your JD. </p>

<p>Those are just 3 soft degree programs. I had a friend who triple majored in mathematics, chemistry and bio-engineering over 5 years. That was ridiculously impressive, given her grades and the level of difficulty of those programs individually. But psych, socio and poli sci degrees are only as impressive as what you do with them post graduation - having those degrees in and off themselves only speaks to your talent in scheduling course loads.</p>

<p>Don't triple major. Instead just major in one thing or double major if you have genuine interest in the subject. Don't major in things just because you think it will make you more marketable because most of the time it doesn't matter, especially with those three majors you listed right there. So I say use the extra time to strengthen your networking/interviewing skills or study in order to get a good LSAT score, which btw is the most important thing in law school admissions.</p>

<p>okay, so if i only major in poli sci and finish all my reqs in two years, should i graduate early? if so what should i do with the extra years?</p>

<p>but</p>

<p>if you recommend me prolonging my stay as and undergrad, then why would you make such a suggestion?</p>

<p>You can go into law school, theres no minimum age requirement, so if you are done with undergrad then take the LSAT and start applying for law school immediately if thats your desire. </p>

<p>Alternatively, you can go to work for awhile. We'll have to assume that your extra curriculars aren't going to be as strong as most T14 competitors becuase you've only had 2 years in which to accumulate experiences and a history of service as compared to 4. So you can make up for this by gaining some meaningful work experience. Example? Teach for America is generally a 2 year minimum committment and T14 schools love it!</p>

<p>Actually, I read somewhere ("Law School Confidential", maybe?) that law schools examine transcripts closely. Triple majors or graduation in two years may -- may -- preclude high quantities of advanced coursework. You might consider going three years, writing a senior thesis in your favorite field, and accumulating one year of work experience.</p>

<p>Or something like that.</p>

<p>Again, the LSC book indicates that while work experience can be very helpful on a personal level, it doesn't tend to matter on average.</p>

<p>you know, i had the same idea of triple majoring. but my school requires mandatory theses per each major. in the end, it doesn't add any value to your marketability or grad school apps. double majoring on the other hand would prob. be seen as positive even if it doesn't carry any real weight. i know consulting firms like double majors, it shows intellectual curiosity. </p>

<p>in your case, i'd say major in something or double and take a bunch of electives you enjoy. or, grad in two years and get a good job if you can (Which is likely dependent on where you go to school...).</p>

<p>but heck, if you wanna triple major, go for it--it's your choice and your life. just know that you will need a solid rationale for later on in life...</p>

<p>again, don't do it to impress anyone. it won't.</p>

<p>Work experience is a huge plus if you have the right types of work experience. If you work for your mom doing nothing requiring leadership skills or advanced problem solving skills, then whats not impressive in general certainly isnt going to be impressive to admissions committees...however, there is no question that certain work experiences are seen as highly valuable in the eyes of law schools. I've spoken about this before, but go to the Harvard admissions blog, and read Toby Stock's comments on Teach for America work or other works that show a dedication to public service or innovation. </p>

<p>High GPAs are not that uncommon....I graduated cum laude...not highest honors, but honors nonetheless...and per my LSAC report I graduated at the 43rd percentile for my school...think about the implications of that...there were like 56k students at my undergrad institution....were talking thousands of people at my school alone graduating with a better GPA than me, and I was an honors kid...your not going to compete at the GPA level...the GPA is just like a qualifier for you to play in this game....the competition is going to start when they look beyond the GPA and find what intangibles you're bringing that the 4,000 other 3.7+ History/Sociology/Business/Poly Sci majors have. </p>

<p>I know everyone loves to discount the intangibles becuase it makes people feel like this process is simpler and less frightening if it can be reduced to straight numerics....and at lower ranked schools, they're right, you can predict with good accuracy where admissions decisions will fall given stats...but I suspect you are shooting higher than that, and when your talking top 5/10/14/20 schools (wherever you draw that line) the numerics are a dime a dozen...there's no way for these people to make the choice without looking for other factors to judge.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>What school do you go to that would let you graduate after only 4 semesters? Are you taking summer courses, too? I agree, I wouldn't triple major, but I would stay for a third year at least. You're what, 20 years old? It's okay to enjoy school for a little while. Once you're done you just have to work until you're 65...</p>

<p>thanks for the advice guys</p>

<p>i go to uc irvine, yes i am taking a load of summer school courses to clear breadth.</p>

<p>Okay, thanks...that makes a lot more sense. My university used a different credit system, so I didn't know how many classes 24 credits was. For me, 5 major classes would have been a 5 credit semester...1 class is one credit. And no one was allowed to graduate sooner than 3 years, and there were all sorts of hoops to jump through before that. They were all about "the experience" which I agree on actually.</p>

<p>Good luck</p>