<p>I'm at the point in my college career where I'm deciding what I want to do do with my life. I have a strong passionfor Government, yet, at the same tiem, I have a strong passion for the sciences. Right now I'm majoring in Biology, but am very seriously considering adding Governemnt as a double major. I will have summer science research and good stuff like that, but how do you think a top notch science grad school or med-school would look at a second major in the humanities when I apply for admissions? Do you think they'd regard it as "un-focused"?</p>
<p>As long as you show your preparation in and committment to the sciences, having a double major should not hurt your chances of admission to graduate school or med school. In fact, it could improve them. Many professors are looking for students with strong communication skills (generally associated with majors in the humanities) and like students who understand the political and social ramifications of their research.</p>
<p>I agree with la<em>vie</em>est_belle -- I think the worst that would probably happen would be that the admissions committee would simply ignore any courses which weren't in the sciences.</p>
<p>(I mean that for graduate school. I'm not particularly familiar with the medical school admissions process.)</p>
<p>I don't really think they'll be too concerned with your bio studies, unless you totally sucked at them. However, you might find that if you do want to go into a poli sci/gov graduate program that it might be better to do your substantive research in that field. If you want to do bio, then do your substantive research in that field. Or, if you're a total superstar, do both.</p>
<p>By the way, most people generally consider government/poli sci to be a social science, not humanity.</p>
<p>so you guys don't think that a double major in such unrelated fields will look "un-focused" to Bio Grad-Schools if I have research experience in Biology? </p>
<p>Taking gov. classes will keep me from taking some other science courses (I won't be super stocked up on science courses, though, I will have enough for a Bio major, etc.). Coudl this hurt my chances at a good science grad school?</p>
<p>I've never heard number of classes taken in a subject area used as a criterion for graduate school admission. I mean, certainly some of the people who get into biology PhD programs were undergraduate majors in other things (I know one who did her SB in chemistry and one who did his in computer science), so they probably didn't have as many biology classes as some. I only had one interviewer even mention my courses, and he only mentioned it because he and I went to the same undergraduate school and took many of the same classes.</p>
<p>My impression is certainly that having killer research experience in biology can cover over a multitude of sins. ;)</p>
<p>Who knows, your diverse range of strengths (assuming you go through with this double major) might even make you more attractive! I recall one of my professors remarking that a PhD applicant to UCLA was admitted, in part, because of the fact that she had a very interesting second major (if I recall, it was physics.)</p>