Quote:
Originally Posted by Kate*
If you're interested in graduate school the two best things to do are consult your advisor and start your research early. A double major won't necessarily make you more competitive and your GPA is more important than your degree in some cases; For example, you can apply for a PhD. in psychology without a degree in psychology (though they do prefer one), you only need 18 hours of psych including 4 or 5 specific courses. The first thing I think of is that this is A LOT, I took 18 hours once and decided to never do it again for the sake of my sanity.
Unless a double major makes you competitive based on admission requirements, or the second subject is so interesting that you feel the extra work is worth it, you might want to scale back. If you take on so much that your GPA suffers, that may seal your fate regardless of the fact that you have two degrees. The classes you're taking matter more than how many you took at a time. Don't schedule yourself so strictly that if anything unforeseen happens, you've made things impossible.
Also, check multiple times to make sure that the classes you plan/need are offered when you've scheduled them; especially for summer and spring where there tend to be fewer options, some courses only taught in certain semesters and, my personal favorite, the one required course only taught one semester of alternating years (good luck coordinating that!) can throw a serious monkey wrench in your plans.
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This wouldn't be the first time I've taken 18 hours honestly, and I'm used too multiple labs a semester at this point. My double major is Wildlife Science & Biology. The reason I actually decided to declare a double major is because a) I feel it'd look better, and b) my interests for Graduate school are in an EEB (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology), and Herpetology programs mainly with Venom Evolution. The main classes I really had to add to my program then I probably would have originally taken are The two Organic Chemistries, and the two physics, the rest I would have done everything I could to fit in anyway. That's one thing I was looking at as well is the times most are offered, because things like Forest Ecology, Dendrology are only offered in the Fall, Herpetology is only offered Every Other spring, and there's a few others like that so I factored in exactly when they should fall. This is more of a rough guide then anything else honestly, and I very well may try and take even more summer courses to try to even it out and make it slightly easier. I have to have at least 16 Credit hours per semester for my scholarships anyway (which seize after 4 years hence trying to get everything in as soon as possible). I do appreciate the input for sure. One Nice thing about my University as well is that when you finish the Wildlife science course we are one of few universities that make sure you have everything completed to be a federally certified wildlife biologist (something else to put on a resume).