Major/Minor vs. Double Minor vs. Honors - 3&4yr degrees (undergrad)

[Cyc]

I was just wondering what degree structure most people on here chose before applying to graduate.

I'm also curious if your degree structure (in itself) can affect your chances of getting into a graduate school. For example, would an honors (4yr) student generally be accepted before a double-minor (3yr) student?

Also, do you find employers look at degree structure as a big selling point when applying for a job after school?

I'm curious because I can get a minor in biology, skip math and physics and get another minor in languages, or I can take the tougher route, take math and physics and graduate with a major in Bio.

I am one of those people who sit and stare at math problems for an hour before figuring them out. I don't see the point in torturing myself if I don't have to.

 

[RedLeader]

I was just wondering what degree structure most people on here chose before applying to graduate.

I'm also curious if your degree structure (in itself) can affect your chances of getting into a graduate school. For example, would an honors (4yr) student generally be accepted before a double-minor (3yr) student?

Are you speaking of a 4yr honors degree, as in a Bachelor's Degree? I am assuming so. I have never even heard of "double-minor degrees" before. It certainly does not have a positive ring to it. Sure, grad schools respect people who get through undergrad more quickly, but they also respect people who show a strong and in-depth study of a given field. "double minor" sounds more like you know a little about this and a little about that...So to answer your question, yes, they'll probably accept the honors 4yr student first, assuming equal GPAs and such. At bare minimum, do a major or major/minor, even if it takes 4 years (you CAN pull this off in 3 if you find a willing school, such as one on trimesters. Though this IS challenging.).

Also, do you find employers look at degree structure as a big selling point when applying for a job after school?

Depends on the job. I'll echo what I said before, though. "double-minor" does not have a good ring to it, and employers tend to want resumes/CVs that read as positively as possible. However, often a double-major, or a major/minor can look better than a single field (even if it's honors), because it shows that you're able to learn a diverse amount of topics.

Sure, math/physics double major, for example, wouldn't really give this much credit. But say you did a journalism/modern-languages double major. This would look really good if applying for a job, as you'd automatically be openining yourself up to jobs which would require knowing multiple languages.

I'm curious because I can get a minor in biology, skip math and physics and get another minor in languages, or I can take the tougher route, take math and physics and graduate with a major in Bio.

I am one of those people who sit and stare at math problems for an hour before figuring them out. I don't see the point in torturing myself if I don't have to.

If you have ambition, and it seems like you do since you want to do grad school, then do the major in Bio. Hands down. You probably won't have to take THAT much math, and what you will will probably be statistics courses or basic calculus/linear algebra. Some schools will have specific courses in the math department for biology, such as MATH1054 - Mathematics for Biology. This is a good sign, as courses like that will assume that people are in the same boat as you - a bit weary about math. But even if you're stuck in the general math courses, I'd still challenge yourself. I mean if you work hard, seek tutoring (if needed) and can find good textbooks, you will get through it with at least passing grades.

 

[ebola?]

If you are aiming at graduate school, graduating with honors (particularly with a thesis) will prove a great deal more important than double-majoring and/or minoring.

I'm not sure if graduate admissions place a great deal of emphasis on how quickly you finish, unless you took an extremely protracted period.

I was just wondering what degree structure most people on here chose before applying to graduate.

I'm not trying to brag, but it's going to prove a 'collateral effect'.
I had a triple major (philosophy, psychology, and sociology) with departmental honors in psychology (with a research thesis) in 4 years. I didn't choose this path; rather, I just took courses that I enjoyed, and it all fell together. However, it appears to have gotten me into the sociology grad school of my choice.

ebola

 

[RedLeader]

^ That is very true - showing ambition to do research IS very important. It does not necessarily have to be an honors degree to allow for a thesis project to be undertaken - in fact, it was mandatory for all students at my undergrad college to write one (just the honors students wrote longer/better ones). But even if you don't do a thesis, look into doing independent research under a professor, either during semester(s) or summer(s). You never know, it might lead to getting published, which looks really, really good. Or summer internships outside of your school. In grad school, you WILL be doing a lot of research, and naturally grad schools will feel more comfortable choosing candidates with proven research efforts over just pledges to do so in the future.

To add another thing, biology is one of the disciplines that there exists a GRE subject test for. If you want to do something biology-related in graduate school, I'd highly suggest taking this test. Though many schools do not require subject GRE test scores to be submitted, many encourage them, and some of the top-tier schools WILL require them for appropriate graduate programs.

Here is a link to more information about the GRE Biology test:

http://www.kaptest.com/Science/GRE-Biology/gre-biology-home.html

By scoring well on this test, you are demonstrating to graduate schools that you know the field very well. These tests are HARD (trust me, I took one and it was the hardest standardized test I ever took), but it's worth it in the end, especially if you feel like you've got weaknesses elsewhere in your application.

I personally decided to travel during my summers, as opposed to doing summer research/internships. And I worked during undergrad, so I didn't really have time to do much research during semesters either. Doing well on the subject GRE test I took definately helped me with getting into grad school, I believe.

 

[Cyc]

Cool, thanks for all the info.