Why Triple Major?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A triple major makes the envious crabs drop their masks. It's fun to watch them squirm in their insecurity of being low achievers as they are not confident in their own education.

+1 It trumps the double majors. It’s rare and it was done in 4 years. Some students struggle with one major in 4 years and these special bright kids accomplished 3 majors in 4 years. This is unique and shows the advanced mindset of learning for the sake of learning for grad school or a job. It was begot on hard work and fortitude. Talk about getting the value for your money.

Does obtaining a BS and Masters in 4 years trump a triple major? It's like we need a Texas Hold'em sheet to know which hand beats which hand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A triple major makes the envious crabs drop their masks. It's fun to watch them squirm in their insecurity of being low achievers as they are not confident in their own education.

+1 It trumps the double majors. It’s rare and it was done in 4 years. Some students struggle with one major in 4 years and these special bright kids accomplished 3 majors in 4 years. This is unique and shows the advanced mindset of learning for the sake of learning for grad school or a job. It was begot on hard work and fortitude. Talk about getting the value for your money.

Does obtaining a BS and Masters in 4 years trump a triple major? It's like we need a Texas Hold'em sheet to know which hand beats which hand.

The number of majors or masters degrees is not what matters. These are all low level degrees anyway. Launching a successful career is what matters.

[Anonymous]

Many employers value two related majors plus a foreign language.

Accounting & finance plus Spanish for one Big Four which acquired & expanded into Spanish speaking markets.

CS/econ/stats/data analysis are 4 majors which--if any combination--are favored by employers.

Creative writing/English/theater triple major for screenwriters.

Astonished by the posters who fail to understand the value of a triple majors as it creates more options for the student in the real world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It greatly widens the grad school options.

I really don’t see how. For most technical PhD programs you can go many routes without the specific bachelors version:
A physics major can go into an engineering PhD, a computational biology Program, a math PhD with a few more math courses, etc. Humanities PhDs outside of like Classics, don’t have that many reqs. I know someone who went Chemistry undergrad straight to an anthropology PhD….

[Anonymous]

Interesting. I'm actually one course shy of a triple major, and I never finished it because I already had the other two, I had completed four years plus a summer, my college didn't recognize triple majors. So my degree states the two. I guess I could say that I have a minor in the third, but I'm 43 and I literally never have.

This whole thread is interesting... Some things are true for me and others not:
It wasn't entirely premeditated, it just kind of happened.

I initially had one double major -- Bio and Psych-- but then I fell in love with Anthropology so switched to Anth and Psych. But I still kept taking Bio classes that interested me, too.

I came to school with a tremendous amount of credit, between APs and maybe SAT subject tests? I can't remember how exactly I got it all, but I know I had 23 credits the moment I stepped foot on campus, including intro Bio and Psych. So that helped a lot.

I'm not strategic and never used my degrees to go to grad school, or even for my jobs. I ended up becoming a journalist and then an author. I do think the degrees shaped my thinking.
I still love all three subjects and read a lot of books in Anth, Psych and Bio.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many employers value two related majors plus a foreign language.

Accounting & finance plus Spanish for one Big Four which acquired & expanded into Spanish speaking markets.

CS/econ/stats/data analysis are 4 majors which--if any combination--are favored by employers.

Creative writing/English/theater triple major for screenwriters.

Astonished by the posters who fail to understand the value of a triple majors as it creates more options for the student in the real world.

But it doesn’t? You know how few people triple major and how many colleges just outright ban you from doing it?

You don’t need to take up an entire major to take classes in it. I got much more breadth being able to choose the data science/probability/cs classes I wanted as a math major then trying to triple major in math/stats/cs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A triple major makes the envious crabs drop their masks. It's fun to watch them squirm in their insecurity of being low achievers as they are not confident in their own education.

+1 It trumps the double majors. It’s rare and it was done in 4 years. Some students struggle with one major in 4 years and these special bright kids accomplished 3 majors in 4 years. This is unique and shows the advanced mindset of learning for the sake of learning for grad school or a job. It was begot on hard work and fortitude. Talk about getting the value for your money.

Does obtaining a BS and Masters in 4 years trump a triple major? It's like we need a Texas Hold'em sheet to know which hand beats which hand.

If it’s a preprofessional (terminal) masters, yes 100%. Masters programs cover careers that aren’t accessible with a BS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many employers value two related majors plus a foreign language.

Accounting & finance plus Spanish for one Big Four which acquired & expanded into Spanish speaking markets.

CS/econ/stats/data analysis are 4 majors which--if any combination--are favored by employers.

Creative writing/English/theater triple major for screenwriters.

Astonished by the posters who fail to understand the value of a triple majors as it creates more options for the student in the real world.

Once more...employers want you to be fluent in a foreign language which is more important than majoring in a foreign language (and many of those kids aren't fluent). They don't care how you obtained fluency.

Also, a Big Four doesn't care much at all if you "majored" in finance and accounting vs. just accounting...and if you want to work in a Spanish-speaking market, they want you to speak Spanish, but there are plenty of jobs working in the US.

Screenwriting isn't a job where you are hired really...many screenwriters don't even have college degrees and it is usually project work. I know plenty of folks that wrote for TV shows (which is much closer to a regular job in entertainment writing), and nobody even asks about your college degree. It's a combination of knowing the right people and writing lots of treatments and spec scripts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting. I'm actually one course shy of a triple major, and I never finished it because I already had the other two, I had completed four years plus a summer, my college didn't recognize triple majors. So my degree states the two. I guess I could say that I have a minor in the third, but I'm 43 and I literally never have.

This whole thread is interesting... Some things are true for me and others not:
It wasn't entirely premeditated, it just kind of happened.

I initially had one double major -- Bio and Psych-- but then I fell in love with Anthropology so switched to Anth and Psych. But I still kept taking Bio classes that interested me, too.

I came to school with a tremendous amount of credit, between APs and maybe SAT subject tests? I can't remember how exactly I got it all, but I know I had 23 credits the moment I stepped foot on campus, including intro Bio and Psych. So that helped a lot.

I'm not strategic and never used my degrees to go to grad school, or even for my jobs. I ended up becoming a journalist and then an author. I do think the degrees shaped my thinking.
I still love all three subjects and read a lot of books in Anth, Psych and Bio.

And when you apply for a job, you can play up whatever aspect of your training that you choose.No one will say, “But did you meet your undergraduate institution’s criteria for majoring in that? “

Just call it a concentration!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many employers value two related majors plus a foreign language.

Accounting & finance plus Spanish for one Big Four which acquired & expanded into Spanish speaking markets.

CS/econ/stats/data analysis are 4 majors which--if any combination--are favored by employers.

Creative writing/English/theater triple major for screenwriters.

Astonished by the posters who fail to understand the value of a triple majors as it creates more options for the student in the real world.

Once more...employers want you to be fluent in a foreign language which is more important than majoring in a foreign language (and many of those kids aren't fluent). They don't care how you obtained fluency.

Also, a Big Four doesn't care much at all if you "majored" in finance and accounting vs. just accounting...and if you want to work in a Spanish-speaking market, they want you to speak Spanish, but there are plenty of jobs working in the US.

Screenwriting isn't a job where you are hired really...many screenwriters don't even have college degrees and it is usually project work. I know plenty of folks that wrote for TV shows (which is much closer to a regular job in entertainment writing), and nobody even asks about your college degree. It's a combination of knowing the right people and writing lots of treatments and spec scripts.

You are partially correct and partially incorrect based on my very direct knowledge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting. I'm actually one course shy of a triple major, and I never finished it because I already had the other two, I had completed four years plus a summer, my college didn't recognize triple majors. So my degree states the two. I guess I could say that I have a minor in the third, but I'm 43 and I literally never have.

This whole thread is interesting... Some things are true for me and others not:
It wasn't entirely premeditated, it just kind of happened.

I initially had one double major -- Bio and Psych-- but then I fell in love with Anthropology so switched to Anth and Psych. But I still kept taking Bio classes that interested me, too.

I came to school with a tremendous amount of credit, between APs and maybe SAT subject tests? I can't remember how exactly I got it all, but I know I had 23 credits the moment I stepped foot on campus, including intro Bio and Psych. So that helped a lot.

I'm not strategic and never used my degrees to go to grad school, or even for my jobs. I ended up becoming a journalist and then an author. I do think the degrees shaped my thinking.
I still love all three subjects and read a lot of books in Anth, Psych and Bio.

And when you apply for a job, you can play up whatever aspect of your training that you choose.No one will say, “But did you meet your undergraduate institution’s criteria for majoring in that? “

Just call it a concentration!

This exactly! If I needed a major for every function my career has, I’d have like 5 majors, and it wouldn’t have benefitted me in getting my first job.

It’s really beneficial to take a breadth of classes across majors rather than spending most of your credits on 3 specific things. My niche English courses did as much for my career as the main Econ coursework I took up, and the linguistics/anthropology classes I took fueled a new hobby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many employers value two related majors plus a foreign language.

Accounting & finance plus Spanish for one Big Four which acquired & expanded into Spanish speaking markets.

CS/econ/stats/data analysis are 4 majors which--if any combination--are favored by employers.

Creative writing/English/theater triple major for screenwriters.

Astonished by the posters who fail to understand the value of a triple majors as it creates more options for the student in the real world.

+1

Very few are just triple majoring without a plan. It's typically two majors that are related, and often have cross over requirements (CS and Data analytics or Accounting and finance or IR and history/political science) and then they add in a separate major that is helpful (think Spanish for any business major or health sciences major or IR). Very few are majoring in art history, accounting and Russian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many employers value two related majors plus a foreign language.

Accounting & finance plus Spanish for one Big Four which acquired & expanded into Spanish speaking markets.

CS/econ/stats/data analysis are 4 majors which--if any combination--are favored by employers.

Creative writing/English/theater triple major for screenwriters.

Astonished by the posters who fail to understand the value of a triple majors as it creates more options for the student in the real world.

+1

Very few are just triple majoring without a plan. It's typically two majors that are related, and often have cross over requirements (CS and Data analytics or Accounting and finance or IR and history/political science) and then they add in a separate major that is helpful (think Spanish for any business major or health sciences major or IR). Very few are majoring in art history, accounting and Russian.

I think it's more accurate to say its a cool idea, but not necessarily helpful. Would an Accounting/Finance/Spanish major fare better than an Accounting/Spanish major with a few finance credits? Not really, but it's cool that they did all 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many employers value two related majors plus a foreign language.

Accounting & finance plus Spanish for one Big Four which acquired & expanded into Spanish speaking markets.

CS/econ/stats/data analysis are 4 majors which--if any combination--are favored by employers.

Creative writing/English/theater triple major for screenwriters.

Astonished by the posters who fail to understand the value of a triple majors as it creates more options for the student in the real world.

+1

Very few are just triple majoring without a plan. It's typically two majors that are related, and often have cross over requirements (CS and Data analytics or Accounting and finance or IR and history/political science) and then they add in a separate major that is helpful (think Spanish for any business major or health sciences major or IR). Very few are majoring in art history, accounting and Russian.

I think it's more accurate to say it’s a cool idea, but not necessarily helpful. Would an Accounting/Finance/Spanish major fare better than an Accounting/Spanish major with a few finance credits? Not really, but it's cool that they did all 3.

That’s not true. If 2 applicants have the same stats on Accounting and Spanish, then the applicant with such deep course work to obtain a Finance major within the same 4 years as the other applicant will stand out as more accomplished.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A triple major makes the envious crabs drop their masks. It's fun to watch them squirm in their insecurity of being low achievers as they are not confident in their own education.

+1 It trumps the double majors. It’s rare and it was done in 4 years. Some students struggle with one major in 4 years and these special bright kids accomplished 3 majors in 4 years. This is unique and shows the advanced mindset of learning for the sake of learning for grad school or a job. It was begot on hard work and fortitude. Talk about getting the value for your money.

Does obtaining a BS and Masters in 4 years trump a triple major? It's like we need a Texas Hold'em sheet to know which hand beats which hand.

You are trying to compare apples to oranges. Bachelor degrees are not the same as Master’s degrees. You should compare the triple major applicant with a BS degree against other BS degree applicants with less than three majors. Then compare your Master’s degree applicant against other Master degree applicants.