Why Triple Major?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of a recent triple major graduate, who is headed to a top ten law school next year, two thoughts. First, being a triple major does get attention. It's not an instant passport to anything, but it always seems to spark a conversation about academic interests, which is usually a big plus. But second, your child should check on whether each major has a thesis or capstone requirement. My child worked his butt off with three theses, while most classmates coasted through senior year.

But that does not make your child better…or even normal TBH.

I am sure that most kids in your kid’s “top ten” law school did not triple, or even double major. It is not necessary is the point. And it is suspect in the eyes of some (ie “what are they trying to prove? Did they have any life outside of school”, etc).

Many of you are desperately trying to dissuade us from our perspective…but we disagree with you. Sorry for all of those (potentially) wasted hours and/or tuition dollars.

Parents whose kids had just one or 2 majors are getting all defensive & panicky here. Nobody is saying you or your kid is a loser. But FFS stop acting like it’s not impressive that a kid can be versatile & industrious enough to knock out 3 majors in 4 yrs. Just being able to configure their schedule to fit in 3 different sets of classes required for majors is quite an achievement, much less completing the classes themselves.

Was going to double major but the intro courses were frankly beneath me so I did not. Took upper level courses in that field and another instead. If I saw a triple major I would think, wow, this kid really must like intro courses….

Or ... They tested out of intro courses due to AP credits (true for me, a double major plus one course shy of a triple)

[Anonymous]

I did it at an ivy in the 90s, and had no good reason other than I was a first generation college kid, and wanted “bang for my buck,” thinking more is more. Also, I happened to be taking courses I was interested in, and by end of junior year saw that I could add two majors without much more coursework than normal. I do think that it made for a more stressful senior year than my peers, who got to coast. But yeah, 3 major overachiever here. No benefit that I can discern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of a recent triple major graduate, who is headed to a top ten law school next year, two thoughts. First, being a triple major does get attention. It's not an instant passport to anything, but it always seems to spark a conversation about academic interests, which is usually a big plus. But second, your child should check on whether each major has a thesis or capstone requirement. My child worked his butt off with three theses, while most classmates coasted through senior year.

But that does not make your child better…or even normal TBH.

I am sure that most kids in your kid’s “top ten” law school did not triple, or even double major. It is not necessary is the point. And it is suspect in the eyes of some (ie “what are they trying to prove? Did they have any life outside of school”, etc).

Many of you are desperately trying to dissuade us from our perspective…but we disagree with you. Sorry for all of those (potentially) wasted hours and/or tuition dollars.

Parents whose kids had just one or 2 majors are getting all defensive & panicky here. Nobody is saying you or your kid is a loser. But FFS stop acting like it’s not impressive that a kid can be versatile & industrious enough to knock out 3 majors in 4 yrs. Just being able to configure their schedule to fit in 3 different sets of classes required for majors is quite an achievement, much less completing the classes themselves.

Was going to double major but the intro courses were frankly beneath me so I did not. Took upper level courses in that field and another instead. If I saw a triple major I would think, wow, this kid really must like intro courses….

Or ... They tested out of intro courses due to AP credits (true for me, a double major plus one course shy of a triple)

DC's college doesn't let you do this. Only 2 count for anything, so it would be a pain in the neck trying to do all the intro sequences for three majors and then finishing with three senior theses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of a recent triple major graduate, who is headed to a top ten law school next year, two thoughts. First, being a triple major does get attention. It's not an instant passport to anything, but it always seems to spark a conversation about academic interests, which is usually a big plus. But second, your child should check on whether each major has a thesis or capstone requirement. My child worked his butt off with three theses, while most classmates coasted through senior year.

But that does not make your child better…or even normal TBH.

I am sure that most kids in your kid’s “top ten” law school did not triple, or even double major. It is not necessary is the point. And it is suspect in the eyes of some (ie “what are they trying to prove? Did they have any life outside of school”, etc).

Many of you are desperately trying to dissuade us from our perspective…but we disagree with you. Sorry for all of those (potentially) wasted hours and/or tuition dollars.

Parents whose kids had just one or 2 majors are getting all defensive & panicky here. Nobody is saying you or your kid is a loser. But FFS stop acting like it’s not impressive that a kid can be versatile & industrious enough to knock out 3 majors in 4 yrs. Just being able to configure their schedule to fit in 3 different sets of classes required for majors is quite an achievement, much less completing the classes themselves.

I really am unimpressed by it, because I met a ton of people who basically did this but didn't declare 3 majors. It was banned from my college, and I don't think it's impressive that you can take similar classes.

[Anonymous]

Real talk -- me and the other person I know who ended up with three bachelors are both "former gifted kids" with ADHD. We have 150 IQs. We also only do exactly what we want to do. We are not strategic. As adults we have "spiky" achievements that don't appear to follow a set path. Some people think we are nuts and some brilliant.


Maybe it's different now and there are students planning for this. But this is certainly one type of triple major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the natural follow up to the AP arms race. If people want to do it, they should. I don’t see it having any distinct advantage in the workplace, though, in most cases.

It can have an advantage with landing that first job. It’s special. It’s rare. And, it definitely has an advantage for that Ph.D. application!

Does it? My kid is in the top PhD program for her field. One major and a minor at a LAC. What gained advantage were her publications and research and her networking.

Is there really a "top PhD program in each field of study" ?

My understanding is that PhD programs were about matching research interests with a professor rather than targeting a specific university.

No, there's definitely top PhD programs for different fields. If you get an offer from a better institution, you should grab at it, because a majority of professorships come from a handful of schools who dominate the best PhD programs. The method you described is better for people going into industry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of a recent triple major graduate, who is headed to a top ten law school next year, two thoughts. First, being a triple major does get attention. It's not an instant passport to anything, but it always seems to spark a conversation about academic interests, which is usually a big plus. But second, your child should check on whether each major has a thesis or capstone requirement. My child worked his butt off with three theses, while most classmates coasted through senior year.

But that does not make your child better…or even normal TBH.

I am sure that most kids in your kid’s “top ten” law school did not triple, or even double major. It is not necessary is the point. And it is suspect in the eyes of some (ie “what are they trying to prove? Did they have any life outside of school”, etc).

Many of you are desperately trying to dissuade us from our perspective…but we disagree with you. Sorry for all of those (potentially) wasted hours and/or tuition dollars.

Parents whose kids had just one or 2 majors are getting all defensive & panicky here. Nobody is saying you or your kid is a loser. But FFS stop acting like it’s not impressive that a kid can be versatile & industrious enough to knock out 3 majors in 4 yrs. Just being able to configure their schedule to fit in 3 different sets of classes required for majors is quite an achievement, much less completing the classes themselves.

Was going to double major but the intro courses were frankly beneath me so I did not. Took upper level courses in that field and another instead. If I saw a triple major I would think, wow, this kid really must like intro courses….

Or ... They tested out of intro courses due to AP credits (true for me, a double major plus one course shy of a triple)

DC's college doesn't let you do this. Only 2 count for anything, so it would be a pain in the neck trying to do all the intro sequences for three majors and then finishing with three senior theses.

But plenty of colleges allow you to do that. Or if they have a limit, it's to ensure you stay there at least 3.5+ years. So you can count more APs for intro courses as long as you are taking 4 years worth of classes at the school (and paying for them).
My kid's school limits it to 4 AP credits, but you can use more to take more advanced courses and get an extra minor or major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the natural follow up to the AP arms race. If people want to do it, they should. I don’t see it having any distinct advantage in the workplace, though, in most cases.

It can have an advantage with landing that first job. It’s special. It’s rare. And, it definitely has an advantage for that Ph.D. application!

Professors on the ADCOM do not care about your major as long as it is in the bounds of what you need to start your PhD. No one cares that you have three majors in graduate school admissions, they're looking at your research experience more than anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of a recent triple major graduate, who is headed to a top ten law school next year, two thoughts. First, being a triple major does get attention. It's not an instant passport to anything, but it always seems to spark a conversation about academic interests, which is usually a big plus. But second, your child should check on whether each major has a thesis or capstone requirement. My child worked his butt off with three theses, while most classmates coasted through senior year.

But that does not make your child better…or even normal TBH.

I am sure that most kids in your kid’s “top ten” law school did not triple, or even double major. It is not necessary is the point. And it is suspect in the eyes of some (ie “what are they trying to prove? Did they have any life outside of school”, etc).

Many of you are desperately trying to dissuade us from our perspective…but we disagree with you. Sorry for all of those (potentially) wasted hours and/or tuition dollars.

Parents whose kids had just one or 2 majors are getting all defensive & panicky here. Nobody is saying you or your kid is a loser. But FFS stop acting like it’s not impressive that a kid can be versatile & industrious enough to knock out 3 majors in 4 yrs. Just being able to configure their schedule to fit in 3 different sets of classes required for majors is quite an achievement, much less completing the classes themselves.

Was going to double major but the intro courses were frankly beneath me so I did not. Took upper level courses in that field and another instead. If I saw a triple major I would think, wow, this kid really must like intro courses….

Or ... They tested out of intro courses due to AP credits (true for me, a double major plus one course shy of a triple)

DC's college doesn't let you do this. Only 2 count for anything, so it would be a pain in the neck trying to do all the intro sequences for three majors and then finishing with three senior theses.

But plenty of colleges allow you to do that. Or if they have a limit, it's to ensure you stay there at least 3.5+ years. So you can count more APs for intro courses as long as you are taking 4 years worth of classes at the school (and paying for them).
My kid's school limits it to 4 AP credits, but you can use more to take more advanced courses and get an extra minor or major.

That's good, but DC's school just isn't like this. You can skip all you want if you aren't majoring, but the departments are going to want you to take their intro classes and will not sign your major declaration form unless you do. They're actually designing an integrated intro course for History/Sociology/Anthropology/Politics, because so many students were starting the track for one, wanting something else, and needing to do the intro sequence for another. People still get the credits often to triple major, but it's not allowed by the college and students try to limit theses, so they can have the best ones for thesis awards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Real talk -- me and the other person I know who ended up with three bachelors are both "former gifted kids" with ADHD. We have 150 IQs. We also only do exactly what we want to do. We are not strategic. As adults we have "spiky" achievements that don't appear to follow a set path. Some people think we are nuts and some brilliant.


Maybe it's different now and there are students planning for this. But this is certainly one type of triple major.

And the life advantage was that: I learned a lot about those three subjects. Like, way more than a lay person. And I understand how experts in those three fields think.

That's it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of a recent triple major graduate, who is headed to a top ten law school next year, two thoughts. First, being a triple major does get attention. It's not an instant passport to anything, but it always seems to spark a conversation about academic interests, which is usually a big plus. But second, your child should check on whether each major has a thesis or capstone requirement. My child worked his butt off with three theses, while most classmates coasted through senior year.

But that does not make your child better…or even normal TBH.

I am sure that most kids in your kid’s “top ten” law school did not triple, or even double major. It is not necessary is the point. And it is suspect in the eyes of some (ie “what are they trying to prove? Did they have any life outside of school”, etc).

Many of you are desperately trying to dissuade us from our perspective…but we disagree with you. Sorry for all of those (potentially) wasted hours and/or tuition dollars.

Parents whose kids had just one or 2 majors are getting all defensive & panicky here. Nobody is saying you or your kid is a loser. But FFS stop acting like it’s not impressive that a kid can be versatile & industrious enough to knock out 3 majors in 4 yrs. Just being able to configure their schedule to fit in 3 different sets of classes required for majors is quite an achievement, much less completing the classes themselves.

Was going to double major but the intro courses were frankly beneath me so I did not. Took upper level courses in that field and another instead. If I saw a triple major I would think, wow, this kid really must like intro courses….

In my experience, this is not accurate.

Students are able to triple major usually because the student enters a university with advanced standing in a particular subject area (or two) such as a foreign language or math.

I don’t think you get the point: take advanced courses that are interesting to you instead of double and triple major requirements. One is about intellectual exploration (and harder courses); and one is about sacrificing that for a credential.

If one has “advanced standing” from APs etc. (likely a state school), you have extra courses you can take or you should be graduating early and going to grad school. Those extra courses can be hard, 300-level courses in related fields or even grad courses as an undergrad — or they can be second and third major requirements, at least some of which will still be drudgery 100 and 200-level courses even with some of those requirements waived for AP.

Of course, if you are talking about a more prestigious private school (the majority of which will limit AP credit to a semester, and discourage you from graduating in 4 years), you have even more intro courses you have to take for a double or triple major.

It should also be noted that majoring in a foreign language (so rare these days, even as a double or triple major) typically means that you have to take additional courses in your major to “make up” for your starting the language at an intermediate or even advanced level…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone on the Northwestern thread said it was easy to triple major there.

My question is why? Do employers now want/w pect this? Or are students driving this for done reason.

To me, triple majoring seems so limiting to me. Doesn’t all that focused effort remove the opportunity to try/explore new areas or to learn just for the sake of learning?

FWIW, loved my major in college. And it served me well after I graduated. But I can say the same about most of the electives I took - across many different areas. They helped expose me to the wide world of ideas, and engaged my mind and curiosity, too. I still refer to many of those classes now, 25 years later, though I ne er officially used them “professionally.”

I can only speak to my banking employer...but we don't care much about the number of majors (as long as you have one). Internships and other non-academic aspects are far more important.

If your majors consume so much of your time that you aren't networking with your peers or alums, then don't pursue multiple majors.

This is an extremely narrow view. This isn’t just about heading into banking.

I don't know any career where they are looking for students with triple majors, seeing as it's a pretty unpopular thing to do, even if you have the coursework for one.

No one is looking for it. That’s why the candidate who has obtained a triple major shines extra brightly. If they have a winning personality and outstanding grades and internship, then, of course, they look better than the average Joe with only 1 major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The question was what's a better use of 4 years.

If you can complete a Master’s in 4 years, then go for it. But some schools, like SLACs, don’t even offer a Master’s. So, good for the kid who takes additional coursework rather than loafing. Even better for them to get a triple major which will be a permanent credential on their resume. Additional coursework hides on the transcript, but a completed major or minor is apparent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone on the Northwestern thread said it was easy to triple major there.

My question is why? Do employers now want/w pect this? Or are students driving this for done reason.

To me, triple majoring seems so limiting to me. Doesn’t all that focused effort remove the opportunity to try/explore new areas or to learn just for the sake of learning?

FWIW, loved my major in college. And it served me well after I graduated. But I can say the same about most of the electives I took - across many different areas. They helped expose me to the wide world of ideas, and engaged my mind and curiosity, too. I still refer to many of those classes now, 25 years later, though I ne er officially used them “professionally.”

I can only speak to my banking employer...but we don't care much about the number of majors (as long as you have one). Internships and other non-academic aspects are far more important.

If your majors consume so much of your time that you aren't networking with your peers or alums, then don't pursue multiple majors.

This is an extremely narrow view. This isn’t just about heading into banking.

I don't know any career where they are looking for students with triple majors, seeing as it's a pretty unpopular thing to do, even if you have the coursework for one.

It’s not that some organization is looking for it. Of course not! It’s very challenging and difficult to pull off. Most students struggle to complete one major successfully, let alone 2 or 3! This is what makes it so extraordinary. Only a very bright, well organized, advanced, hard-working student can pull this off.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

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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.

I don't care how accomplished you are. I care if you can do the job I'm hiring you for.

Exactly. And can I stand to spend 8-10 hours a day with you. Personality and ability to get along with coworkers matters. A lot. As does common sense. You could quadruple major but if you are a jerk or you can’t function in an office environment, it won’t matter.

Of course, Captain Obvious. The same holds true for someone who only single majors.

Captain Obvious, the point is 3 majors don’t give you an advantage if you don’t have the soft skills. Some kids should be spending time networking and developing those skills instead of pursuing a third major.

But, these kids are exceptional. They also have marvelous people skills and internships. They are rare individuals and very impressive.