My Life As… A Double Major

June 11, 2010     Posted in Reality

36

By Caitlin

While every college girl shares many of the same college experiences (selling books, sexiled, one shot too many), she also carves her own path and has her own unique adventure. Have you ever wondered what it’s like for other girls? What it’s like to go to an all-girls school? To go to fashion school? To go to a community college? Well wonder no more. Our one-of-a-kind CollegeCandy writers are sharing their unique experiences and opening our eyes to different college worlds. Are you doing something spectacular/different/interesting that you want to share? Send your ideas over and perhaps you could be telling your story right here.

Most college students struggle to complete one degree in four years, often taking an extra football season to finish or going on the five-year plan. Well, imagine trying to get two degrees in four years. And being in a sorority. And working. And having a boyfriend. And trying to maintain social skills. And watching Glee every Tuesday. Seems crazy right? Welcome to my life.

My friends think I’m nuts. Not because of my double major status, but rather the majors I’ve decided to take on. My primary is Telecommunications and Film with a concentration in Broadcast News, and my secondary is English. While both are pretty harmless separately, together it’s a deadly combination. Telecommunications requires a lot of outside work, plus you pretty much have to work at the TV station to get anywhere, which I’ve yet to do. English requires tons of reading and papers, plus I have to take four semesters of the same foreign language. I find that very strange for an English major, but this has given me the opportunity to take up Italian.

Thankfully, I’ve finished my core classes so I don’t have to waste my time with math (I.hate.numbers.) and can focus on classes that I enjoy. That’s probably the best thing about my double majoring: I love my classes. I love British Literature and History of Mass Communications. I don’t have to worry about Philosophy 101 anymore (worst class everrr) or other electives. That’s right, because I’m pursuing two degrees I don’t have to take electives. No Social Dance or 1-credit Running classes for me!

Another major double-major perk? My teachers know who I am! Alabama is a very large school, so most students don’t get the opportunity to really get to know their teachers. But because I practically live in two buildings on campus, my teachers see me all. the. time. On days when I only have an hour between class, I’ll go hang out in the next building and look productive. This gives me a chance to talk to my profs before class, which is great because when my classes are over I’m booking it to the next. This also gives me the chance to butter them up for those inevitable weeks when there is just too much on my plate and I need a little help in the ways of an extension. No, it doesn’t work all the time, but my track record is definitely better than others I know.

But, of course, there are some downsides to this decision. (Honestly, having one major is stressful enough; having two is pure insanity.) The College of Communication & Information Sciences and the College of Arts & Sciences have classes available around the same times, meaning that I have to work on my schedule for days to figure out how to take the right amount in order to graduate. Intro to Broadcasting and Chaucer occur at same time in the fall, so I have to settle for Shakespeare way later in the day (and there’s nothing worse than a 5 hour break and then having to go back out to class….). If that’s not annoying enough, a lot of the classes overlap and it’s a serious pain in the butt. Last semester I took three English classes in one semester (oh the papers!). It was a terrible nightmare, but also necessary if I want to graduate on time.

And then there’s the stress. When you take three English classes and two TCF classes at the same time, chances are you’ll have two tests on the same day or four in the same week. And a paper due. I’ve come to depend on my personal coffee maker to get me through the days (and all-nighters), and I don’t go anywhere without lots of snacks just in case I’m stuck in the library for hours trying to get everything done.  The worst part of it all: none of my single-major friends get it. They don’t understand the double amount of work or stress, and they can’t empathize with my mild meltdowns and irrational mood swings come midterms. And don’t even get me started on the guilt trips when I miss yet another Thursday Happy Hour outing.

But this is the life I’ve chosen.

I’m the kind of person who likes to be busy, so double majoring is good for me. Sometimes I have to stay in on Thursday and Friday nights to study. Sometimes I drink four cups of coffee before going to class because I had two papers to write and fifty pages to read. For me, it’s worth the stress, and despite it all, I still have time for other things. I still go out, watch TV with my roomie, and veg at the sorority house.

I’m excited to get two diplomas when I graduate and look forward to the feeling of accomplishment (and the bragging rights) when I look back and see what I finished in just four years.

36 Comments on "My Life As… A Double Major"

  1. P says:
    Fri, 11th Jun 20107:48 am 

    I'm double majoring as well, and I've never thought twice about it. At my school, most people double major, or at least have one major and one minor. It's expected, and the idea that it is a lot more work than one major never came to my mind.

  2. Ashley says:
    Fri, 11th Jun 20108:28 am 

    I was a double major (with a minor!). One of my majors was secondary education, so I had field placements to complete as well as education coursework and then my primary major was science, so I had a ton of labs. On top of it all, I was an undergraduate teaching assistant AND another job. It was totally worth it because I'm employed as a science teacher when there are teachers being let go in my home state. Working hard DOES pay off.

  3. Emily says:
    Fri, 11th Jun 20109:17 am 

    I'm in the same situation as P. It's the norm at my school to double major or at least get a major and a minor.

  4. Annie says:
    Fri, 11th Jun 201010:35 am 

    I don't have a double major, or even a minor, but I've been in the exact some situation as you. I routinely have multiple tests on the same day, this past year I had 3 days of double midterms and one day of double finals. Think of it as a way to prepare yourself for whatever your future jobs will be like.

  5. Fluffy Bear says:
    Fri, 11th Jun 201012:19 pm 

    Having 2 degrees really wont matter when you graduate. Going to masters and doctorate is when you actually advance. Although the hard work has set you up for a real world, because thats how it is, getting a job is all you will have to show for them and 2 degrees does not get you more money. i am just speaking from experience, since i also have 2, a JD and a MBA, at the end of the day the employer cares that you worked in your field during school. Although you are proud, and you should be, scraping degree two and getting that internship will get you further ahead. It is all about who you know not what you have. Use that energy toward your future not just your future degree.

  6. thoughtsappear says:
    Fri, 11th Jun 20101:33 pm 

    English is such a good major. I didn't realize it while I was in school, but you can do so much with an English degree.

    I hated Philosophy, too. My teacher had a sexy accent. And that made it tolerable.

  7. Eimear says:
    Fri, 11th Jun 20101:35 pm 

    Well I have to say fair play to you for that! It sounds like such hard work in a time of your life when people are usually out drinking. But I hope it affords you the best prospects in life because you deserve them after this. =)

  8. Lee says:
    Fri, 11th Jun 20103:29 pm 

    Most engineering majors require twice the units of majors like English or Communications, so those students might as well be double majoring. I thought that was why many humanities students double major – they have the time, what else are they going to do?

    Still hard, though.

  9. Kate says:
    Fri, 11th Jun 20106:00 pm 

    I don't see what the big deal is. I had two majors, TAed, tutored, had an off-campus part time job, was part of a sorority and in the symphonic band, held three club positions, and had a boyfriend. And at my school, this is normal. No one struggled to finish in four years. You got all your stuff together and just did it, and there was still plenty of time for fun along the way.

  10. daisy says:
    Fri, 11th Jun 20108:19 pm 

    really, double majoring or double degree-ing, as you're doing, is no big deal at my school. Tons of students do it, and I go to UMass Amherst. We don't get out of electives or any special privileges, and we have to accomplish 150 instead of 120 credits. Most of the students who do it are Humanities majors, and it's basically equivalent to being a science major: no big deal. Certainly better than staking by with one major, but not the crazy kind of work that you seem to be describing. Lots of science majors even double major or degree, and I have some humanities friends who are triple majoring and one who is triple degree-ing in Legal Studies, Neuroscience, and Communication. Basically, it's just not that uncommon.

  11. cio says:
    Sat, 12th Jun 20108:12 am 

    I did a science double major and I guess it was stressful at times, but it never seemed like that big of a deal. Everyone gets stressed at university.

  12. Cupcake says:
    Sat, 12th Jun 201011:03 am 

    Double major and minor, and then add playing a college sport to that concoction. Sometimes i don't even know how i survive.

  13. Anonymous says:
    Sat, 12th Jun 201011:35 am 

    as someone that also double majors while balancing a job, a vp position in my sorority, a boyfriend, and a social life…i dont think its as difficult as you're making it sound. its perfectly do-able and i go to an extremely competitive and academically challenging university. perhaps you could give time management skills to readers instead of writing a long article about how hard your life is? just a constructive suggestion, because im sure there are other readers that have busy lives as well, and its a little off-putting to read an entire article detailing your insanely busy life when its pretty normal these days for people to take on a heavy load like yours. perhaps its not the norm at your school, so forgive me for seeming rude, but im surrounded by people with crazy schedules and commitments as well so i guess its just normal to me.

  14. Annie says:
    Sun, 13th Jun 20101:59 am 

    I’m not trying to be rude but lots of students at my school double major and nearly everyone graduates in four years. It’s really not that difficult. I’m a double major myself. And I hold about three jobs, volunteer, hold club positions, babysit, and find time to go out with friends all at the same time. It’s not that big of a deal. You just sort of have to do it.

  15. Anonymous says:
    Tue, 15th Jun 20105:40 pm 

    As another double major in a science and history with a minor and special honors requirements (not to mention a required GPA to keep my scholarship), a job, a VP position in my service fraternity, and in a sorority, I gotta join the chorus of "it's not that special." SOMETIMES you have to stay in on THURSDAY and Friday nights? That's not busy. Sorry for being rude, but really.

  16. Patty says:
    Thu, 17th Jun 20109:52 am 

    I give you credit – it isn't easy; I also double majored in English and Communication studies and minored in Psych.

    Did I read it right that you don't need electives? All 3 of my areas of study required electives…so that really seems to depend on the school.

    Also, double-majoring still only earns you 1 degree. In order to earn 2 degrees, you would have to re-do another set of gen eds for your second BA (unless that varies by school too, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't.)

    I'm sorry to kind of jump on the bandwagon with a lot of other negative comments posted here, but I think maybe it's just the tone of the article that rubbed so many readers the wrong way (like your life/schedule is so much harder than most college students, but in reality we are all juggling a lot to work through college.)

  17. Caitlin-University o says:
    Thu, 17th Jun 20107:07 pm 

    Thank you for all the positive comments. And as for the not so positive, I didn't mean to come off as "My life is so much harder blah blah". I'm simple just sharing my experience as a double major and to show that if I can do it, then others who may be struggling with a decision on double majoring can too.

    I'm a little hurt by some of these comments because I never once said that my life was difficult or that I wasn't happy with it or that everyone else has it easier than me. I know other students are just as busy or even busier than I am, but in my particular experience, the people around me don't understand why I can't party with them every day of the week.

    I apologize if anyone was "rubbed the wrong way" and appreciate those who left positive notes.

  18. Meg says:
    Sat, 19th Jun 20103:44 pm 

    It's very common to double major, in fact, unless it's nursing, all of my friends have a double major.

    I have a double major and double minor, sooooo not that difficult to double major.

    Cut the drama, double majoring is hard, but so is life and college, no matter what you choose to study.

  19. Hannah says:
    Sun, 20th Jun 201012:14 pm 

    I'm only going after a BS in Psychology, and planning to go onto get my Doctorate. However, due to an honest mistake by my parents I had to graduate within 4-5 semesters from when I first stepped into my college. Why? Because they accidentally signed up for an associate college savings account and had been putting about half of what they needed to. So, they only saved for 2 years worth of my education. Luckily I had 39 hours worth of AP credit that transferred, and I'm planning to graduate in a year and a half. But it also means I can't screw up any of my classes, or sign up for unneeded ones. Also, the degree that I'm going after I need to have a 3.0 GPA over all and a 3.5 in all my psych courses.

    I'm stressed, but in a good way because it's something I honestly enjoy. Also, I'm flirting with the idea of picking up a history minor which I only need 6 more advanced hours of. But that just means they're delightfully obscure and fun. Here's to hoping I get a class like Death and Torture in Medieval Europe!

  20. Vi says:
    Mon, 21st Jun 20107:20 pm 

    I'm a double major in English Lit. and Biology- and to be honest, being an English major isn't that bad. Not nearly as hard as juggling a Bio major anyway. I have a 4.0 English GPA and I'm graduating in 3 years instead of 4. That's just what college is about. But more power to you if it makes you happy. Oh and along the lines of what Patty was saying: do you really get 2 diplomas at your school? At mine we only get one. =/

  21. Jaime says:
    Mon, 13th Sep 20108:11 pm 

    you guys must have rich parents if you can double major, work three jobs, and still have time for extracurricular activities, I support myself, I live with a roommate off campus, work at a job 30-32 hours per week, and I also have a bf on top of that, my major is in accounting.

    Either you have parents who support you or some of you are fibbing. Either way, I would find it difficult to do a double major, even in something as "easy" as a humanities major. Anyway to the writer, do what you need to do, it must be stressful.

    Don't let negative people get to you, I wonder how they would react if they had written an essay for a website or a blog post and everyone was criticizing them for it. And what is wrong with venting to the world that you're having a challenging time as a double major?

    Sheesh. I go to a college in the midwest and I still find it challenging trying to juggle everything especially after work saps out all the energy from me.

  22. Annie says:
    Tue, 14th Sep 201011:07 am 

    To Hannah,

    Sorry to say it, sweetie, but your parents are not being honest with you, for whatever reason. You must be very naive. Any adult would look at the account statements and know how much was in it at any given time, and would have an idea of how much college their savings would buy. That said, it's great that they were able to save enough for two years paid for in full — many many parents can not accomplish that, so you are very lucky. And it does'nt mean that you need to finish in 2 years before the money runs out. There are many other ways to fiance a college educations. Student loans, part time jobs, grants, etc. Look into it!

  23. kiyana says:
    Wed, 15th Sep 201011:22 pm 

    double or triple is totally doable if you have great time management skills :)

    i just got 2 degrees from my local city college

    Political science and spanish

    now im tranfering to persue human services and peace studies with a minor in admin of justice

    all hail to girls to double up :)

  24. Dani says:
    Thu, 16th Sep 20106:37 pm 

    I'm a double major too and have been for 3 years. Bio and English for me. I'm a writer and I sorta have a passion for the English language. I've always known thats where I belong, but I also have a profound interest in Biology. I plan on going to Grad school soon. You think its hard? I don't live on campus, I'm young, I'm married, and I have a child. Never stopped me, but if anything myitinspires me.

  25. Phil says:
    Fri, 29th Oct 20106:50 am 

    no offense, but the credits of your two majors add up to barely exceed the credits of my major in Computer and Communication Engineering (143 cr.); let alone my other major in Mathematics (90 cr.) I swear, higher education in a non-scientific filed is almost a joke, and yet some people can't stop bitching about how difficult it is, knowing that it's not.. sry for my honesty

  26. SnR says:
    Thu, 27th Jan 201110:39 pm 

    Sorry sweetie but try Double majoring in two science fields like i did…Biology and Psychology..Now thats pure insanity

  27. Crys says:
    Mon, 21st Mar 20116:24 pm 

    0.o Well I for one, was struggling with whether or not I should double major, just because I want to, and her post helped me out. (You don't have to get defensive and say your life is worse than hers or suggest that is what she is doing to you. She did say one of her majors required alot of outside stuff. Two purely academic majors suggests nothing but book work, but she has to manage both outside life and papers so don't jump down her throat guys! Quit trolling :P ) Thanks for the post! I was worried about being able to double major with education because I will have to student teach eventually. If y'all can all do it, so can I! :D Thanks!

  28. Elena says:
    Fri, 8th Jul 20113:06 pm 

    Thanks a lot for your post! I'm struggling on choosing a double major. I'm a film, video & media studies major, but I also want a french major, so let's see how it goes.

  29. Paul Hemphill says:
    Thu, 21st Jul 201110:59 pm 

    http://collegevideos.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/col…

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