Is having a double major ALWAYS an advantage?

Question

I want to have a double major in Mass Comm and Psychology. Is it an advantage? What kind of jobs are waiting for me? Moreover, do you know someone who has a double major? I am planning to attend a medical school, by the way.

Answer 1

Mass Comm. Medical School. Why doesn't this seem to fit? Oh yea, I know. BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER! Only blowhards and lawyers need double majors. Professionals pick their industry and learn their craft inside out.  

Answer 2

If you are planning to attend medical school, you should be fine with only 1 major.  You don't want to overwork yourself with all those classes.  You want to have a high gpa to get into med school.

Answer 3

If having it would be an advantage to you, then it's an advantage.

By the way, if you are considering medical school, you may want to have one of your majors be chemistry, biology, biochemistry, or something to like that.

Answer 4

For the record, you can major in ANYTHING you want to and still attend medical school.

The fact that majoring in something science-related gives you an advantage is a myth.

As long as you take the required courses (General chemistry I & II, General Biology I&II, Organic Chemistry I&II, General Physics I&II, and for some schools an advanced science like biochemistry) you can major in anything... underwater basketweaving if it suits you.  

Answer 5

A double major is a particular advantage to people who don't plan on doing post graduate work.  I know a number of people who have double majors, including two of my daughters, and the two majors have made both of them more employable.  However, your situation is a little different from theirs.  I agree with the previous poster who suggested some emphasis in one of the pure sciences such as biology, chemistry, or physics.  That would be of more help to you in medical school.  Since you plan on doing a lot more study after your undergraduate degree, my thinking is that the double major you are considering won't be of significant help in getting accepted to the programs you will need to do.

Answer 6

A double major isn't really any harder than a single major, in fact, it might actually be easier. Here is why. When you major in something, almost half of your other classes are going to be options credits, that you can take from almost any subject area. If you decide to double major, you'll have a better understanding of the would-be-options courses you take, they'll be related thus you have an advantage when you take courses. Double majors are only regarded as a challenge when you'd otherwise be taking options such as basket weaving or art for non-majors.

There is no reason to think that your GPA will suffer just because you're taking a double major unless you freak out when you think "OMG THIS IS FOR MY MAJOR" when you take a class. How silly though. The one problem is that when you do a double major, you have less room for options and to get into medical school you need to take a certain number of prerequisites. Taking a double major and trying to get the pre-reqs may mean you have to take an extra semester.

As for jobs, if you're attending medical school later, your undergraduate minor will likely not make much of a difference. As I'm sure you know, you can major in absolutely anything to get into medical school, so not majoring in the sciences is not at all a problem. Your double major likely will not make a difference on the med school application. Jobs though, with mass comm and psychology you could get jobs in human resources and both would be valuable for all sorts of positions within advertising. This makes the double major an advantage if you do decide not to go to medical school.