sakky

Now that I think about it more, I think the contrast is even more stark than I realized.

Allow me to explicate. Everybody who enters LFM must have a technical undergrad degree of some kind, with over 90% of the students having an engineering degree (with the rest having degrees in physics, chemistry, or some other natural science). Many LFM students will already have master's degrees in a technical subject (almost always in engineering), and a few will come in with technical PhD's. Yet almost none of them will have degrees in business or related subjects (i.e. economics, sociology, psychology, etc.) For example, last year, I think one LFM student out of a total of 48 had an undergrad business degree, and this person got it as part of a double with an undergrad engineering degree. Most LFM cohorts will have nobody that has an undergrad business or related degree.

Hence, the upshot is that LFM students have a far far heavier technical background than a business background. Despite this, LFM students still tend to get lower grades in their engineering portion of LFM than they will in their MBA portion. I think that emphatically demonstrates just how much easier the Sloan School is compared to the School of Engineering. These LFM students ain't no scrubs when it comes to engineering; these guys are pretty good. Yet I know quite a few who are quite happy that they are able to count Sloan classes as part of their overall MIT GPA and, heck, won't even mention their engineering-specific GPA on their LFM resume. In fact, some of them need their Sloan grades to be factored in to have an overall GPA that is high enough for them to graduate (you need a 3.5/5 to graduate from LFM, and trust me, without Sloan classes, some LFM students wouldn't make that cutoff).

River Phoenix

I very much disagree - it's a function of how the major is taught and how you learn. 'Rigorous' has a very specific meaning - for instance our math curriculum is not rigorous, despite it being one of the best. That is why I am a math major.

rendeli

"For example, last year, I think one LFM student out of a total of 48 had an undergrad business degree, and this person got it as part of a double with an undergrad engineering degree. Most LFM cohorts will have nobody that has an undergrad business or related degree."

To be fair, I think the relative non-management strengths of LFMs are endogenized in the LFM course designs and assessments.
Also, it simply doesn't make sense to discourage 30-some year old engineers with low grades in a non-technical course.

wtrbear

How doable is a course 7+20 double major? I don't think that I could decide between the two....

rainynightstarz

look up the requirements for each + 17 GIRs and given that you can only take 4 full classes each semester of freshmen year ( unless you get sophomore standing) - the GIRs you got credit for through AP and what not
can you fit the classes in your 4 years?
the normal load is 4 classes
many people take 5
but 6 is on the extreme side.
A friend of mine is doing 7+10 and minor in econ. she manages her time really really really well ( she always did) and still get decent amount of sleep and made cheese cake during CPW from 2 to 4 AM. She is taking 6 classes this semester. It depends on what classes you take, too and how much work you can handle. Some people are not so happy nor sleeping much with just 4 classes.

gnrfan

I heard some geniuses take 8 to 9 classes. Is this true?

wtrbear

I'm really confused about majoring in two courses still. How many of the credits can go towards both degrees if they are part of the same course requirements? Does all of your Hass still go towards both degrees? (Sorry, I realize that all of this information is probably on this site somewhere)

collegealum314

The double major just became a lot easier to do now. Check the recent MIT newspaper article on the "dual major" option.

wtrbear

(*reads the Tech*)

This is cool!

molliebatmit

Laaaaame.

The only cool thing about double-majoring was that I got two degrees at graduation. Also that I get to list myself as "molliebatmit, SB, SB" any time I need to list my degrees.

Yup.

wtrbear

Oh..........

wtrbear

Please explain why this is lame?

ducktape

I guess this is good...? Getting two degrees was a major pro on the double major side, though. Not sure how I feel about this.

(And for everyone who's lost, here's the article: Faculty Hear Discipline Report, Vote on Degree, Curriculum Changes - The Tech.)

ask-paul

I'm interested in hearing your thoughts as well, Mollie.

molliebatmit

I felt that the only real point in doing two majors was that it was difficult -- that I might have gotten an incremental boost in the eyes of graduate school admissions committees, etc. because I had actually completed two degrees. If it's easy, I don't see the point in doing it in the first place. (Come to think of it, part of my reasoning for actually finishing my double was that it was difficult.)

Other than the difficulty factor, there's really no point in doing a double major. You can take classes in any department at MIT without being a declared major, so if you're interested in classes in course Y, you can take them while majoring in course Z.

A lot of people come to college thinking double majors are useful, but they're really not. No one but you will care if you complete two majors. Other people might care a little if you complete a lot of arduous requirements to get two full bachelor's degrees.