I’m an urban planning major, and at SFSU this major requires an internship, which is taken as a class in the Fall semester. Many do a Summer internship, but this is in addition to the Fall one, not a replacement. I’m not doing one this Summer. I didn’t decide I really want one until after the deadline, and this Summer is already a busy time for me. I’ve also been struggling this semester (16 upper division units and 30 hours of work a week. Never doing this again.) and forsee a GPA dip in my final grades (Though not any Ds or Fs. It’s not that bad.). So I want to drop down to 12 units from now on and do either a second senior year or just an extra semester. This will allow me to apply for internships next Summer, then do the Fall internship the summer after that. I graduated my community college in two years, so this would mean 4.5-5 years overall for my undergrad. If I’m doing that extra time, I need to take classes beyond my major to keep to 12 units for full financial aid. Best way to do that I can think of is to turn my geography minor (which I’m fond of) into a second major. This has the ancillary benefits of giving me a second degree in exchange for the extra time in school and giving me some extra classes that can bring up my GPA if I get As in them. My major advisor says it’s a good idea and that the university would almost certainly allow an urban planning/geography double major, but I’d like to ask for further opinions. Aside from financial considerations, does this plan have any problems I need to be appraised of?
I just attended a seminar by my University’s Academic Advising Office and they actually strongly recommended taking additional time to complete one’s degree (if financially feasible) if it means having the opportunity to raise one’s GPA and procure more internship/work experience. I don’t see any major issues with your plan - my only concern would be the cost, but that depends on how much you’re paying out of pocket and through loans; but if you think it’s affordable, then go for it.
Financially, an extra semester means more federal loans. The money is there, I just have to pay it back. Luckily, I go to a CSU and did community college loan free, so it’s not completely unaffordable.
I’m naturally a very debt averse person so I’m wary of anything that requires more loans than necessary but if you think that the investment will pay off in the long run (like an additional internship means additional career opportunities which means greater ability to pay off debt) then I’d say that’s fine.
Looks like I’m getting the Urban Planning/Geography double major. I need four faculty signatures to get one, and I have three right now. An Urban Planning advisor signed off that a second major won’t prevent me from completing my first major, a Geography advisor signed off that I can meet the course requirements for the second major, and the Geography department chair signed off on permission for me to join the program. Now I just need to get a general advisor to sign off that I can complete my general education and meet my unit requirements without hitting the max. I’m registered to take the last of my GE this summer and haven’t repeated any classes, so that signature is trivial. I just have to wait for my appointment Tuesday morning. My double major ed plan assumes an extra semester but not an extra year, so it looks like that’s what I’m doing.
I went open hours at advising yesterday and got the signature I needed, and the Registrar modified my record on the spot. I am now officially an Urban Studies and Planning/Geography double major, so what’s done is done.