<p>As I said above, doing a double major requires completing 22.5 courses outside the General Institute Requirements, while a single major requires completing 15 courses. This works out to about an extra course outside the GIRs per semester, or five classes per semester instead of the typical four.</p>
<p>It is possible to do a double and not always take five classes per term – for example, you could UROP for credit, or take a course during IAP. But if you’re planning to double, you should count on having one or two five-plus-class terms.</p>
<p>As for first-semester classes, I would advise taking any GIRs you can during the time it’s normal to take them – for example, I would strongly advise taking chemistry during your first term at MIT. It’s much easier to take the GIRs when all of your friends are taking them and you can form big problem set groups.</p>
<p>Even if you plan to double, you don’t need to start planning for it class-wise until second semester freshman year at the very earliest.</p>