I’m a high school sophomore (yeah I know way to early to worry about what I’m gonna major in, but everyday I do anyway), and I have way too many interests. I like physics, history, politics, economics, and philosophy. I am very smart, and have the hardest schedule of anyone in my grade at my high school. I was wondering is it feasible to take on three college majors? My ideal goal would be a BS in Physics a BA in History and a BA in PPE.
How about focusing on finishing sophomore year of HS first…
- You don’t have to major in everything that interests you–a fact that many high school students don’t realize. More often than not, it’s more reasonable to major in one thing and take electives in other areas that interest you. Or just visit the library and check out some books on the other things you’re interested in. A major is not the only way to obtain knowledge in a particular area. 2) You won’t need to have your entire college career planned out from day one. You’ll have plenty of time, after beginning college and taking a couple semesters of classes, to get a feel for the workload and the costs/benefits/realities of having multiple majors or obtaining multiple degrees, and plenty of time to declare those additional majors if desired. 3) Like @GMTplus7 said, focus on finishing high school first. It is far too early to be worrying about any of this.
Given the number of classes required to complete any of those majors you list, you could not do all three of those in 4 years. It’s not a question of how smart you are but of how many classes you need, how many you are allowed to register for in a term and how many you can manage successfully at one time.
That your interests are wide is wonderful, and I do understand not wanting to close any doors- as does my D2, whose courses this autumn (starting her 3rd year in college) are Solid State physics, Electrical & Mechanical physics, Quantum physics, some math that I have never heard of (all required as part of her physics major) and Shakespeare (for fun). It’s why she is at university in the US, not the UK: because she can do her major and cherrypick subjects from other departments that are interesting to her.
The function of high school is to give you a good grounding that will allow you to choose your focus for university. The function of a college major is to develop a specialization in a given area. Grad school turns you into an expert in that area.
One of the reasons that everybody will tell you to slow down and stop trying to plan something that is 4 years from now (when you are likely to actually be declaring a major) is the combination of how much you will change over the next 4 years and how little you have seen of the various subjects at this point.
Absolutely, keep thinking about and exploring the areas that interest you- and push yourself to think about what it is that is interesting to you. What is it about physics that you love? about philosophy? about economics? it’s a process of discernment, and the process itself has real value. Don’t shortchange that growth by getting too locked into one idea or other. It’s not about the major, it’s about you learning where your strengths and interests are.
You can start college as “undecided” and take classes in all these departments. Then you can declare a major and choose the classes that interest you in all other subjects you wish. 