<p>Any downsides to triple-majoring? Not really concerned about the positives, since I am considering doing it for my own pleasure, if you will (oh, and development, right.) Basically, it’s Philosophy, Politics & Economics. I do have to write at least two thesis (and defend them), and pass orals for Econ. </p>
<p>Any thoughts would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Depending on the GEs, general rigor, and major requirements of your school, the biggest downside is that you might go crazy.</p>
<p>Another possible downside is that in your pursuit of breadth, you lose a LOT of depth. You might cover a lot of ground, but will risk becoming truly adept at any single subject. This could potentially look poor on your transcript because you’ll have many more lower-division classes than other students. It could also make life difficult when it comes to thesis time (I had a friend with a single major that was very, very broad–CogSci–and this was a big problem for him. He knew enough about all of these different fields–neuro, psych, CS, engineering–to know what he wanted to write about, but not enough about any of them to actually write it). In general, a triple major could show either more or less passion. The interpretation is kind of up in the air.</p>
<p>That said, this is not an “all over the board” combination of degrees, which is good. At some schools (Claremont McKenna College, for one), PPE (phil/poli/econ) is an actual major. Have you considered researching some of these degrees and attempting to design your own combined major?</p>
<p>So anyway, for me, downsides are loss of time and loss of depth. Also, I don’t know what the thesis requirement is like at your school, but be careful not to underestimate it. I know numerous students who dropped double/dual majors in their senior years, after fulfilling every single requirement but the thesis, because doing two or a combined was just unworkable. This would make the losses of time/depth even more unfortunate. You could end up a single major with a double minor, which I think would be a poor choice.</p>
<p>As someone who had a major, minor, and lot of GEs, and didn’t get to take many electives in college, I’d <em>personally</em> urge you to narrow your focus or see whether there’s a way to combine/self-design this course of study.</p>