The comments section of the post is probably more notable than the post itself. Many people wrote down, essentially, "I am/was a 3+ major. You are stupid."
It might be surprising, but I have 3 majors and I may pick up a minor in Psychology or a major in Operations Management or Legal Studies. This is confusing, I'm sure, as I am a huge proponent of minimalism.
It's not a conflict in values. Minimalism is about taking the time to focus on what is important to you. I am studying these topics because they are all important to me. Additionally, my very first fall semester of college, I walked onto campus as a junior because I had taken 10 AP tests. Naturally, when you have two years already done, you have a lot of extra time.
Part of having so many majors is choosing to pursue a personal interest and realizing that that work will count towards a major. For example, I like Spanish. I've spoken Spanish since the summer of 2008, when I was in an immersion program in Valencia, Spain. Two of my teachers from my program that summer, IU Honors, teach at Indiana University. They both encouraged me to take Spanish.
When I decided to study abroad, I couldn't do it. The business school does not allow its students to study abroad for a semester before I-Core. So, I was going to be stuck at IU, taking the classes to finish out my Legal Studies and International Business majors. I would have finished my majors before taking I-Core. That meant that I would graduate after 2.5 years in college. I was not a fan of that plan. Who would hire a 20-year-old double major with no professional experience?
Instead, I scheduled an appointment with the fabulous Spanish adviser, Sioux Hill, and talked to her about pursuing a Spanish degree. I had read many articles which talked about how a liberal arts degree helped in the business world. I had already signed up for Business Spanish for the fall semester, and she told me that I would only have to take 8 more classes to get a Spanish degree.
When school started again, I got approved to get a Spanish degree by Jim Brown. It was a very pleasant, short visit. He asked me if I had transferred in when he saw how many credits (101) I had. (The College of Arts and Sciences requires 122 credits to graduate.) Getting his formal approval for my major in the COAS took about 5 seconds, as Sioux had sent me in with her approval. We spent the rest of that meeting talking about what Kelley students tended to double in (language or Economics) and the large number of Jacobs students who doubled in physics or math.
With my International Business, Legal Studies, and Spanish degree, I was still going to finish in 7 semesters. I dropped my Legal Studies major and picked up an Accounting major. I also realized that Operations Management fits in very well when you are an Accounting major, as there is some overlap. The Accounting major requires a very strict course of study, because one major requirement is the prerequisite for the next, which is the prerequisite for the next. So, I have stretched myself out to 8 semesters, but the Accounting major only requires one course my senior spring.
I can fill in the rest of my senior spring with two major options: Operations Management or Legal Studies. Or, I can fill it in with a Psychology minor. That's still up in the air.
But getting back to Penelope, one of the funniest parts of her post was:
"A triple major is for the timid. A broad education teaches you to learn diverse topics quickly. Practice learning something totally new by taking courses in each of the departments in your college rather than cowering in the safety of topics you’re majoring in. Business requires a wide breadth of knowledge — writing, finance, technology, psychology, sociology."
Because of my third major, I am exploring writing and sociology. (In fact, I'm enrolled in an ecology class right now, which is a departure from my business major.) I chose to study psychology entirely on my own and my business major is educating me about finance and technology. My triple major is achieving what I should achieve in college. Being 19 and living in a Spanish-speaking third world country for 5 months while teaching impoverished, beaten kids in the poor part of town is not for the timid.
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