Triple major in a B.Commerce (1 Viewer)

[windupbird1]

I'm in a bit of a dilemma. So I graduated high school in 2010 and after changing degrees in my first year, I started a B.comm/B.arts at unsw in 2012. I've only done commerce units so far (7 out of the usual 8 for various reasons, however i plan on summer schooling soon to fix it) and I'm about to start my 2nd year of the course this year. The problem is that I really want to switch to a single commerce degree but my WAM is really poor (<65), this is especially concerning because most people at this stage will be applying for internships and theres no way my marks are competitive enough atm to land one. Apparently most people apply before they receive their 1st semester results back because thats when the big ones open and theres a better chance of being successful.

So I basically want more time and units to increase my wam. I am pretty keen on learning french so i was wondering whether it would be a good idea to triple major in accounting, finance and french studies in a single b.comm. I dont want to do it within a dual arts degree because theres nothing in arts that I would like to minor in and id rather not stretch my degree out even more for something i have no interest it. Is this a normal thing to do? What would you guys do in my situation? Should i not do french but another subject (absolutely no interest in economics or info systems though) ? Please help, thank you

 

[Shadowdude]

Well, what you can do is some sort of damage control and do Commerce subjects purely to boost your WAM and then see if you can get the transfer. Also I don't think you can triple major in a single Commerce degree anyway - there's simply too many credit points needed.

 

[windupbird1]

Thanks for your reply. The transfer to single commerce is not what im concerned about because I know that I can switch from comm/arts to comm regardless of my wam (Ive already checked this up quite thoroughly with the ASB). I am worried that as a b.comm student, my wam is too low to apply for internships this year. And because of this, I want to know whether or not it is a good idea to extend my time at uni and complete the units required for 3 majors (acct, fins, french) in order to give me more time to increase my wam and apply for internships at a later date.

Otherwise, Id like some advice on what else I could do? Is it worth persevering through a dual degree in arts even though I plan on double majoring in commerce (acct/fins)? Should i not be doing a language but another area in comm? Iono sigh

 

[Shadowdude]

So you've checked you can just 'drop' the Arts component? Well, okay I'll take your word for it.


I'm not sure about the applications for internships but you don't need to do 3 majors, just do really, really well in your remaining subjects - so try and do really well this year, and see how you go with applying for an internship in 2014 or something.


And if you're not going to use your Arts degree for anything, then don't do it - drop it and open up free electives you can use in Commerce to boost your WAM.

 

[Kingportable]

It seems that you are over complicating your life. No, you should not pick up French just because you feel like it that is irresponsible. You need to evaluate what your goal is with your tertiary studies; what you actually want to get off this. Then when you know what you want and how to get there, at first accept that notion that you need to work harder and accept what you have now then only make changes is this evaluation is really going to feed in to what you need to do. What kind of business man needs to be fluent in French? If so what is the demand for them? I bet you the French have public schools learning English throughout the nation. Two majors is hard enough to juggle by itself, it seems that most people only have one, and your not doing well with two so why do you think going to the third would actually help your marks?

 

[windupbird1]

It seems that you are over complicating your life. No, you should not pick up French just because you feel like it that is irresponsible. You need to evaluate what your goal is with your tertiary studies; what you actually want to get off this. Then when you know what you want and how to get there, at first accept that notion that you need to work harder and accept what you have now then only make changes is this evaluation is really going to feed in to what you need to do. What kind of business man needs to be fluent in French? If so what is the demand for them? I bet you the French have public schools learning English throughout the nation. Two majors is hard enough to juggle by itself, it seems that most people only have one, and your not doing well with two so why do you think going to the third would actually help your marks?

So I appreciate the response but you seem to be very confused in a lot of areas. I actually said I was really keen on doing French as opposed to just wanting to do it on a whim so I don't understand your criticism. I might just randomly add that I also have a background in french so taking on it as a major is not something I'd take lightly unless I felt pretty certain it would benefit me. The point of this thread was to ask for opinions on whether a triple major within a single degree was wise given my specific situation, as opposed to doing a double degree (with 3 majors and a minor) or taking the risky option of a double major in a single degree. I wasn't after life coaching, I'm pretty aware that I need to work harder and it's the reason I created this thread, I just want to know the best way to structure my degree to cater for the time I need to improve. Just to let you know, most people actually do 2 majors or 3 within a double degree such as Com/Eco, definitely not 1. Also an extra major doesn't force you to juggle your workload anymore than you would normally as you can only do 4 subjects a semester anyway, you just have to remain at uni longer (which is what im trying to do). You will understand what im talking about better when you actually start uni.

 

[Chronost]

Can you even do 3 majors in a single degree? Aren't you doing B.Comm/arts right now which is a double degree? Languages are always hard at university. They tend to take up alot of consistent demand even compared to Commerce, so be prepared ( i know someone who does Japanese) plus there's always the background people who already know everything anyway and get the HDs, but I guess your one of them so it should be alright. The other problem is, even if your WAM is up and and you pass through the "WAM barrier" your "pass-credit" knowledge will tend to show in the interview. The knowledge tests they put on are quite hard and even if you can find practice essays it's not going to be exactly the same thing. Interviewers know if you know your stuff. Don't think of French as a WAM booster only. It won't help much in testing interview part, think of it as a time-offloader so you can focus getting your knowledge well and truly in your B.comm major for the case-study's and such. Plus interviews will look at your seperate degree marks(in some cases). Art isn't that relevant afterall.

A close friend of one of my relatives(and a good friend of mine) just landed a grad job in a clerkships. He's told me all kinds of stories with his friends involved in interviews. And the relevancy of the degree does tend to come up in interviews. And at the end of the day, you don't want to say; "I did French cause it was a WAM booster". Just go and apply to mid tier and small tier firms. You can always transfer into the big corporations(if thats what you want) years after work, when your marks don't become relevant. And if you feel your good enough for big firms, you should do well enough in small-mid tiers to get in.

Marks tend to reflect on how you do your job as well.(although theres some really good workers and poor uni graders as well, I know one personally). There's a reason people look for higher marks. It shows you have certain qualities.

 

[moll.]

You don't need a degree in something to be competent at it.

 

[4025808]

yeah, you can double major for the commerce component of the program, just that you'll need to spend an extra year to complete it.

And you HAVE to take a minor for your arts program.