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Minors really worth it?

 
Old 05-12-2009 at 01:30 AM   #1
tammy37
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Minors really worth it?
I'm thinking about minoring in political science along with my science program next year. I've talked to an academic counselor and she said that minors aren't a big deal. I also talked to a friend who said that employers aren't going to look at it or anything. So I'm wondering if I should do what it takes (ie. take summer courses etc) to get the requirements for the minor or not. Would grad programs or professional schools look at it?

Thanks for your time =)
Old 05-12-2009 at 01:40 AM   #2
Mowicz
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I used to stress out over minors and stuff until I realized they don't even show up as notations on your diploma...on your transcript yes, but not on your diploma itself.

There are essentially two reasons to gain a minor and in my opinion any other reason is kinda pointless.

1) To gain that extra bit of expertise / edge in your field. Will the extra training help you do a better job in your future career? Or perhaps your poly sci minor will help you get a job someday...will an employer go "Wow, a poly sci minor...I should look more closely at this candidate" or will it be kind of an unnoticed thing? That depends on which career you hope to make for yourself, and how intimately related your minor is to that field. (although sometimes you can impress an employer by having versatility...like say you're majoring in geography and minoring in physics)

2) Enjoyment! Like what you're learning? Take that little extra bit and declare a minor so the world knows (through your resume) your academic interests.


Besides that...I can't see it being that important to grab a minor or two except for bragging rights. I got into grad school without completing / declaring my minor, so I don't think it was really a factor considered in my application.

Last edited by Mowicz : 05-12-2009 at 01:43 AM.

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Old 05-12-2009 at 08:23 AM   #3
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Are you sure that the minor don't show up on your diploma? I'm pretty sure that it does...Personally I find a minor is worth doing, and you don't even have to do summer school to get it, your electives should be more than enough if you plan it wisely.

I have gotten a lot of positive feedback from my current employer as well as other places where I interviewed about my Poli Sci minor. It shows that you know/care about other things other than your specific field (especially in science).

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Old 05-12-2009 at 08:30 AM   #4
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I plan on doing one of my minors in a second language, since having more than one language is becoming increasingly helpful. Like previously mentioned, having a minor that can help you with your major is really nice, or just as a way to show that you're well-rounded - makes you more interesting.

I think you only need like what, 24 units for a minor? You could probably end up doing a minor without noticing haha. I think you declare minors in fourth year or something.

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Old 05-12-2009 at 10:18 AM   #5
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Minors are only important if they're related in some way to the job/program you're applying for. For instance, if you're applying for a job in marketing and you have a minor in mathematics and statistics, you might be able to sell that minor as enhancing your ability to do statistical analysis related to marketing research.

Even if it doesn't show up on your degree, you can put it on your resume and mention it in your cover letter.

However, if you don't think your minor will be related to the jobs/grad programs you're applying to, I wouldn't worry about it. Instead, just take the courses that program offers that you think you'd enjoy and skip the crappy ones that are often required.

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Old 05-13-2009 at 03:16 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chugaucon View Post
Are you sure that the minor don't show up on your diploma? I'm pretty sure that it does...
My diploma doesn't have my minors on it...I just looked haha. (I graduated from Mac last year) As I said, it shows up on your transcript...but not the actual, physical diploma that you will have framed and up on your wall. You may or may not however have a "Summa Cum Laude" notation on it, but minors are nowhere to be found.

I tried to do a google search and failed to find a picture of a 'sample diploma.' Then it occured to me that this is obviously going to be the case since it prevents forgery.

Quote:
I have gotten a lot of positive feedback from my current employer as well as other places where I interviewed about my Poli Sci minor. It shows that you know/care about other things other than your specific field (especially in science).
This is a very good point. You can put minors on your resumes and applications. Like I was saying in my previous post, if it is a way to distinguish yourself in your field (note that science, particularly biology, is a competitive field...as is, for instance, teaching) then you should do it at your own pace...but I think grad schools care more about good grades than minors. In all the applications I did, none of them had any sort of 'what's your minor?' box to fill out.***** So you basically have to consider the pros and cons of your decision. Will you gain anything from completing the minor? Will you lose anything? (ie. will your course-load be too difficult and jeopardize your grades?)

To give an example:

A friend of mine is entering his fifth year of Commerce (with Co-Op). He was trying to do a minor in Mathematics because he wanted to get that extra bit of edge and impress people with his credentials. He decided he would not finish his minor however, since he was having a hard time with it and the cons outweighed the pros.


*****Can anyone who has applied to a professional or vocational school (like medicine, chiropractic) vouch for the above information? I only know it's true for graduate programs. Remember...in grad school you study one subject, and one subject alone...so your knowledge of a second subject is kind of a moot point.


EDIT: If you need more information, or would like to cross-check the information I'm posting (yes even about the minor not appearing on the diploma), please have a look at this topic on studentawards.com.

http://forums.studentawards. com/ya...gle-major.aspx

Last edited by Mowicz : 05-13-2009 at 03:31 AM.

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Old 05-21-2009 at 07:05 PM   #7
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I am in biochemistry, and was going to minor in political science. I had already taken a few courses (Poli Sci 2C03, 3C03, 3W03), and liked it very much. After taking 1G06, however, (which is REQUIRED for the minor) I was turned off for life. Watch out and make sure your average doesn't go down because of an ******* professor.

If you have any questions, email me at [email protected] l.com. Don't waste your time on difficult courses when you can easily had taken a much easier one (i.e. gemstones). You will see how hard political science is. It's NOT easy. Sorry that I'm bitter but it was a bad experience.

Last edited by Parnian : 05-21-2009 at 07:09 PM.
Old 05-21-2009 at 07:16 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chugaucon View Post
I have gotten a lot of positive feedback from my current employer as well as other places where I interviewed about my Poli Sci minor. It shows that you know/care about other things other than your specific field (especially in science).
I checked your profile, and you're in second year. How could you have completed 18 units of political science by now if you're in science? Just wondering.
Old 05-21-2009 at 08:24 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Parnian View Post
I checked your profile, and you're in second year. How could you have completed 18 units of political science by now if you're in science? Just wondering.
It is true that I am going into third year, and do not yet have 24 units required for a Poli Sci minor (I still need 4 more courses) but that does not mean I can't put it on my resume, it's the same concept when I put BSc 2011. It is implied that I'm working towards the degree & minor. As for current/previous employer, one could have various summer/during the school employments/volunteers?!

No one said Poli Sci is easy, most people in science (IMO) have the mentality that social science/humanities courses are easy, but they really are not. The point here, as always, is doing something that you like/enjoy rather than just doing a minor for the sake of it looking good on your resume.

BTW, I think Alway is a great prof, 100x better than most profs I had.
Old 05-21-2009 at 08:35 PM   #10
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I didn't like his lecturing method. He screamed, instead of speaking in a normal tone and using a microphone. This made it very hard for me to comprehend what he was saying. Moreover, there were so many rumors going on about him demanding the T.A.s to "mark as hard as possible" on the essays. Apparently, he wanted the average to be a C in all tutorial classes. It did indeed turn out that everyone's essays in my tutorial fell into the C average despite extremely different levels of work load put into them. Coincidence, or not? So in a way, my issue was both with the professor and the T.A.

Political science in my opinion was on the same level of biochemistry. It required a VAST amount of reading. I never went in thinking it was easy. I enjoyed all the courses very much, but after a bad experience, I'm left regretting having to put in all that work just to have nothing to show for it.

I just want Tammy to make a well-informed decision.

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Old 05-21-2009 at 08:52 PM   #11
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Really? I didn't hear any rumours about that. But in my Global Politics class (which was also taught by Alway) my TA did say that they aim for a B/B+ as the average. But in the end my essays for both 2G03 and 1G06 were in the A range, as with most ppl I talked to in the tutorial. Maybe it was just your TA?

I think Poli Sci is so much better than bio, I read like 2 articles for the course in total and still ended up with a good mark, if I had pulled that stunt in a science course, I'd fail. I'm sorry to hear that you had a bad experience, but maybe try more upper year courses? cause it seems like you only dislike the 1st year course and not the upper year ones that you took.

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Old 05-21-2009 at 08:59 PM   #12
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Yeah, it was mostly the 1G06 TA that caused me a lot of heartache (let's pray she's not reading this). I put a lot of work into those essays.. and it was just disheartening. Still, the upper year courses are definitely the best.

I think the best minor is something you both enjoy and do well in. If you're doing well, keep at it. Otherwise, drop it because you can't afford to sacrifice your GPA! Be smart

Thanks Chugaucon for being patient with me!
Old 05-21-2009 at 10:51 PM   #13
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Well, I also took 1G06. A lot of people in my tutorial didn't like the class at all, and thought our TA was completely detached -- she didn't even know our names after a whole year. On the essays, people were mostly in the B range from what I know. Even though B's are good and all, those essays were worth a lot and it's hard to make up for it, so it was lame (especially if you're crazy for A's like me).

I didn't like Alway's teaching style either, but to each his own right. Annyways, yeah, never do a minor in subject you don't really like, it'll kill your GPA when you can take courses that'll raise your GPA. Gotta be smart with it.
Old 05-22-2009 at 08:04 AM   #14
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I'm kind of wondering about minors as well.

Originally, I wanted to put an Astronomy minor with my Honors Earth & Environmental science degree. But, at the same time, I'm realizing thats a huge work load, and I'm not necessarily interested in doing all the math required for that (weird, I know....but math and I occasionally don't get along).

When at [email protected], I was talking to one of the profs from the Origins institute; to say the least, I was hooked. I've been so interested in astrobiology/origins of space, time and life for a long time now, and I didn't even realize this kind of stuff was available! I don't know if I can actually do a "minor" in this faculty, and I'm just wondering if it would really make a difference to actually have that "Minor in Origins" next to my Honors BSc.
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Old 05-22-2009 at 10:15 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PilotMal View Post
I'm kind of wondering about minors as well.

Originally, I wanted to put an Astronomy minor with my Honors Earth & Environmental science degree. But, at the same time, I'm realizing thats a huge work load, and I'm not necessarily interested in doing all the math required for that (weird, I know....but math and I occasionally don't get along).

When at [email protected], I was talking to one of the profs from the Origins institute; to say the least, I was hooked. I've been so interested in astrobiology/origins of space, time and life for a long time now, and I didn't even realize this kind of stuff was available! I don't know if I can actually do a "minor" in this faculty, and I'm just wondering if it would really make a difference to actually have that "Minor in Origins" next to my Honors BSc.
There are a few ways to look at this:

Your future employer won't look at your resume and say "Minor in origins?? We HAVE to get this guy!" -- at least chances are he won't anyways!

However, if you plan on continuing your education, i.e., grad school; Minors are a good way to differentiate yourselves from others and give you a certain edge in the application process.

Make sure you actually enjoy the material your minor discusses though, otherwise you're setting yourself up to really destroy your GPA.
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