SMU Meadows School of the Arts
Originally Posted: June 1, 2016
Below is an excerpt from an SMU Meadows School of the Arts news article that highlights six student experts that have majors in Meadows, Dedman College and Cox. READ MORE
5 Tips on How to Double Major
Double majoring is on the rise. Is it right for you?
Students thinking about double majoring want to know: How do students study for two degrees and still have a life? How do they handle it all? At SMU Meadows School of the Arts, over 35 percent of the students double major in combinations such as dance and economics, film and finance, public relations and marketing and more.
Below, six Meadows double majors give straight-up advice on how to succeed at pursuing two degrees at once.
#1: Black Belt Time Management
When you’re in college, there are always more things you want to do than you have time for. To help tame an overloaded schedule or keep procrastination at bay, our double majors’ secret weapon is the planner.
“I keep a physical planner that I am constantly updating and taking notes in,” says Elainy Lopez (B.F.A. Art, B.A. Anthropology ’16). “When the day or week appears to be a full one I make a list and work my way down it as best I can.” For those times when she can’t quite get through the list, Elainy reminds herself to not stress out and instead re-orders her list based on priorities. “When things start to get unbalanced it is usually due to procrastination or poor planning,” she says. “I just get back on track by focusing and starting the work, which is usually the hardest step.”
Even with a champion planner, procrastination can be a siren call. As a performing arts student who is also deep into coding and computer science, Zach Biehl (B.F.A. Dance, B.A. Creative Computing ’17) knows firsthand how the combo of rehearsals, coursework, parties, movie nights and exams can tempt him to put things off. “I’m my own worst enemy in terms of procrastinating because I work well and thrive under pressure, but I would say, yes, buy a planner,” he says. “The semesters I haven’t had a planner have felt much more panicked than those when I’ve had one. With the planner, everything feels much more logical.”
Many double majors also use the “Semester-at-a-Glance” calendar available free of charge from A-LEC, the Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center located in the Ford Stadium building on the northeast corner of campus. With the calendar, they can see their entire semester on one page. READ MORE