Delayed Graduation

[hyunmin]

Should I delay graduation by half a semester to take PhD Micro (among other courses)? I'm also considering just taking Honors Analysis 2 during my senior spring semester and calling it a day. Would delaying graduation be considered negatively by admissions committees? Thanks.

[Bayes]

Not at all. Its better to do things that actually matter and make you even a more competitive candiate (as in taking PhD micro); rather than finishing school in 4 years just for the sake of it. Adcoms are going to evaluate you based upon the given classes you took and the grades in them. I think Phd Micro and real analysis 2 should be the max you should take in one semester (unless you really believe in your ability to take more). PhD micro will eat up A LOT of your time and you cant afford to get even a B+ in it; for the grad students it doesnt matter.. they can just get a B and pass. But that is not the case for you as you will be applying to PhD programmes.

[hyunmin]

Thank you for the helpful reply. Another concern I had was that, if I didn't delay graduation by a semester, I would only graduate with a B.A. in Philosophy, although I would still have the relevant economics and math coursework. Whereas, if I were to graduate in another semester, I'd graduate with B.A's in Philosophy, Math, and Econ.

[Bayes]

The opportunity cost is then too high for you to graduate “early”. It makes sense to extend and you should get that Math and Econ degree. If you change your mind down the road, only a B.A in Philosophy does not help to get Econ quant based jobs. Overall, thats a solid plan! Much better than finishing school and returning later to take more classes.