Some students believe completing a double-major degree is the pinnacle of demonstrating one’s prowess in intellect and stamina. Chao Huei-ying, a senior at the History Department, is one of them who are rubbing their hands in proving it. As she was formally accepted this year to continue with her second major either in English or Japanese, she planned to stay on for another two years to complete her degree—by the way—in English.

According to the statistics compiled by the Office of the Academic Affairs, there have been 494 students approved for a second major or a minor study this semester, a considerable increase from the 453 students of last year. The majority applied for a minor with 89 students for a second major. Japanese is the most popular study as a minor (71 students)—interestingly chosen predominately by English majors. The second choice goes to both International Trade and Banking and Finance (60 students). Japanese majors show a tendency of choosing the former as their minor (over 20 of them). These results embody an ambition shared by most students of the desire of connecting with the bigger international community, which will be the stage their future career will roll out on.

In contrary to most students in Taiwan who consider graduation on time (four years, that is)the paramount, those who have chosen more than one major not only do not mind such a timeline, but are also ready for any necessary sacrifice. This couldn’t be truer for the nine students out of the approved students this year who were already juniors when they decided to go for a second major. Instead of taking things easy in the last year, they need to shift to an overdrive of collecting as many credits as possible. Ms Chao, for instance, is taking a total of 25 credits in the current semester. However, she is not complaining at all. She had been waiting for this opportunity for three years after several rejections. They nearly defeated her; yet, her stubbornness won out in the end. She had persisted in applying until she was finally given the chance of fulfilling her dream. She does not mind being different for having two more years than her peers as she believes a better future awaits her at the end the long, hard road.

UPDATE： 2010/09/27 CLICKS： 1269 DOWNLOADS：