I cringe every time someone says that sending a fax or a snail mail to one's representative or senator is more effective than sending an email. Guess what? It's really not. Why trust me? Because I worked in Congress.
Here's what happens to your letters in most congressional offices: First, an intern or secretary gets the mail and sorts it into groups based on the contents of each letter. Many letters are from actual groups that represent one lobby or another: those get sent to various legislative assistants who can send some specifc info to each group.
Then, there is the mail from constituents, much of which consists of generic postcards...AARP postcards exceeded by far any other postcard received by the office in which I worked. Those old people sure know how to send in those damn postcards! These get counted up each day, but don't merit a personal response. More rare are actual letters from constituents. These go to a secretary or an intern who basically works off of this template:
Dear [name],
Thank you for writing about [issue]. I appreciate your input on [issue]. [Stance on issue].
Sincerely,
[signature of elected official produced using a laser printer or a stamp]
Then, there is stuff marked "personal," which goes
to the congressperson's personal secretary. I think the congressperson might actually read some of this, but don't try marking stuff personal when it's really just some political bullshit. That probably breaks some law, or, at the very least gets you on the congressperson's bad side.
So, you want to know what really works? One way to go is "voting with your dollars," but c'mon, you can't possibly have more money than any of the real lobbying groups that bombard your congressperson with propoganda (read: $$$) day after day. The other way is to set up an appointment to actually speak, face to face, with your congressperson. It actually happens. This may require you to join some sort of group, but if you believe strongly enough in a cause, it's worth it to get over your fear of public speaking and attempt to talk to the person who supposedly represents you. That is the only way you stand a chance of not being just another letter ignored.
PS, I don't give a fuck how you mod this, but sometimes, the truth hurts.
This'll probably burn my karma to a crisp (this is my first post), but here goes...
Assuming the final three math courses you're going to take will be hardcore, upper-level, and full of work, I don't think it would be worth it. There's much more to college than taking shitloads of classes and getting degrees. Go out. Party. Get laid (although majoring in CS and/or Math probably won't help your odds).
Why drown yourself with extra work in your final year, the year in which you should feel most comfortable at school? Especially for an extra major that is extremely similar to the one you're already going to get. I guess the ONLY reasons to do it would be if:
1) You know for a fact that your GPA will improve by taking these courses. Employers look very closely at GPA when they consider hiring recent grads. I bet that an employer would more likely hire a CS major with a 3.7 over a CS/Math major with a 3.0.
2) If getting another major is really worth more to you than having fun with friends, many of whom you won't see again after this year, then by all means, get that extra major.
Of course, what it really comes down to is that you should do whatever floats your boat. Doing extra work in math (or any subject, for that matter) with such a small payoff doesn't float mine, but if you're into it, by all means, do it.
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I cringe every time someone says that sending a fax or a snail mail to one's representative or senator is more effective than sending an email. Guess what? It's really not. Why trust me? Because I worked in Congress.
Here's what happens to your letters in most congressional offices: First, an intern or secretary gets the mail and sorts it into groups based on the contents of each letter. Many letters are from actual groups that represent one lobby or another: those get sent to various legislative assistants who can send some specifc info to each group.
Then, there is the mail from constituents, much of which consists of generic postcards...AARP postcards exceeded by far any other postcard received by the office in which I worked. Those old people sure know how to send in those damn postcards! These get counted up each day, but don't merit a personal response. More rare are actual letters from constituents. These go to a secretary or an intern who basically works off of this template:
Dear [name],
Thank you for writing about [issue]. I appreciate your input on [issue]. [Stance on issue].
Sincerely, [signature of elected official produced using a laser printer or a stamp]
Then, there is stuff marked "personal," which goes to the congressperson's personal secretary. I think the congressperson might actually read some of this, but don't try marking stuff personal when it's really just some political bullshit. That probably breaks some law, or, at the very least gets you on the congressperson's bad side.
So, you want to know what really works? One way to go is "voting with your dollars," but c'mon, you can't possibly have more money than any of the real lobbying groups that bombard your congressperson with propoganda (read: $$$) day after day. The other way is to set up an appointment to actually speak, face to face, with your congressperson. It actually happens. This may require you to join some sort of group, but if you believe strongly enough in a cause, it's worth it to get over your fear of public speaking and attempt to talk to the person who supposedly represents you. That is the only way you stand a chance of not being just another letter ignored.
PS, I don't give a fuck how you mod this, but sometimes, the truth hurts.
This'll probably burn my karma to a crisp (this is my first post), but here goes...
Assuming the final three math courses you're going to take will be hardcore, upper-level, and full of work, I don't think it would be worth it. There's much more to college than taking shitloads of classes and getting degrees. Go out. Party. Get laid (although majoring in CS and/or Math probably won't help your odds).
Why drown yourself with extra work in your final year, the year in which you should feel most comfortable at school? Especially for an extra major that is extremely similar to the one you're already going to get. I guess the ONLY reasons to do it would be if:
1) You know for a fact that your GPA will improve by taking these courses. Employers look very closely at GPA when they consider hiring recent grads. I bet that an employer would more likely hire a CS major with a 3.7 over a CS/Math major with a 3.0.
2) If getting another major is really worth more to you than having fun with friends, many of whom you won't see again after this year, then by all means, get that extra major.
Of course, what it really comes down to is that you should do whatever floats your boat. Doing extra work in math (or any subject, for that matter) with such a small payoff doesn't float mine, but if you're into it, by all means, do it.