Changing majors Options

[Melissa]

This is kind of hard for me. All my life, I've been told that I was going to be a doctor. Yeah, I enjoyed anatomy class in high school, I really liked interning for an ENT, I would live an excellent life as a doctor, it sounded like a good plan so I went with it.

The thing is, I'm not really interested in it. I hate chemistry, biology, AND physics. I'm trying to be a Neuroscience and Behavior major because I thought I would be interested in psychology and because its requirements overlap with the premed requirements. And yeah, I do like psych, except it isn't enough to make me actually want to go to class. I have no motivation for it whatsoever.

I was thinking about this through the span of the year and feel that I really ... don't want to be a doctor. I'm more interested in writing and studying human rights, sociology, maybe even political science. The problem is that ALL of my classes I took this entire year go toward the premed/psych path and I'm not sure if it would be wise to switch at this point.

I'm going to email my dean about this and see if it would work out, but then there's the parents to worry about. My mom is crazy and I highly doubt she'll pay my tuition if I decide not to be premed. The one time I brought it up, she bitched at me, saying that if I wanted to "waste my life," I should've just gone to Baylor (I got a full ride there, but seriously... BAYLOR??) instead of choosing Columbia, which is expensive as f**k.

I just know that if I look ten years into my life, I see myself as a journalist, an author, something that has to do with writing and debating. Maybe even a lawyer. I DON'T see me working in an operating room and being on-call nearly 24/7. It's just not me.

I don't know. This is sort of a rant... and me wanting encouragement. I'm not sure how I'll work through this.

[Just_Dream]

omg I know what you mean, Melz. The only differences are:

- I'm already 2 years into this, so I have to follow through with it.
- My college tuition is like < $10k
- FAFSA allows me to go to college for free
- I'm going pre-dental, not pre-med

I also like writing, and I'm really interested in Political Science. Actually, I'm probably going to go change my major when I have the time. Fortunately, I can still go pre-dental because I'm already completed over half the required classes, so it will not be so bad. Political Science is like one of the easiest majors -- classes can be completed in 2 years, and you can get your bachelor's degree at my university. So technically, I would still be able to graduate in a total of 4 years if I go pre-dental and change my major to political science.

I don't know how it will go for you, since your parents are so high-strung on having you go pre-med. My parents still want me to go pre-dental, and I'm still planning on doing it, but I still would not mind going to law school either. I'm actually doing really well so far in my political science classes, so I will see what happens next year, when I take on an internship at a dental office.

Hopefully you can persuade your parents. I mean, you should definitely do something you're interested in, and lawyers make really good money. Granted, depending on what you do, you may STILL be required to take on many hours, but if you're really interested in that career field, doing something you'll enjoy will definitely be so much more worth it.

Plus, plenty of people change their majors after a year. I suggest talking to a counselor or academic adviser about different options and how you can still graduate in a total of 4 years, if you plan to change your major. Good luck. ;x

Pssh, smarty pants @ a smarty college!