Career/Major Questions!

You could always pick up a minor with something in the humanities field. I'm not a science major, so I cannot make tell you anything about your major. I'm sure others can help you with that.

 

I was in a somewhat similar situation to you. When I was in high school, I had a 32 on my ACT, had a high GPA was like sixth overall in my class. However, I wasn't sure what I actually wanted to do/major in. So basically, because I knew I could use it as way to get into some area where I could make decent money, I decided to be a Biology major. I've gone two years as a Biology major with good grades (A's and B's, and one C...damn orgo ). For fear of debt, I actually transferred last semester from a university in the city to a smaller institution where I could live at home (but I remained a Biology major). After that semester, I started thinking about my life and started wondering if Biology wasn't the major for me. Yes, I could handle the classes, and yes I could get decent grades...but I wasn't really happy and I couldn't think of anything that I would enjoy doing with that degree. After thinking about it, I decided that I wanted to be an elementary education major and become a teacher. However, this presented multiple issues.

1. Teachers do not make much money and I still owe a decent amount for when I was going to school in the city.
2. After two years as a Biology major, there wouldn't be time enough for me to finish an elementary education degree in the normal four year period, so I would have to attend school longer.
3. Because I would be in school longer, my financial aid may not extend that long (it may or may not, I've been getting conflicting information from the office of financial aid).

I stressed out for weeks about what I should do. Should I just stick with the Biology major and possibly go into a career that I wouldn't enjoy but would most likely be more financially secure? Should I change majors so I could get a career that I want despite having to attend college longer and despite the fact I'm not sure about my financial aid? In the end, after debating it out and talking to my friend, I realized that this is my life and that I can do what I want with it. Yes, staying in the Biology major may have been easier and may have me making more money...but I wouldn't be happy with what I was doing, and that, in my opinion, means everything. So, I dropped the Bio major classes I was in and enrolled in other courses and am currently in the process of changing to elementary education.

So, I wasn't exactly in your shoes, but in a somewhat similar situation. My opinion is to do what makes you happy. The sciences are majors that many people take just for the money aspect of it. Yea, that's important, but if your passion isn't there, than why force yourself into a position where you won't be happy? If you do decide to go with the sciences though, I will say that the classes are not a walk in the park. You definitely have to know the material (and organic chemistry is hell). But despite the difficulty of the classes, if you put your mind to it, I'm sure that you'll be able accomplish a science degree.

I'm not sure if that helps you in any way, but I hope it does

 

All I had ever wanted to do since the age of 6 was work with ancient languages. I wanted to be a linguistic anthropologist. My first anthropology class ended those hopes. My teacher told me that at the university here, the linguistic anthro classes were no longer available in the anthro department. They had been moved to the English department, since the field was pretty much dying out.

I decided instead to teach high school English and German. History is also an option lol. I transfer from the community college in January, and I'm not looking forward to the tuition jump. If at all possible, I would suggest taking as many transferable classes at a community college. It's cheaper and your generals are there, in part, to help you learn what you want to do

I'm not much help, but I have a few friends who are advisors at the local university, so if there's anything you think I could help you with (and by "I", I mean "them" lol), just let me know!

 

Some studies show that humanities majors can fare as well as science majors when it comes to medical school. So you could major in the humanities and look for an optometry school. I think most optometry schools are open to undergraduate majors of any kind, but you might have to do some prerequisites (optometry courses, admissions exams, etc.).

To reiterate, majoring in biology and minoring in humanities is another option, if available at your school. I think you would get the best of both worlds here; you can build a science knowledge while studying your interests on the side. Optometry school would be viable under this route too.

Realistically, college nowadays is becoming more of an investment due to rising costs. I think I was the same boat as you were with regard to being torn; I wanted to major in Latin/classics, but my parents would not condone it. Now I'm in a pharmacy school, but I believe I made the right choice in terms of practicality. Teaching would be my only immediate route if I majored in classics. I'm awful with communicating with others, let alone explaining an ancient language >.<

P.S. If you're still uncertain about your situation, try asking college advisers for some guidance too.

 

You might consider studying in the UK? The fees are about £12,000 a year, on average, for international students. This works out at just over $19,000 per year. Additionally, degrees in England/Wales take 3 years (rather than 4 in the states), so the total would be $57,000 for a degree (exc. living expenses), rather than $160,000 for the one you stated.

 

Aw, good for you (*hug*)
International students here apparently have so much fun to do in freshers' week that they forget all about worrying about home! :icon_bigg You actually study for 32 weeks a year, so there's plenty time to visit family

 

While this is true, the plus side to being a teacher is that you only need a bachelors. You won't have to pay for grad school. My mom is a high school history teacher and she loves it. She says she wouldn't trade for anything.

I also recommend a double major. I am currently double majoring in music and law, because I can't decide if I want to risk a career in opera or not. Depending on the major requirements, it is possible to double major without overriding on credits and therefore pay the same tuition for two degrees as for one. It would give you the next four years to figure out what you want and you might get the opportunity to find out more about possible careers and what makes you happy.

Finally, it might be a cliché, but money doesn't buy happiness. Would you ultimately think it was worth it if you made more money but hated your job? My father works a job that makes him miserable, because he can't make as much anywhere else and he has turned into a different, meaner person in the rest of his life because he is so unhappy in his career.

 

Why not do a double major of Anthropology and Political Science? You can work for the gvt in various fields like working with the various aboriginal groups or something like that.