Changin my college and major?-How bad is this?

[Tim Haas]

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Hey all. I am in the process of deciding to change my college and my major. Right now im at RIT for mechanical engineering and I absolutely hate it. Can not stand it and realize i won't be able to afford to come up w/ the money for the premed req's if i don't change my major...and what i really want to do , is get out of that school cuz it sucks.

Currently in qtr 1, they have 3 qtrs at RIT, i had a 3.6 and made deans list. I figure i should get a 3.5 this qtr also...

Here's the deal, i am doing some volunteer work/will be in pediatric emergency, so the adcoms will know i was interested in medicine even though I was not an official premed this year...


However, how bad will it look if i change my college and major...

I'm planning on double majoring and premed at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. ANy info on that? I'll be doing bioinformatics/environmental science and then premed. USP was my second choice last year and i just made a horrible mistake and decided RIT..

ANy ideas? Oh, and the reason i don't stay at RIT and go w/ biotech or something there, is that i feel their science dept is lacking as compared to USP...also, my family is poor so I'll get more aid for USP cuz i am a PA resident.. 🙂


Thank you so much for the help everyone.

 

[Tim Haas]

oh, and the thing that boggles my mind....is the things i'm really interested in, i amaze myself....let me explain....calc last year in high school i ended up with a D...yeah, ouch. Now this year, Calc 1 I got an A in easily. Also Calc 2 I have an A in also.

THing is, in my Bio1 and Chem 1 in High school i got like B's and C's...anyways, i'm just hoping that was a fluke just like my Calc grade in high school...lets hope...

Thanks

 

[kwanny]

so you're a soph now? i'd say change your major to whateve ryou really wanna do, and transfer, if you're not happy at the school you are at now. Don't htink aobut what med schools would think. Do what you think is right for you, man. 😉

 

[Tim Haas]

nah, im still a freshman....thanks for the advice

 

[AlternateSome1]

Don't worry about changing your major. I switched from CS to Psych at the end of my sophomore year and was never questioned about it. As long as you continue doing well in your next major, you are fine. Also, with a GPA between a 3.5-3.6, you are looking much better than a person who switched after hating and slacking off in their classes.

~AS1~

 

[HollyJ]

Nah, nobody will care. Most college students change their major at least once -- I think I changed mine about 76 times.

 

[Gleevec]

Change as much as you want. Its only a semi-lock after you fill out AMCAS/Secondaries, and even then you can probably change it around a bit as long as you inform the schools.

So you can probably change majors with reckless abandon through junior year. Most undergrads will force you to commit at some point (senior year).

But dont worry about changing it around, no one cares and in fact, there is no way for med schools to know unless you tell them.

 

[Swiper]

And as far as tranferring schools - by all means, do it. Going through three more years of undergrad miserable will only hurt you. It's vital that you're happy, comfortable, etc. during your undergrad years! It sounds like all signs (financial, your choice of academic program, etc.) point to the transfer as the right choice. As long as you continue to excel at USP, I don't suspect your change of venue will be an issue when you're interviewing for med schools three years from now.

Good luck!

 

[Sweet Tea]

a) your major doesn't matter. pick something you like and that interests you, and you'll be a better student than if you picked something because you thought it would make you a better applicant. and adcoms don't care how many times you change your major as long as you complete the pre-reqs for med school. i think most people change their mind about 597 times throughout undergrad. no worries. your major matters about as much as your shoe size.

b) if you'll be happier and more financially stable at another school, then transfer! adcoms don't care! go where you'll be happy, study something that interests you, and enjoy college!!

 

[jbish]

Just to put in another positive vote for "adcoms don't care if you transfer/change majors"...my mom attended 14 (yes 14) undergraduate institutions and her major varied from P.E. to physical therapy. The only pain in the ass about transferring is that every time you apply for stuff (AMCAS,etc) you'll need to order transcripts from more than one school.

 

[Tim Haas]

Thank you everyone so much. I'm definitely transferring...

Really appreciate it. Thanx

 

[smc927]

Good question and some good replies. Don't worry about it. Many people get accepted into med school without the pre-med major. I know to doctors locally that both majored in Spanish. Go figure.

Good luck!

 

[Sweet Tea]

i think only about 75% of my class were science majors. as long as the pre-reqs are covered, you'll be fine. best of luck to you!

st= former music major. 😉