So what if you never plan to use your major?

[emttim]

So here's my issue....I was going to do marine biology at Davis, because I'm a SCUBA diver so the underwater world interests me, however, the major at Davis (it's actually an emphasis for the biology degree) requires one quarter residence at a marine lab 100 miles from Davis and they only do one year leases in Davis....so I would either have to pay double the rent (1,000 to keep my apt and then 800 to live at the marine lab) or uproot where I'm at for one quarter, and then when the quarter is over, be stuck in a hotel room until I find another apt. Oh, and I wouldn't be able to live in Davis anymore after this year, because since they run year long leases, I would have to live in Sacramento (ugh, f**k that) or somewhere else that does month-to-month leases.

Ergo, I'm looking at other majors. The only problem is I really have no specific interests outside of marine biology and economics. Getting a job with the degree probably isn't an issue because if I don't get accepted the first time around, I'm going to just go to paramedic school, since I have nothing but disdain for office work which is what economics would entail and science jobs from what I hear don't pay jack so I'd rather get paid crappy wages to stay in EMS rather than get paid crappy wages to work in a lab.

So is there any specific science major you guys would recommend looking at, should econ still be considered even though ill never get a job with it, etc.? I could use any advice at this point. Oh yeah, and is taking nothing but science classes an issue? I don't see why it would be, since that's what medical school will require anyway, but UC Davis' advising web site flat out states not to take only science classes due to the rigor of 'em so I figured I'd pop the question.

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[foster033]

Can't you sublease for the quarter you are away? Is the extra $2400 you'd pay in rent the only thing keeping you from doing a marine bio major You do realize that $2400 is probably going to be less than the amount you spend applying to medical school... Have you talked to upperclassmen who have done the marine lab part already and found out how they managed it?

And dude, have you ever heard of craigslist? There's always temporary housing on there, especially around schools.

Taking only science classes, depends, as long as you have the required classes you should be ok. I've seen some sort of year/semester of English and/or humanities requirement at most schools. The only problem you may run into is that schools may not see you as a "well rounded" applicant if all you've done is science.

 

[emttim]

Can't you sublease for the quarter you are away? Is the extra $2400 you'd pay in rent the only thing keeping you from doing a marine bio major You do realize that $2400 is probably going to be less than the amount you spend applying to medical school...

Taking only science classes, depends, as long as you have the required classes you should be ok. I've seen some sort of year/semester of English and/or humanities requirement at most schools. The only problem you may run into is that schools may not see you as a "well rounded" applicant if all you've done is science.

I can definitely sublease, but it's no guarantee, so if I can't find a person to sublease then I'm still liable for the rent and I would still have to find a place to live after I finish...but yeah, basically that's what's keeping me from doing it is figuring out the living situation. I don't want to be without a place to stay when the quarter is over either.

Hmm, I'll have the required classes. I was more curious as to whether taking all science classes is really /that/ bad at a university. I'm aware that it'll be that way in med school anyhow, but since I do have to work 24 hours a week to pay bills and I need the grades to get into med school in the first place, I figure it's a valid concern. I know it won't really make me that well-rounded of an applicant but I can't help it, I love science.

 

[foster033]

I can definitely sublease, but it's no guarantee, so if I can't find a person to sublease then I'm still liable for the rent and I would still have to find a place to live after I finish...but yeah, basically that's what's keeping me from doing it is figuring out the living situation. I don't want to be without a place to stay when the quarter is over either.

There's always people looking for a sublet at schools. People coming back from study abroad, ones who need a new place to live (broke up with gf/bf, roommates tried to kill them, landlords evicted them, etc), new students, exchange students, etc. I've had friends who ended up staying at my place (I had extra beds) because they couldn't find a sublet. At my lab we regularly have visiting postdocs and profs who come for a few weeks to months and we are always trying to find places for them to live (and my PI is probably moving to Davis soon, lol.) And you can sublease for only the quarter you are away so you would have your apartment when you got back.

I would put up an ad on campus or something, saying something like looking for people who would be interested subleasing my place for this quarter, try to gauge the amount of responses before you start worrying. Of course it would probably be too far in the future for people to give you concrete guarantees but you could have a list of people who you could call when the time came.

Are students at the marine lab all quarters? You might be able to find other students in the same situation and swap apartments with them.

 

[emttim]

There's always people looking for a sublet at schools. People coming back from study abroad, ones who need a new place to live (broke up with gf/bf, roommates tried to kill them, landlords evicted them, etc), new students, exchange students, etc. I've had friends who ended up staying at my place (I had extra beds) because they couldn't find a sublet. At my lab we regularly have visiting postdocs and profs who come for a few weeks to months and we are always trying to find places for them to live (and my PI is probably moving to Davis soon, lol.) And you can sublease for only the quarter you are away so you would have your apartment when you got back.

I would put up an ad on campus or something, saying something like looking for people who would be interested subleasing my place for this quarter, try to gauge the amount of responses before you start worrying. Of course it would probably be too far in the future for people to give you concrete guarantees but you could have a list of people who you could call when the time came.

Are students at the marine lab all quarters? You might be able to find other students in the same situation and swap apartments with them.

Hmm, good idea. No, the marine lab is only during the spring quarter and the summer, no such luck there...however, I looked into economics for the hell of it and they have a one quarter internship program in Washington DC and that happens in the fall, winter and spring quarters, so that may be a source of demand for apts for one quarter. I didn't know you could sublease an apt for a small period of time and then get it back afterwards, crazy.