<p>Have you heard of anyone deciding to drop out of college in the second semester of their junior year, basically one year before their senior year? Or even transferring to another school for their senior year and basically starting over again?</p>
<p>Maybe I'm just going through a rough path and angry at myself because I never found my niche academically at my school, although I do love my current school dearly. Or maybe I'm ticked off because I didn't apply to transfer during the second semester of my sophomore year and instead forcing myself through a major that is not bringing me any satisfaction. (I need to stop rambling on).</p>
<p>I was the one weeks ago who complained how much she hated English (despite her love for reading). I realized it is impossible to switch majors (I wanted to do Biology, although if my school offered it, I would do communication disorders since I am going to graduate school for it).</p>
<p>I wanted to talk to my parents about it when they drove me back to school this morning, but I don't know how to initiate it. I think part of the reason why I feel reluctant to talk to them about it is the financial guilt. They paid for my three years here and now I'm transferring? What a selfish daughter!</p>
<p>I'm devising a plan so it could work out. I figure if I transfer to this other school for my senior year, I can pursue a communication disorders major. Sure I will be stuck at the school for two extra years, but when I go to graduate school, I won't have to spend 3 years but less since I will have pursued the major. I don't know. I just needed somewhere to vent. But thanks for reading...</p>
<p>Well, first of all, I understand where you’re coming from. </p>
<p>I too dislike my school and am so angry at myself for spending as many years as I did here. Transferring or dropping out/attending CC/then transferring would have been a great option…two years ago. Now, not so much.</p>
<p>If you talk to people about it they’ll say “stick it out” or “at this point if you drop out you’ll never go back” or all kinds of stupid, crazy things that don’t look at all of the nuances of the situation or really address how you are feeling personally.</p>
<p>That said, you don’t seem to have a solid plan.</p>
<p>You may drop out?</p>
<p>You may transfer?</p>
<p>You may attend graduate school?</p>
<p>What exactly are you looking to do? </p>
<p>I think first things first, you need to have a defined plan. Then, evaluate this defined plan: are you going to be happier pursuing communications disorders than you are now? How do you know? Did you write up a new plan for completing your major (course schedule, years it would take, cost)? And why do you think this would reduce your time spent in grad school? Have you gone to academic advising at your uni and have they confirmed this? Are there alternatives, i.e. can you stay at your current school and simply switch majors? </p>
<p>Yeah, it’s not set in stone yet, I’m just speaking out of my disjointed thoughts.</p>
<p>I’m going to spend the rest of the day weighing my options and the next two months deciding before the application is due. I’m in the process of researching right now. I don’t really want to drop out, but I would prefer to transfer. I will have to weigh the cost and see how much it would take me to complete a degree.</p>
<p>The reason why it would reduce my time spent in grad school is that I’m applying to a graduate school for a MS in Speech language pathology, but coming in as a non-major. It would take me 3 years. If I come in having a BA/BS in Communication Disorders, it not only gives me a broader option of schools to apply to, but also, I spend only 2 years.</p>
<p>If I stay at my current school and switch majors it will be difficult. I can’t take summer courses since I’m working full time, 5 days a week from June to the end of August. It would be too hectic to cram in 2 summer classes to catch up on a new major.</p>
<p>So it seems that to graduate on time (if you switch majors and stay at your school) it would require 2 summer classes. If you can’t do that, you’d have to take a 9th semester.</p>
<p>Now, wouldn’t it be better to do that than spend an extra two YEARS at another school? Plus probably cheaper for your parents too (when you consider the cost of housing).</p>
<p>It would be pretty bad if you wound up transferring to the other school… only to find that you might not like that major.</p>
<p>We’re in a somewhat similar situation. Right now I’m a soc. major and am on track to graduate 1-2 semesters early (great–save some money, right?), but I’ll probably have to live under an overpass if I just stick with that. I want to transfer to the health/rehab science school to add speech pathology, but I will probably wind up having to become a 5th year senior/add $20,000+ more debt to my tab (well, maybe). Sigh…
I think your current plan of weighing options, etc. is good–you don’t want to make a rash decision and then regret it. It’s good that you still have a few months to think things through, so just take the time to make the best long-term choice. If you do decide to transfer, would you be able to secure scholarships/fin. aid? If you are planning to get into the education side of speech pathology, maybe you could look into those specialized loans and/or Teach for America, which I hear may help pay for grad school. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>I considered it, but it was for financial reasons. Returning for senior year would double my debt, and it seemed to be the most responsible thing to do would be to drop out and pay that off before coming back so I would at no point have an unmanageable debt load, it would have been broken into two reasonable chunks instead of one massive life destroying burden. But my parents told me they would pretty much disown me if I did that, so I am back at school. Not sure if I made the right decision, but the time to worry about that has passed. </p>
<p>If it were me, I would finish where I am and then study speech pathology in grad school. I think approaching it as a non-major would be better for my education of the subject than trying to cram in a last minute major change. Not to mention the damage that transferring can do. It can really make your educational experiences more disjointed than desirable, it is sometimes the right thing to do but you have to consider what effect the lack of continuity in your study will have on your overall education. Not to mention the personal pressure it puts on you to go through such a rapid life change right in the middle of the most rigorous part of your education to date. For me, I don’t think that I’d be able to get the most out of my education if I transferred right now and changed majors. But that’s just me. For me, financial concerns would also be a major issue, and if your parents are paying for your UG you need to discuss this with them before you become particularly attached to any one option. They are going to have some ideas of their own, and if they hold the purse strings you will have to listen to them. It’s easy to say “oh well this is what’s going to make me happy so if I have to I’ll go it alone,” but that is really, really misguided-- take it from someone who had to consider dropping out with one year to go due to finances.</p>
<p>I know, it does seem silly of me to transfer just to spend an extra year studying a different major :(</p>
<p>I will add though, that the college that I am looking at will cost (tuition alone) around the same price that my parents are paying at my current state school (tuition + room and board). However, I will opt not to live on campus and just rely on a 20-30 minute commute from home.</p>
<p>I will go visit the school next Saturday (when they have their open house) so I can talk with an adviser about if my credits will transfer so that I can just focus on the Comm. Disorder major (which is 39 credits). I’ll try and map out a plan with them to see how long it will take me to graduate. From there, I will have a discussion with my parents and make a decision by the end of December (deadline for fall transfer is February)</p>
<p>While I will be spending an additional 13,000+ bucks, my stay at graduate school (if I get accepted) will be cut down to 2 years, as opposed to 3+ years since I will be entering with a BA/BS in Communication Disorders. So I figured everything will even out.</p>
<p>And sure I could spend an extra semester at my current school if I switch to another major, but I prefer to spend an extra semester doing a major that will help me be on task to my graduate studies instead of some random major like sociology and not feel like I’m progressing in any way.</p>
<p>I mean, it does sound crazy and maybe I’m just going through a mid-undergraduate (and major) crisis that is making me thinking about everything so fast. I have two months to think about :(</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies so far guys. I really appreciate it.</p>