Hello college confidential!
I’m a fourth year from San Jose working on a biological sciences degree working to become a doctor at UC Davis. Around junior year, I realized that I made a big mistake choosing my major. I would never be happy working in this field knowing that I squandered my dreams to achieve financial security. I always had a deep inclination toward the arts so I made up my mind to be a design major and put my artistic talent to use. I want to go back to school for design after I finish my degree at my UC, preferably somewhere near the bay area. Since I just recently made up my mind, spending most of my life preparing to be a doctor, I’m completely lost as to what to do. Most schools don’t offer post-bachelors degrees and art schools are too expensive. I’m also considering graduate school. It’d be great if I could get some pointers like where to start researching or even specific schools to look at. Any advice would be appreciated!
VERY IMPORTANT: If you get your BA, you will no longer be eligible for financial aid.
The following paragraph applies if you need any sort of financial aid to attend a UC or college:
What you need to do is… continue at Davis and switch majors. Since you’re in your 4th year, you have probably completed all your gen eds, right? So, all you you’ll need to do is complete your new major, which you should be able to do in a couple semesters. You’re eligible for financial aid for 6 years or until your get your BA.
Right now, you must be on track to graduate, right?
So… drop two classes and replace them with art classes. Typical would be one intro to art (creative process) and the intro to design that’s a pre-req for everything else. TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO SWITCH CLASSES FOR WINTER QUARTER!!!
I would suggest Intro to Design 1 and one lower-division art studio classes (numbered 2-12) as a start. if you can drop 3 classes and switch them, add Visual Culture (ART30), because it’ll come in very handy next quarter.
You CANNOT graduate or you won’t be eligible for financial aid, so if necessary drop a class even if you missed the add deadline in order to avoid becoming eligible for graduation.
If you miss that deadline (it’s in a few hours) you can still fix things for Spring quarter and schedule art-related classes from the list above.
For Spring Quarter (or Summer if you must start in the Spring), I would suggest Design and Computer Technology (DES10) or Intro to Media Computation (CTS12), Design 14, Design 15, and Design 37. In two quarters, you’ve covered a first year’s worth of requirements and explored the field.
Can you indicate which of the following classes you’ve already completed?
3 quarters of English
2 quarters of calculus
2 quarters of statistics
3 quarters in social science, including sociology and psychology
3 quarters each of chemistry, physics, biology, organic chemistry
2 quarters of related science, including biochemistry and possibly neuroscience
2 quarters of diversity-focused classes
3 quarters in a foreign language spoken by an immigrant group
If you’ve completed those or most of those, you’re good for med school even with an art degree. In fact, applying as an art major may well help you stand out in a pool of bio majors. So, you get to have the best of both worlds. In addition, artists who can illustrate science books are in high demand. 
So, no matter what you want to do with your life, you keep your options open. (These points will come in handy if your parents start freaking out).
References:
https://www.ucdavis.edu/majors/art-studio
https://www.ucdavis.edu/majors/art-history
https://www.ucdavis.edu/majors/design
https://www.ucdavis.edu/majors/sustainable-environmental-design
Hi MYO S1634,
Thanks so much for all the detailed advice!
I have completed most of the classes, including gen eds, you’re wondering about except for
1 quarter of Physics,
1 more quarter of foreign language,
1 quarter of Biochemistry
and about three depth subject matter science courses - all of which I would probably finish by Summer or at latest Fall.
I read this too late and since then the add classes deadline has passed. Besides that, however I’m not sure if I should stay in Davis for extra few years to complete a design degree while never finishing my Biology BA degree that I’m about two quarters away from getting. According to the design major requirements which involves 72 units overall, it would take me probably an additional 2 years to finish so I’m not sure if I should commit to it. I will definitely consider it and talk to others about it though but for now I’d like to look through all of my possible options. Here’s the course requirements below:
http://catalog.ucdavis.edu/programs/DES/DESreqt.html
If I wanted to take an alternative path and go back to school somewhere closer to or within San Jose, would you have any knowledge as to what I could do?
Davis is the easiest path for you: you don’t have to go through another application, they have an excellent, well-received design major with networking opportunities and if you just take the right classes you’re still eligible for financial aid.
The trick would be for you to add your 6 missing classes while you take your design major classes, so that you graduate with a design degree as well as a bio degree.
If you graduate, you won’t be eligible for financial aid for a new BA. It means you’ll need to find work in biology (and this is rather hard to do compared to other majors - biology majors must apply to “any college degree” type of positions where they compete with English majors, etc.) and save sufficient money for you to start from scratch elsewhere. While some of your credits will transfer, you’re looking at a minimum of 2 years anyway, but without the benefits of financial aid; you’d need to plan for a few years of full time work before you can embark on this plan. SJSU would be a possibility and as a CA resident, you’d pay about $7,000 for 6 units, so after 2 years of saving you could start part-time - unless your parents are willing to fund you (be aware that few parents would pay for a 2nd BA after you graduate college, it’s viewed differently from a dual major where you get funding- especially a 2nd major that can enhance your career prospects, ie., stand out for med school and open up medical/scientific illustration as a possible career field. I know those are not your primary goals but keep those in mind.)