<p>Hello everyone. I just joined this thread because I need some guidance right now. I am currently enrolled as a freshman in St. Johns University in the 4 year Physician's Assistant program. I was mostly pressured to do this program by family. They wanted me to "try it". By that I mean they wanted me to strictly stick with that career path and successfully complete it. The program is REALLY hard. It really is so hard that the program is becoming a five year course for future freshman. I am struggling so much and I don't even believe I will make the gpa cutoff. Even if I will I do not plan on sticking with this as the thought of not doing what you enjoy (graphic design) keeps haunting me. I really want to attend a graphic design school in NYC for the spring 2014 semester. I am interested in SVA, Parson School of Design, and Pratt. That is what I'm really interested in. The problem is that Spring 2014 apps are past due. I want to have a clean start because my grades at St Johns are not up to par. I really would like to know what I should do. I've began to explain to my mother why I do not want to do PA, and she becomes so sensitive because her and my father think the medical field is the only profession. My older siblings are doing MD and one is doing dental. I'm the youngest and they really expect me to do something similar. Please help. Thank you.</p>
<p>Unless you have your own money socked away somewhere and can pay the full cost of your education without your parents’ help, you need to find a way to discuss your career goals with them. Try speaking with your dad without your mom around because she gets so disturbed about the possibility of you changing your major. If he will support a change, he can probably help her understand why this is the right thing for you. Just letting them know that you aren’t happy with your major and want to take a semester off to work and think things through might help them start to accept things.</p>
<p>For the present, do your best to pull your grades up. You will need to send that transcript when you apply somewhere else and you want it to look as good as possible even if you are going into a different field of study. </p>
<p>If you have a spare moment, stop by your advisor’s office and ask what steps you would need to follow to take a leave of absence. You could even set it all up except the final signature or whatever, and then send the paperwork in after you’ve had a chance to talk with your parents, and they’ve agreed to let you take some time off. I’d also recommend that you organize all the stuff you have with you at college so that it can be easily shipped home to you if you don’t go back for the second semester.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your insight!! I was totally unaware that my transcript will go to the schools, because I’m not planning on having any of the credits transferred. I was actually considering taking a semester off and retaking my SATs for a higher score. I don’t know if that would be a smart move. I feel I would also qualify for a better scholarship. And then apply for the Fall 2014 semester. In the meantime I will try to find a job. That idea still seems a little far fetched. I thought you know it would be easier for my parents to take in the fact that I’m changing careers if I’m still going to school the next semester rather than changing careers and taking 8 months off. I feel that even if my parents do not support me career wise, they will still help me financially. They do want me to get a college education something my parents weren’t able to complete, I’m just really scared to disappoint them because they had such high expectations from me like my siblings, and hurt them when I let them know that I wasted their money at my first semester in St. Johns. That was a primary reason why I didn’t want him to pay because I knew if I didn’t do well, that that money is going to waste. But he insisted he pay because the loans were going to go get approved through him anyways, so he said if he has the means to pay why get charged interest and I can just “borrow” it from him. I guess I can add that to my personal tab. Also, I should have mentioned I commute! lol</p>
<p>You will have to send the transcripts when you apply to the different institutions. Whether or not any of the credits are accepted as transfer credits is entirely up to the receiving institution. With only a semester of credits in an unrelated field, it would not be surprising at all if none of them count toward the other degree program. But do ask. They may cover some of your Gen Ed courses.</p>
<p>I’d advise a leave of absence because it is silly to keep spending money on something that isn’t useful for your future. You also should thank your dad for not co-signing loans for you. On your own you can only borrow $5,500 your freshman year, which would have been just $2,750 for the first semester. Anything more than that would have been too much debt for you to take on.</p>