<p>Duckwoman, I went to a college with THE premed rep. I can't begin to tell you how many times I have seen this happen, and parents go nuts to the point they disown the kid. (one I remember in particular is now a hotshot attorney after graduating with a poli sci major). Let him have a break from the sciences. If he can do well in any subject, he can take the handful of premed courses later and take up where he left off. Or for that matter go into the sciences. If he half heartedly takes those courses due to parental disappointment and pressure, and does not do well, the option is more difficult to exercise. My close friend, and former dear neighbor is in medical school right now and she is 53 years old. Another woman I have known for years has just started med school this year and she is in her mid forties. She switched from a bio major to (gasp! horrors!) art and has lived hand to mouth for many years but loved what she was doing and now is ready. I know several classmates who went back to take the "premed package" now being offered by other schools, and are now doctors and dentists. One friend of my husband was got his MBA and was an early success on Wall Street and decided that it was not for him, and that he would be happier as a doctor. He is certainly not one that anyone can accuse of going into medicine for the money!
I know a wonderful psychiatrist who is working for much less money than he would be making had he stuck to oncology, for which he has a fellowship. He told me that his father, a big time surgeon, was depressed, enraged, disappointed for years when he announced his switch into the field at a time when pickings were slim for shrinks as insurance limitations were becoming more stringent for mental illnesses. The idea that he was going into a field specializing in drug addictions particularly galled his father who had made his mission in life saving those who wanted to live against odds, and regarded drug addicts as those who want to throw their lives away. </p>
<p>My son took a leave from college at the end of junior year, because he did not know what he wanted to major in, and hated everything. I would have been thrilled had he decided to be a psychology major or even a basket weaving major at that point. I just wanted that piece of paper and completion. I told him he was majoring in graduating from college, and I didn't care whether he hated the course of study. Most of my friends agreed with me. But it was not my choice. He was at a top 25 university and could have majored in nearly anything, talent wise. His heart just was not in academia at the time. And I have paid enough into the world of psychology for him and other members of the family that I have respect for the field. You, Northstarmom and I should make a date to celebrate when our boys finally becoming self sufficient. As upset as I have been with him, one thing I can say is that I let him grow up with his own mindsets as both you and NSM have done with your sons. With parental pressures at its peek these days to pursue the traditional paths, that is quite an achievement.</p>
<p>Many years ago, I was a pre-med major and ended up as a psychology major - then have had a varied life as a Naval officer, missionary, piano teacher, corporate administrator and math teacher. </p>
<p>My DD was a chemistry major - was a Goldwater Scholar, is presently a Fulbright Fellow doing drug research in Brazil. She informed us a couple of months ago that she can't see herself spending her life in a lab and isn't even sure whether to continue to pursue chemistry. Her real passion? Writing and translating.</p>
<p>It's her life and we're rooting for her wherever her heart leads.</p>
<p>We told our DS (a freshman) that even if though he thinks he wants to be a computer science major, he should keep his mind open and get a well-rounded education. He's doesn't need to commit to anything before discovering his passions.</p>
<p>Be careful not to let your parental expectations and dreams for your student be a burden on him/her.</p>
<p>If I could start over, I doubt I would go into the sciences. Too much work and competition for very little money. If you work for industry you learn quickly about being expendable. Scientists are often hired and fired to meet short term needs. Forget about recognition. Society still views scientists as mad and lacking common sense.</p>
<p>Thirty years ago, I planned on majoring in dentistry and changed my major to theatre at the parents student orientation. I had only seen one live play in my life up to that point (Jack and the Beanstalk, when I was 8), but I read plays and dreamed of being in the theatre. I had no idea what I was going
to do in the theatre, I just wanted to be around it. I figured if not now, when? My mom had a fit! Absolutely bonkers! Days later, after she calmed down, she sat me down and told me she was diappointed in my decision, but realized she had to have faith in me. She told me to learn how to type, the best advice I'd ever had, because I supported myself for the first five years in NY by typing in between low paying gigs. I'm now a quite successful costume designer. I don't regret changing my major.</p>
<p>I'm a pure humanities type (English major) and my H is a humanities/science type (philosophy/biology, later MD, now HS bio teacher). I wanted little lit majors; H pulled for science--we now have a poli sci grad D and and junior S majoring in psych. S doesn't know what he wants to do with it, though he does figure that if he makes it in his number one professional aspiration--professional poker player-- it will come in handy.</p>
<p>As an academic research psychologist with a PhD and someone who was dissecting the ventral medial nucleus of the rat brain as an undergraduate psychology major, I got more than a little pinch out of this post. I would suggest doing a bit more homework about the depth and breadth of empirical scientific research within psychology before you emote over your child's choice of major. I assure you that he will be challenged and his talents will not be wasted if he pursues this field of study. Feel free to PM me if you want more specific information about the field or reassurances.</p>
<p>Sometimes changes like these have an underlying component of self selected remediation........or at least the idea of learning about something a little different than what you're already good at. </p>
<p>He can always pick up the premed thing later if the spirit moves him. Apparently med schools today look favorably on those guys who go off in one direction and then decide to become doctors after all. As long as they don't take too long to decide.</p>
<p>Duckwoman, Your son is still in high school. He will most likely change his major again (and possibly again) in the next few years. Don't worry about liberal arts -- even disciplines that are no where near science like music or art history -- can lead directly to medical school, including the most selective.</p>
<p>Good luck on the search. At this point his intended major should be low on the consideration totem pole. Focus on fit and finance and he'll be fine.</p>
<p>As John Adams put it:
"I must study politics and war that my sons have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain."</p>
<p>Oh what a great thread! A lot of awesome responses!</p>
<p>Why is it so common to assume that intelligent people must have medical or scientific careers? There are many different ways to engage and express one's intelligence! I suspect a lot of the disappointment must stem from financial reasons.</p>
<p>I had always assumed my son would be working for NASA one day - he was outhinking the high school Robotics teacher with his designs in 5th grade, building websites in 8th grade, and bored in his physics class (except for the math part) in 9th grade. By the time he was 10, he had subscriptions to Discover, Scientific American, Science News...the computer mags came a bit later and paid off - he can now (at 17) hold his own with the software engineers where I work.</p>
<p>But guess what: he recently announced to me that he now finds science b-o-r-i-n-g! He said that he sees no point in analyzing and calculating the physical reality, when the HUMAN MIND is SO much more fascinating! </p>
<p>Amazing! He has always been this 'science' kid but seems to have exhausted his interest in it!</p>
<p>I would be thrilled if he pursued Psychology, or anything else that he is interested in. I am very happy that he is interested in working with people.</p>
<p>I am also thrilled to find so many other parents whose kids made similar decisions!</p>
<p>And, good point about the Philosophy. He hasn't taken that yet either, and it's already happened just with Literature and German. He loves his German class so much (largely due to the Berkeley prof) that he is toying with the idea of Linguistics, and last week he said that he finds the discussion of the human spirit finding its expression thru poetry was much more fascinating than math or science.</p>
<p>Mom, You should be proud. He is living his life. You gave him a path to follow and it opened his eyes to other interests. He is still young let him go, follow his heart. I'M SURE HE'LL BE FINE. Love to both of you.</p>
<p>Many kids cause some cracks in the old heart as they live their lives their way making mistakes that make us cringe. I always say that if I had a weak heart, I'd long be dead. I just hope that the mistakes they makes, the disagreements about which path to take are not serious. When kids do truly harmful, dangerous, illegal things, and many of them do at one time or other, we are often helpless to stop them from making those mistakes. Any parent who has children who never indulged in such activities is so fortunate. I would pick my battles carefully.</p>
<p>I am an MD and a psychiatrist and think majoring in Psychology or a humanities subject is a fabulous way to broaden yourself as a person and to introduce you to a variety of career options ranging from pure liberal arts to hard core science. I ended up majoring in Chemistry to allow myself to take as many liberal arts courses as possible before going to med school (only needed one course beyond my major). Psychiatry is a wonderful field to go into---a great mix of the science and art of medicine, job opportunities all over the country, a great lifestyle, very interesting patients and wonderful colleagues. I have no regrets and am encouraging my pre-med son to major in a liberal arts subject!</p>
<p>
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I snuck into classes like ethics, economics and history to avoid taking any real arts or humanities in school.
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</p>
<p>Ha ha...I took Geology (aka "Rocks") in my freshman year just to avoid Chemistry and/or Physics. I am a CPA. My daughter is a Geology major. Funny how life turns out.</p>
<p>How many of us stay with one interest or career for our lives? I was a psychology major, went on to get a tech engineering degree, then returned to graduate school for counseling. All my careers have been interesting, and what I wanted to do at the time.</p>
<p>My son, music major, was also national merit scholar, won awards for math and science in high school, and writes beautifully. He is doing what he loves for now, and if he wants to change at some point, good for him! </p>
<p>We live a long time now, and our interests and careers can vary dramatically from decade to decade. It's hard to live life just working for a paycheck, and much better to pursue your dreams.</p>
<p>I don't know if I am odd or not in this group. I honestly never cared what my kids majored in. As long as they are going after their interests and are happy doing so, and are motivated and have some direction, I don't see why it matters. I'm happy if they are happy. </p>
<p>I have one kid who has known her major from a VERY young age and is now pursuing it in college: Musical Theater. I have another who entered college with some direction and interest but not a firm commitment to pursue Architecture. She has explored it more in college and is majoring in Architectural Studies and will go onto graduate school for Architecture. She is overseas right now studying in her major. I enjoy observing their process and I support anything they choose to go into. </p>
<p>I didn't realize the OP's son is still in HS. Many students enter college with the most popular major: undecided. Many also enter with one intended major and change it. Part of college is exploring and figuring out direction. So, even if your son says Psych now, he could change his mind after some college level work and experiences. If he doesn't, so what. Many different majors can lead to a variety of careers and grad schools. Many adults' jobs are not necessarily in the field they majored in back in college. He is getting an education, which is the main thing. Even if he majors in Psych, besides careers in that field, that major can lead to many different types of graduate schools, not all for Psych either. On the bright side, as a HS kid, it is great that he has given it thought, has some idea of what he may wish to pursue, a bit of direction. Some have no clue, which is OK too. College is a good time to figure it out.</p>
<p>PS, I'm not sure why it matters so much if he has a 780 on the math SAT and doesn't go into a related field. I had one kid get that on the math SAT too and I guess her field does use math. My other kid was also a very good math student and is going into a field that uses NO math. I just think they'll use their "smarts" in whatever they do.</p>
<p>My S got an 800 for CR but isn't fond of english or lit courses. He has always liked math & science & computers, so he will see how well engineering meets these interests for now. We've told him he's free to follow his path wherever it leads. He entered college with lots of credits from APs, so if he wants to switch to another field from engineering, he may still be able to graduate in 4 years or less. :) Of course, how long it takes them to graduate isn't the main thing, but it is nice if they aren't perpetual students with expensive tuition, at least from our perspective.</p>