That’s hard. Which healthcare majors would allow me to major/minor in a completely different field? My parents don’t like Psychology or Therapy.
She usually has to transfer at Rahway before going to New Brunswick.
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What would a compromise look like?
What about a double major, as was suggested? Biology (or something else that fulfills med school prerequisites) + something else.
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You said pre-law would be acceptable? Since there is no “pre-law” major at most colleges (because any major can apply to law school), any major should count for that. Can you declare yourself “Pre-law” to your family, commit to taking the LSAT and applying to some law schools, and be allowed to take the major you want?
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You might consider applying to a few colleges with outstanding financial aid where you might be able to cover any remaining costs (if any) with a student loan/summer earnings. That way you could study what you want and live on campus if you’d like - if your parents aren’t paying they don’t get a say in what you major in.
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I’ll present an alternate view….why don’t you compromise. Do some major that could be a premed or prelaw intention, and pick up another major or a minor in the fields you would like to study too. This IS possible.
We know a kid who was a bioengineering major who picked up a double major in biology, and also completed all the required courses for medical school applicants.
If an engineering major could pick up a second major…certainly you can too.
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Perhaps a major like public health? It could be useful for a future related to healthcare but could also be a reporting specialty, including for international public health issues…
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Nutritional Sciences is another major that can be tied into journalism.
Please let us know what a compromise with your parents might look like. That will allow us to provide additional assistance.
The law school idea noted above is a good one.
OP- you seem determined to take the long route around the mountain.
If it were me in your situation- I’d be figuring out the best way to maximize a Rutgers education. Period, full stop. It has fantastic departments in statistics, poli sci, philosophy… all of which are terrific preparation for a career as a journalist. Epidemiology is fantastic training for a journalist-- think of every dumb article you’ve read about Covid in the last three years, written by someone who cannot interpret a chart of graph. Think of every dumb news story you’ve heard about vaccines- again, written by someone who doesn’t understand vaccines.
Health Care is a rising component of GDP everywhere in the world, so becoming a subject matter expert on health care- AND having a book of clips (blogs, news articles, even press releases) that you have written as an undergrad- whether as a volunteer, intern, or for pay-- is the magic ticket in a very competitive field.
You want international? Guess what- a journalist who can compare New Zealand’s response to Covid to China? Or can help explain mortality rates in Italy vs. Scotland based on how their governments reacted? Golden. There are a handful of writers who can do this effectively. And if you don’t believe me- read ANYTHING by Atul Gawande- and compare it to your local newspaper or Channel 7 coverage on pretty much any disease- cancer, covid, obesity, diabetes-- there are a handful of writers who can cover these very complicated topics effectively.
College is four years; your life is your life and it will happen when you graduate, move out, get on with your career.
Pace instead of Rutgers? An insane commute- two hours each way-- for a university with fewer resources and a worse reputation than Rutgers? Why would you do that?
If your parents will pay for Rutgers, and you can find a combination of classes which scratch your itch to write and report, and makes them happy that you are studying something science-related and useful- you are done.
Take some time to read publications which cover malaria, polio- diseases which we have known how to eradicate for decades-- and yet are still with us. You can fulfill your passions as a journalist while learning HOW to cover these complicated topics. Your parents will sit through graduation beaming that “someday” you will apply to med school with an undergrad degree in public health or biostatistics or epidemiology or “health and society”-- and you can launch yourself.
The hours a day you are proposing to spend on a train could be spent collaborating with other students on a writing project to examine nutritional deficiencies in NJ public school students. Or an expose on the lack of access to insulin in Newark, Trenton and Patterson for medicare/medicaid patients. I hear a Pulitzer prize in the making.
Why would you spend that extra time on the train???
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List of well know Rutgers journalists. Pretty impressive.
JournalismEdit
- Spencer Ackerman, Class of 2002, journalist for The Daily Beast
- Joan Acocella, Class of 1984, journalist, author, dance critic for The New Yorker
- Martin Agronsky, Class of 1936, pioneering TV journalist
- Amanda Alcantara, Class of 2012, writer and activist
- Carrie Budoff Brown, editor of Politico
- Lisa Daftari, foreign affairs investigative journalist for “The Foreign Desk”
- Stuart Diamond, journalist, New York Times, Pulitzer Prize. Author, Getting More, NY Times bestseller
- Dylan Dreyer, meteorologist
- Rich Edson, Class of 2003, Washington correspondent, Fox News Channel[27]
- Mike Emanuel, journalist, Chief Congressional Correspondent and former White House Correspondent for Fox News Channel
- Nick Gillespie, Class of 1985, journalist, editor
- Bernard Goldberg, Class of 1967, journalist
- Jerry Izenberg, Class of 1952, Emmy-winning sports journalist
- Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, Class of 2014, author and tech entrepreneur
- Jeff Koyen, Class of 1991, journalist and entrepreneur
- Gene Lyons, Class of 1952, political columnist
- Chi Modu, Class of 1989, photo-journalist[28]
- Natalie Morales, Class of 1994, journalist and correspondent for The Today Show
- Richard Newcomb, Class of 1962, journalist and author, best-selling author of Iwo Jima! and Abandon Ship!
- James O’Keefe, Class of 2006, political activist
- Wendy Osefo, Class of 2016 (Camden, PhD), political commentator and assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University.
- Rebecca Quick, Class of 1993, journalist and anchor (CNBC Squawk Box)
- Larry Stark, Class of 1956, Boston journalist and theater critic, Theater Mirror
- Mike Taibbi, Class of 1971, journalist and correspondent for NBC Nightly News
- Milton Viorst, Class of 1951, journalist, author, Middle East scholar
- Cathy Young, Class of 1988, journalist and non-fiction author
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See this RU alumna
https://alumni.comminfo.rutgers.edu/
“ This year, we are proud to present the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award to journalist Vivian Salama SC&I‘00, LC‘00. Salama is a national security reporter for The Wall Street Journal. She has covered U.S. foreign policy and national security issues for nearly two decades, reporting from more than 80 countries. A New York native, Salama earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University. She holds a master’s degree in Middle East politics from Columbia University and a law degree from Georgetown. Since moving to Washington in 2016, Salama has covered the White House and national security for The Wall Street Journal, CNN, NBC News, and the Associated Press, with a focus on foreign policy.”
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I’m not sure. I think that might work, since every time I tell them I want to be a journalist, not go to med school, they say “Do both.” That doesn’t really work, but I think that means they’ll compromise when the time comes. Maybe not Biology, but something else like Clinical Lab Science.
I’m hoping they might agree to Criminal Justice with a minor in Journalism or something.
Hopefully. My brother-in-law is a lawyer so he’ll vouch for me, say it’s a good major. I haven’t discussed the law route with them that much.
I’m thinking of doing that by applying to Central Michigan State University- my brother goes there for med school so they might let me stay there.
I hope you’re right. That’s probably going to be the final deal.
You won’t be able to pay the costs to attend Central Michigan without financial help from your parents. Cost of attendance is $27,000 a year or so. I guess if you lived with your sibling, this could be possible as Central Michigan doesn’t charge more for OOS students. Tuition cost is in the $13,000 a year range.
If they say to do both, then they should be ok with a double major, yes?
I actually wouldn’t mind doing that.
The thing is, my parents don’t want me to do anything too generic, even if it’s STEM or healthcare-related. If I went to a college they approved of, they might let me do what I want (or vice versa). Their two concerns are whether my major(s) will (a) be able to get me a job right after graduation, and (b) lead me to become a doctor.
I’m hoping to convince them to take the law school path instead.
I guess I haven’t been very clear on my situation.
There is no way I can go to Rutgers, ever. I am aware that it has fantastic opportunities, but if I enroll, those won’t be available to me either way.
If I enroll into Rutgers, I will do what my older brother and my older sister have done, and are doing- a Pharmacy program, then med school right after. No question. My parents will take charge of my academic life and leave nothing for what I want to do. They won’t approve of anything in Statistics, Journalism, Political Science- just health care, not healthcare-related journalism, just health care. If I go to Rutgers, I can’t compromise on anything. I will work at a Pharmacy, spend tens of thousands on med school, then become a doctor for the rest of my life. I won’t have another choice.
That is why I’m exploring other opportunities, even if they’re not as close or expansive as Rutgers. It’s too bad, but it is what it is.
You would get a job after graduation, but it might not be a job they approve of. My daughter was a biology major and had no problem getting a job (her jobs were more “gap year” type jobs).