I need help. I've switched majors and I'm having an academic crisis....

Student Lounge College Life
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Before I even started college, I knew I wanted to go into medicine. So, I chose to major in Biology Pre-Professional (pre-med). Because I planned on going to med school, I decided to add a second major: Psychology. I thought that a background in Psychology would give me a leg up later down the road. I guess maybe it did.

Throughout the past few years, I’ve been taking a mix of Psychology and pre-med courses, such as Physics, Biology, and Chemistry. I’ve done pretty well with the Psych stuff, mostly B’s and A’s, but have had setbacks with the natural sciences - a lot of them. I have had to take some courses more than once, and barely passed some of the others. This wasn’t because I’m dumb. I have a lot of trouble with attention AND I have bipolar disorder (diagnosed, not medicated) which makes it difficult to maintain consistent motivation, which is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY when taking courses such as Calculus based University Physics and Organic Chemistry.

I’ve currently finished roughly 3/4 finished of my Bio degree, and I’m only lacking 2 classes to finish my Psych degree. There are 2 major problems I’m faced with. 1) What medical school is going to accept me with the grades I’ve received for their required courses? and 2) I’m almost out of financial aid, so it will be physically impossible for me to finish the Bio degree anyway.

Since I can graduate with Psych in May of 2016, I’m going to abandon the Biology degree along with my dreams of going to medical school.

I’ve always known that my interests were neurological in nature; I planned on specializing in Neurology once in med school. With my primary focus now shifting to Psychology, I’ve learned that there are plenty of areas within the realm of Psychology that will allow me to do the same thing I’ve always wanted to do, if not more, such as Cognitive Neuropsychology or Psychobiology.

So why am I depressed?

I know part of the answer. My GPA is irreparable. The stress and anxiety of failing or barely skimming by in the science courses majorly interfered with my progress in the other courses required by the University, such as Literature and History. My transcript does not look good. Another reason I think I lay in bed at night unable to sleep is because I truly feel like I’ve given up on my dreams, which I have, but not really. I’m still going to be doing what I’ve dreamed of (except without the white coat) but the method has changed. I’ve wasted so much time and money working toward a degree that I won’t even get.

I just feel like a complete idiot and a complete failure, and I believe that any graduate admission committee will glance at my transcript and think the same thing.

It may be silly, but there are times that the thought of suicide wears on me because what I wanted to be my life for so many years seems to have just dissipated (this could be the bipolar talking, and I plan on seeing someone).

So… I think I just want to see if anyone else has ever been in a slightly similar situation…

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First of all it is a good idea to see someone to help you sort through your feelings and to do a safety assessment since you are mentioning suicidal thoughts. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, please take care of yourself.

What you are going through sounds like you have reached a reality crossroads. You have an opportunity to successfully complete a degree before running out of financial aid. That’s a big deal. You have to reorganize because you are facing giving up your original plan, one that may not be realistic, for an alternative more realistic plan. These are the tough situations of adult life and are never easy. You can go in a related field via psychology, though you may have to do some grade repair before pursuing grad school. Make sure to do as well as you can before you graduate.

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Good luck.

4

Take that psych degree and celebrate your accomplishment! You’ve not had a smooth ride, so grab that degree with enthusiasm!
You don’t need a bio degree to go to med school. Just the essential coursework. (Bio, chem, physics, o chem, etc) lots of people go to med school with a psych major bachelors degree.

If your GPA is very low, yes, you may not be a strong candidate for med schools, but dropping your bio major does not = giving up that dream.

As for what to do next, you could pursue a post baccalaureate program in a push to apply to med school.
You could look into graduate programs in psych/neuroscience if that is your interest.
You could pursue training to be a licensed therapist - if a “helping profession” is your goal.
You can look into schools with somewhat less rigorous applications, like PA programs - the salary is great, the loans and training time are a lot less, and you can easily find jobs where the day to day work is essentially same as a physician.

5

There are (literally) tens of thousand of students graduating every year with bio degrees that had hoped for med school, but don’t have the grades or MCAT scores to get in. You are not alone! You need to replan & regroup, but don’t think you are the only one. It is good that you are getting a degree, and it appears to be in a field you have some interest in.

I very much agree that you need to see someone to work through this. Also, not sure why your bipolar disorder is non-medicated, but please consider medication for this. For your sake, and for those around you, medication can make a huge difference in your quality of life. Good luck!

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Take the degree, and run! As others have said, you are not alone. The stats on premed kids who don’t end up in med school are much higher than those that do. Do not feel like you are alone here! Be open minded about your career prospects and think ‘outside the box’. Are you a junior? Perhaps a study abroad program would be good for you, to open up your mind to the possibilities outside of your premed world. You could finish some of your non-science course work and have a life experience. Good Luck, and chin up!