I'm having a pre-transfer crisis and am not sure if I should go to college now. Please help!

Career Opportunities & Internships
1

I’m freaking out a little here. I don’t know what to do–I put 3 years of my life into this and I feel like such a fool for doing so…please bear with me. This is going to be a little rambly because I have a really bad headache right now…

Initially I had a bit of an interest in some things and took quite a few classes related to business, environmental science, and economics–they felt intriguing and natural to me. In the meanwhile, I fulfilled all my IGETCs in ignorant bliss, thinking that I was doing just fine academically…what no one told me was what happens when you transfer over to a university.

It turns out that the actual major at the one I’m transferring to (UCSD) requires 5+ calculus classes to pursue economics and it has layers of pre-reqs piled up on one another…on top of it, the major is capped along with most of the other ones I’m interested in or seem like smart choices and it’s almost impossible to apply for it…I realize that I wouldn’t be able to finish in 2 years even if I put every quarter into working towards it–heck, the fact that all the important classes had dozens of waitlisters by the time I got to them should tell you how bad the situation is. :-S

Financial aid IS on my side (20000 out of 30000$ of my tuition per year will be paid by the college) and I do have 10000$ in savings, but I still feel like this is a horrible goddamned mistake I’m making by even bothering to go…and yet, if I don’t, these past three years at the other college will have mainly been a waste.

I already tested the waters of many of the fields I was interested in and I realize that none of them actually do interest me. I feel like instead I should enroll in some sort of training, trade school, or academy and instead work towards something more clear. I also was interested in pursuing a skill that would enable me to work from home or at my own pace but that still takes time and dedication–and I already wasted enough time at community college…

The issue is that I already have paid the prepayment (450$) for housing and my mom might freak out if I back out now and pursue something else so I don’t want to do that to her. She tried so hard to make sure I was able to attend college and she went through something similar when she was young–her counselor failed to mention a req she needed for a major and that one class made her need to stay there another year.
She decided to drop out instead and…I don’t know, I wouldn’t want to be a repeat of that. However, I did get a degree from the CC for her sake and she was very happy about that at least so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad? :expressionless:

What should I do? I’m looking for ideas here, not just “don’t do it!” I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to just suck it up and soldier on–that’s just what I always do and it never feels good…at this point all I’ll be doing is going through the motions.

Is it a good idea to just try it for a quarter and just take the classes I do like to bide my time? There’s only a quarterly payment plan, so chances are I wouldn’t even have to spend that much out of pocket. I was accepted for a work-study so maybe I could get some work experience while I’m at it? Does that sound like a good idea?

Also, if I were to drop out a quarter in, would I need to reimburse the school for the Grant it paid to me? That’s what I’m assuming.

2

I was wondering what you meant by 5+ calculus courses. I see that UCSD requires a three course sequence Math 10 A,B, and C or the more challenging Math 20 A, B, and C. Have you had precalculus? Then presumably the intermediate micro and maybe macro require the calc as a prerequisite. Are you likely to do well in Math10A?
You should know that UCSD econ is especially math intensive at the grad level, and it looks like their undergrad offerings have some expectation of more math than you were expecting.

Will you be enrolled in Math 10a? Then you might consider trying out this major to see how it goes. If they accepted you into the major, they must think you are prepared.
Note that econ majors at some other colleges do not involve as much math.

3

Sorry for the lack of clarification–I didn’t get accepted into the major likely due to being inadequately prepared. That’s why I mentioned capped majors being an issue to me and part of why I’m having a crisis.
Let me reiterate that I was not fully aware of just how many pre-reqs were required to even get into it…I was just totally ignorant and there’s not much more to say to it.

I haven’t taken Precalc yet. I attempted it back in CC and it ended up being the only class I ever failed, which goes to show just how terrible I am at it. So far I’ve taken three accounting classes, a macro and a micro class, and an environmental economics course. I only did College Algebra and have AP Statistics credit which obviously isn’t sufficient…

If I were to stay, I’d need to choose another degree that isn’t a waste of time, would be able to be finished in 2 years, and that I feel comfortable with learning about. That’s a tall order because it’s so difficult for me to get into anything.

Thanks for the answer though.

(I wish the housing contract wouldn’t be a problem–I think even if I were to drop out now, I still have to pay it for the year or something. :/)

4

So what is your likely major and can you get in it? You sound like you don’t have much of a plan but I am guessing you do have a specific major in mind.

5

What major were you accepted into for UCSD? Will your transfer courses fulfill the Environmental Systems major?

http://physicalsciences.ucsd.edu/programs/esys/esys-major.html

You have until 9/22/16 to cancel your housing contract minus the $450 according to this link;
http://hdh.ucsd.edu/housing/docs/CancellationPolicy-Freshmen-Transfer-2016.pdf

6

Basically, I was bumped to the “Undecided” major. I don’t exactly have another specific major in mind and that’s part of why I am having an existential crisis.
Initially I thought that maybe I’d be interested in political science or environmental science (which I have taken a lot of classes for) as a back-up plan but ENVS requires a lot of chem, calc (4 classes), and bio, which I just don’t have enough of and those are literally my weakest subjects in school. I’d have to stay for at least three years and by then - even if I worked hard - I’d be in a lot of debt. It was stupid of me to ignore how important these classes were back in CC–I should have just gone with something other than these fields but…I don’t know, it feels like there’s next to nothing. And political science just got stale+depressing to me quickly. I’m not even sure if there’s many majors that would easily allow someone like me with next to no proper pre-reqs (besides the IGETC) to graduate in 2 years.

Anyways, “prepayment refund will only be issued 21 days from receipt” bummed me out a little, but the fact that I can cancel by email and that I won’t be faulted for the rest of the quarter’s housing costs brought me a measure of relief. Thanks. I wish there was more info on what would happen if I were to cancel after one quarter, though. I might want to just go, try some classes out, and participate in the work-study program for job experience for a while. Does that sound like an ok plan? Maybe being somewhat self-sufficient for a while will be good for me.

7

I would try being a poli sci major for a semester… Are there any good courses open?

8

To me it sounds like you have little major prep for any of the majors you were originally interested in and it sounds like you might end up staying longer than 2 years regardless of which major you choose at this point. I would sit down with your academic advisor and try to map out a strategy and hopefully they have suggestions on what would be the best path to take. Have you gone to your orientation? I would see if you can talk to some one UCSD now and try to figure things out.

9

The orientation’s next month. Shame that it has to be long after registration.

Right now I’m in the one class that’s required to graduate from my specific college, another one that fulfills the “diversity” req (Communications because I have always been a terrible communicator and I feel like I might as well try to overcome it while I’m at UCSD) and I’m waitlisted for another one that’s something I’ve wanted to take for a long time (drawing–it’s a hobby of mine). It’s shabby but at least I do feel like I’m doing some things that I’m comfortable with.

Polsci is at least slightly better than a few other prospects and I do hear good things about its department, but as per usual my feelings towards it are ambivalent and change way too often. Above all, it’s hard to see if it even has good job prospects compared to some other majors. I also prefer degrees that possibly could allow me to work at my own pace and from wherever I want…how would Polsci do that for me? Regardless, I’ll register for a class and see if I can come up with any other ideas (i.e., majors that I have more reqs done for) or if I can warm up to it.

I still don’t give it a high probability that I’d stay because the third year is a big issue to me - I’m already am a year older than most transfers and again the possible debt is just too nasty for me. I wonder if I could just go overtime with my credits and take summer classes in order to bypass it or if that’s even enough.

10

What are some examples and what prereqs have you taken to move toward getting one of these degrees?

11

I can’t stress enough that I practically wasted my time taking classes and getting into fields (such as EnvS, Psyc, and Econ) that I was kind of interested in only to realize that I’m not capable of doing any of them (specifically the harder science or math involved deeper into them) and that I’m not even sure what relatively accessible degrees there are that has a clearer lead to self-employment.

That’s why I initially expressed an interest in withdrawing from college and instead learning a trade or something.

12

UCSD can be a pretty intense and competitive school. If you feel you cannot do well in many of the classes, you might want to consider taking a Gap year, reevaluate your options and come up with a better plan, reapply to some other schools that may fit your needs better and/or work in area of interest to see if you want further your education in that specific area.

13

It’s mainly only the class types (Chem, Bio, and Math). I outlined above (and it doesn’t really matter anyways because their waitlists were too long the moment I got my reg. appointment). Other ones are so much easier to me.

Well, the issue is that I already took a gap year at the age of 19 and the fact that I don’t want to let my mom down even more by just waiting around (this is extremely important to me). I can’t go back home unless I found an excellent opportunity for training or some sort of vocational school nearby.

I really would like to know if there’s anything I can do that’ll at least give me a place to live that would be productive. I.e., military, long-term community service. Something that could serve as a safety net.

14

You’ve taken three Accounting classes. How did you like them? How did you do? Looks like USCD offers an Accounting minor. Maybe that’s something to consider. It’s very practical, which might appeal to you. Don’t know what you’d major in, but see if an adviser can look at the classes you’ve already taken and help you choose something for which you already have a decent number of prerequisites.

15

That doesn’t sound too bad but thinking about it now, in order to start off where I left off with accounting I’d need to practically relearn everything and study on my own because it’s not as if it comes that naturally to me (although I did get all As because all the tests were open-book…). 8-|
Buuuut, I did look at the course at apparently the next class I need is recommended to be taken in the winter of the junior yet. I could go over the material again.

…does a polsci major with a public law focus and an accounting minor sound good or is that too different? I did look up polsci and apparently it’s possible to be finished in 4 quarters though it does sound too good to be true…there’s 3-4 quarters a year and that would leave me with a lot of time to finish it. I have two req. classes added right now. I figure that I could later go to law school with this background (though isn’t it extremely difficult getting into it?) if I somehow find it in me to continue onward or do something with the UCSD extension program. I’ve also been interested in going into criminal justice which is kind of related to this degree, so maybe it isn’t that terrible of an idea.

…still, I hear that UCSD is more of a powerhouse in comparative politics compared to public law. I wonder if it’d be smarter to pursue it.

16

Oops, by “yet” I mean year. I couldn’t get any sleep so my editing skills are compromised. ~O)

17

Why not ask an adviser? They know the ins and out of the curriculum and how to blend your interests and abilities with available majors and minors. You don’t need a formal minor in Accounting; but if it’s something you like and are good at (and A’s indicate that you are good at it, even if you did work for them), it might make a poli sci degree more marketable.

Yes, law school is a tough admit, and is quite expensive. Not a decision you have to make now, so why not just see how things go this year?

One last thing, and I mean this kindly: It sounds like you aren’t very confident. That’s almost refreshing after reading posts from students and parents who are way over-impressed with themselves–but you’ve achieved a lot already, and UCSD is a good school where you would not have been admitted if you weren’t qualified. Maybe the path you’ve taken so far is a little circuitous, but that’s OK. Besides working with an adviser to get your academics on track, maybe a visit to a counselor at school would be a good idea, someone who could help you focus on the positive aspects of your life and education. I wish you well.