<pre><code> Hello everyone. It's been a while since I've posted on this site and I see that a lot has changed from when I was a transfer student trying to get into a UC :p. The design of this site looks so different :o. I'll try to keep this short. Anyway, I need some advice on choosing a field of study that will help guide me into a career in synthetic biology.
When I first started college, I had no idea what I wanted to do, so I began with general biology, and hopped around a bit between marine biology and environmental studies, which unfortunately caused me to waste a lot of time as an undergrad. I had also not taken my school work too seriously until around my junior year. After three years in college, I began to feel like maybe I could do more, and so I wanted to try to major in biochemistry or bioengineering. I also discovered that I could do well in this area. I pulled mostly As in my major classes (biochem, ochem, physics, programming) and managed to pull my STEM GPA up from ~3.1 to 3.41 in just a summer + a quarter. I changed majors at the very end of my junior year. I am now a senior who will still be able to graduate in June (For someone who changed majors this late, it is nothing short of a miracle haha), because of summer school and 19+ units per quarter. Unfortunately, since I came to this realization so late, the only degree that would allow me to graduate from UC Santa Cruz in four years is a BS in molecular, cell, and developmental biology. I know how to perform basic molecular cloning with plasmids and transforming them into bacteria, running PCR, which qualifies me for basic lab grunt work, but in the long run, I would like to have a career where I can create "designer" organisms (cool things like fluorescent plants/goldfish, or roses that smell like citrus and produce terpinines, etc). I realized that perhaps studying biomolecular engineering instead of MCD biology might have been a better idea in hindsight, but it is too late to look back now. I am currently planning to enter a masters program in molecular genetics and biotechnology in Sweden (my home country where the state pays for my tuition), but I am wondering if I should still take some engineering courses and try to get a degree in bioengineering as well. I'm sorry if this was a bit long, but I'm not really sure where else to ask. Thank you for reading :).
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