<p>I just wanted to get some advice for my situation. I'm in my first year of college at a CCC with a gpa of 3.67. I'm aiming to transfer to Berkeley, LA, Irvine, and Santa Barbara with the possibility of applying to USC. </p>
<p>I always thought I was sure that I wanted to psychology, lately I have been rethinking it. I've declared it as my major just because its what I love. I think that going with what I feel most strongly about would be the safest option. The reason I have been rethinking it is because I am unsure of what I want to do with. I want to make good money and I used to think I would just practice psychiatry but I am not exactly sure if that is what I want to do. I've also been thinking about teaching psychology but I have no idea how that would work out. Mostly I have been thinking of going into the medical field, doing what-I'm not so sure. I think I want to work in a hospital or something. </p>
<p>Time is running out and I have to apply for transfer by this november. I don't know if I should anticipate going to grad school later or maybe medical school. Should I plan on doing pre-med? Does that mean I should start taking different science courses now? Or can all this just wait until I transfer?</p>
<p>The only thing that I've told myself to do right now is to concentrate on IGETC, and major requirements for berkeley and LA so that I can get in first. Then worry about the rest after..</p>
<p>I'm quite confused. Please offer any advice</p>
<p>If psychology is what you love, go for it. It is always nice to make big bucks, but if you hate your job, eventually it’s not going to matter how much you are getting paid, you’ll STILL hate it.</p>
<p>I’m going for a psychology major, but more towards the counseling/helping people aspect, rather than through medical school (I can’t handle high level bio, calc, chem, physics, etc. But MAJOR props to those who can!). What I like about a psychology degree is that is covers a range of fields, and you can do a lot with it (research, teach, help,etc…lots of specialization). For grad school, you can specialize in a field or two, and pursue that. With a few classes here or a few classes there, you can move around within the major/degree. It’s very versatile.</p>
<p>Personally, I think you should continue what you are doing now (following IGETC, taking and doing well in classes for future transfer) and not worry so much about it until you get into whatever school it is. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think about it until then, I’m just saying that you should focus on what is important NOW. Continue to research what you want to do with the degree and where those schools can take you. Look at the university’s course catalogs and see what kind of classes there offering. Do your reasearch, that way it won’t be such a shock/surprise for you a couple of months/years down the road.</p>
<p>If you think you might be interested in psychiatry or medicine, you should consider getting started on your pre-med requirements next year. You will need a total of 8-10 semester courses in the sciences and postponing all of them might make your last two years very stressful. (I assume you will also need to take a good number of classes for your major after the transfer, right?) Just adding a single science class to your schedule next semester might have a big impact in the long run if you decide to pursue the premed route.</p>
<p>Wow, we have so much in common! I’m currently at a CCC and hopefully transferring next fall. I applied to UCLA under psychobiology, UCSB under biopsychology, and Cal Poly SLO under psychology. I’m pre-med but don’t want to do a pre-med major because if something happens and I change my mind about medical school, a bachelor’s degree in pre-medical studies is kind of useless. I agree with the previous post that you should really concentrate on getting through the IGETC. And you can definitely still go to medical school with a degree in psychology, but you may want to consider minoring is something like biology in case a med school you apply for is looking for applicants with more of a science background. I also plan on emphasizing in pre-med when I transfer, so that way you can be prepared for medical school, but it won’t say it on your degree in case you have a change of plans. Good luck though! It’s great that you’re sticking to something you’re interesting in!</p>
<p>You can major in dancing, or theater or art history or english or engineering or even accounting. Pre-med is just a course of study in addition to your major. All the medical schools will care about is the fulfillment of those course in one way or another.
Many major in biology simply because some of the pre-med requirements fall under the biology department.
You can major in whatever you want. Concentrate on IGETC, and getting your major requirements fulfilled for whatever possible major. Be aware though that psych is pretty competitive at the top UCs(to get into), so you have to definitely keep your gpa up. Under IGETC there are scince classes you could fulfill that also count towards the pre-med track, so take those so that you don’t later have to take as many classes.</p>
<p>Also there are other options in the medical industry. Such as being a physician’s assistant, which is similar to being a doctor except you can’t set up private practice you always have to work under a doctor. many schools offer a master’s program.</p>
<p>thanks for the advice everyone, i really appreciate it!</p>
<p>I understand that psychology is competitive but, what can I do about it? Change my major to something less competitive that I don’t feel as strongly towards? That doesn’t sound good…ahah.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t have a problem chasing all these science courses but I’m not the best at it! I’m already taking bio this semester and I have to work so hard in order to burn simple vocabulary and concepts into my head. I plan on taking chemistry next semester but I am so nervous about it. If I can’t even get these basic ideas down in these introductory courses, how will I survive after community college?</p>
<p>Its so nerve-wrecking to know that you’re doing well at cc right now buts its only going to get harder as time progresses and you transfer or go on to grad school/medical school.</p>