I come from a poor family. My family immigrated to the United States in the mid 2000s and we went through a lot. A LOT!Right now, I am a senior and have to decide on which major I am truly dedicated in. My parents have always been supportive of my education and want me to have a good life. They really want me to major in Nursing, which it’s my second option. I like the job as a nurse, but I do not like the study which worries me. I don’t do too well in biology, anatomy, or chemistry. I passed all my science classes with an A for the past three years, but I mostly get B’s on my test. Since homework is weighted with tests, I was able to get A’s. Since the nursing program is so competitive and a 3.7 GPA in college is recommended, it scares me. I am scared because I think that if I was to take these science classes in college, the best grades I’d get are B’s which is a 3.0 GPA in college. Then I won’t be accepted in those nursing programs. Plus, I am scared of dead bodies and find the internal stuff disgusting. I know that dying is a cycle is life, but I come from a spiritual family, and I am just scared.I am sorry if I offended anyone that is majoring in nursing.
As a high school student, I am taking 3 college classes at a local community and had taken 3 colleges classes at the same community college last year. I took 2 psychology courses and totally fell in loved it with. I really love it and can see myself with this major. I LOVE PSYCHOLOGY!
The problem is that my parents will be super sad if I choose psychology over nursing. I remember how I used to tell them that I wanted to be a teacher, and they cried in front of me. They said that they worked so hard, and I don’t even appreciate them. They never went to school so they’d never understand what it means to love a subject. A lot of people have told me that I should follow my dream, but I don’t want to make my parents feel hopeless. I think the reason why they highly value nursing is because most nurses get hired. Also, in my culture, if a couple has a son/daughter as a nurse/doctor, then the society respect that couple more. I don’t know how to explain anymore. I am just so stressed. I want to follow my dream, but I don’t want to make them sad. I am so heart-broken. Sometimes I feel that they love me so much and I can’t even satisfy their needs. But on the other hand, I am afraid that I might not end up doing well in something that I don’t want to do and it will ruin my whole college transcript along with life. Just venting here and seeking for some help.
HELP ME!
Do you have to decide right now? Does it make a difference in which colleges you will apply to? I don’t know much about nursing programs, so hopefully others can pipe in about that aspect. You are right about GPA, it really matters for nursing. And not liking biology, anatomy and chemistry seems to push you away from nursing.
Yes, I have to since I’m going to apply to colleges and scholarships.
Can you look for colleges that offer both nursing and psychology?
Start by telling us some of your stats, like GPA (weighted and unweighted) , ACT/SAT test scores, your class rank if your high school ranks you, and what state you live in. Are you a U.S. citizen? Tell us about the college courses you’ve taken and any AP classes.
What colleges are you looking at so far? Will you live in a college dorm, or commute? How much can your family contribute to your college expenses each year? Do you have other siblings looking to go to college, and will they be in college at the same time you are?
Are you able to participate in any activities like sports or music, or have you been limited by having to work or take care of other family at home?
Some large colleges make you declare your major when you apply, and you are accepted only into that major. Other colleges allow you time to change your mind about your major. Some scholarships might be based on your major, but most general scholarships do not require you to commit to a major when you apply.
What scholarships are you looking to apply to?
I assume that you are aware the a bachelor’ degree in psychology will not enable you to be a psychologist. You will need a master’s degree or preferably a Ph.D.
Have you looked at what area of psychology you would want to pursue as a career? The medical field could hold many possible career options for you, but most would require additional schooling. Start researching online about possibilities for using your psychology. It might help as you try to educate your family about the many different opportunities in the medical field for employment. And you can talk up the prestige of psychology, that might impress them as well.
If they could meet some people who are working in these fields that might help them as well.
You can do nursing and then become a psychiatric nurse practitioner or clinical specialist
Your parents may be suggesting nursing because it is a major where you can then get a job. They understand what a nurse does. I am not sure if you are female, but they also may see that as a female job.
A B.S. in Psychology does not lead directly to a professional job like nursing does. If you want to be a Psychologist, you need to get a PhD. To be a Psychiaterist you need a M.D. degree. You should think somewhat about a job you would want from a Psychology degree. Maybe you are interested in further schooling, maybe not.
http://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/careers-advice/what-can-you-do-psychology-degree
Do you want to be a Psychologist/Therapist/Counselor/Social WOrker? or go on to a job in business/marketing/advertising etc?
Another thought is some colleges have direct entry nursing programs and some don’t. For the ones that don’t you have to apply after sophomore year. For example, at the University of Maryland. You start with pre-nursing courses that may be similar to what you would do in Psychology and then transfer to the nursing professional school.
http://www.umd.edu/catalog/index.cfm/show/content.section/c/1/ss/303/s/363
In a program like that you could still take time to make up your mind, talk to professors/advisers about your goals for psychology or any other major.
As someone interested in psychology, try to understand where you parents are coming from. They want respect, they dont’ want to waste money, and they want you to support yourself.
So you need to have a plan where they can get that and you can do somethign you like.
I majored in psychology in undergrad. I love psychology and would always encourage college students to major in it, but I understand where your parents are coming from.
It’s not true that you can’t get a job with a psychology BA, but it IS true that it takes a little more legwork and independence from the student in question. You have to do internships and part-time jobs and develop skills that will make you marketable. A major in psychology with no experience will find themselves struggling to support themselves. Even college-educated parents understand that, but first-generation students have the additional challenge of educating their own parents that non-pre-professional majors don’t necessarily lead to a lifetime of unemployment and homelessness. (I’m first-gen too, and my parents constantly asked me what I was going to do with my BA in psychology. It took them a VERY long time to find out, since I got my PhD in the field and just started working full-time two weeks ago.)
I’m also not going to lie and say that I didn’t sometimes (often) wish that I had majored in a more secure/lucrative/pre-professional major, particularly nursing. Now that I am working in a job I *love/i, I am very happy with my choices, but in that formative time it’s difficult! Nursing leads more predictably to a well-compensated career with many openings. You have to be more comfortable with uncertainty in a psychology major, lol!
Also, note that high school psychology courses are very very different from college psychology. I took a class in psych in high school, too; my psych teacher did not have a degree in psych, and was basically teaching it blind from the textbook.
If you find dead bodies and internal organs disgusting, nursing might not be the best choice for you - but as others have said, you can do psychiatric mental health care as a nurse, and also if you want to do therapy you will need at least a master’s and maybe a PhD. You can’t do direct therapy with a BA in psychology.
You should definitely consider speech language pathology. My mom went through basically the same thing–her mom wanted her to be a doctor but she majored in psychology and became a speech language pathologist. This is especially great if you like working with children and helping people with things like stutter problems, learning or speech disabilities, etc. I think it would be a good compromise between psychology and nursing, and from what I know, the pay for speech language pathology is the same as or better than that for nursing. It requires grad school, so take that into account. My mom loves her job, however, so definitely consider it!
Thank you so much to everyone for all the information. I was thinking of being a guidance counselor/career counselor.
Scare of dead bodies is a good sign to go into nursing and Md field.
How about a hospital social worker? BSW then MSW?
Oops post #14, should say NOT going to these fields.
Well, I would think wisely about student debt if you’re going to incur any. My girlfriend (after scholarships, grants, etc.) owes 80,000 in loans for her undergrad. Since she could not find a non-minimum wage job with a bachelor’s in psychology (worked all undergrad, did several internships, research) after that, she got a master’s and that is about 60,000 in Art Therapy after getting rejected to every single PhD program she applied to (3.9 GPA). She’s graduating in the spring with this massive amount of debt and honestly, I am a little concerned for her. I don’t think art therapists make that much. Since we’re planning on getting married, I will be helping her with this crushing debt that she got to follow her dream.