Would like advice from current/former students?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Davis
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<p>I am a rising sophomore at UCD. I am currently a Food Science major, but I am strongly considering switching. So I really like Food Science, i love the idea of it and the FST classes you get to take sound so fun, and i like some of the job opportunities it has. I actually came to this school almost exclusively because I wanted to do FST. The problem is that I didn’t try hard enough freshman year, and i also really struggled with the general requirement classes (MAT16, CHE2 series), and ended up with a low gpa (in the 2.3-2.5). I am taking summer session, but it is such a struggle to even get up to a 3.0. It sucks because i still need (BIS and PHY) and i honestly dont feel confident about getting higher than a C/C+ in these classes, because i dont find them easy especially with so many other students competing with me. And also I have to clear all my gen reqs before getting into the actual upper div FST courses. So i am not sure if its worth it to even pursue my dream major if I won’t even do well in it. I know some people will tell me to just try hard, and I will, but honestly, it is very unlikely I will get A’s in any of the BIS/PHY courses.
If i do switch majors, i have one in mind that i also really enjoy, however it does not have a renowned reputation like the FST program. (I was almost set on switching majors, but then i take a look at all of the amazing and endless facilities and resources the FST program has, and im not sure if i am willing to give it all up.) It is much smaller, and I still find that major really interesting, and it wouldn’t require BIS/PHY.</p>

<p>So my questions are, do you think its worth it to get sub-par grades until I get to the major classes for FST? And even then, no matter how well i do in upper divs, my gpa wont be much higher. What are my chances of getting a job (or even an internship) with a low gpa? Is grad school completely out of the question?
Should I just give up on FST and pursue something else? </p>

<p>I would really appreciate your advice, as i am trying to basically figure out my life before my pass 2. thanks</p>

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<p>Let me start off by saying that I know what you’re going through. You don’t know what to do and you’re hoping you’ll get some piece of information that will make the decision obvious to you. Well, I know it’s not what you want to hear, but that isn’t going to happen. No one knows what you should do except you. Anyone who claims otherwise is not worth listening to. </p>

<p>Anyway, my personal opinion is that you should stick with FST if that’s your passion. A lot of people don’t do so great in their lower division courses, especially the first year. My advice would be to get your GPA to at least a 3.0; hopefully you do better in upper division courses, because those matter more to most graduate schools. Also, there’s no guarantee you’d do better in the other major, especially if you don’t enjoy it as much. </p>

<p>Anyway, I don’t think poor grades in chemistry and math is a good reason to switch majors. You’re done with those, so focus on the courses you have left. You can’t count yourself out before even attempting physics and bio. You said yourself you didn’t try hard enough freshman year; find out what you can do differently.</p>

<p>I almost changed my major because I struggled in Math and Physics. I’m so glad I didn’t! I’m finally starting upper division Geology courses and I couldn’t be any happier.</p>