I'm a miserable stem major because of my father. Is it too late to switch?

Parents Forum
1

Let me explain how I got in this mess. I’m a sophomore at my flagship state school. My tuition is covered by a scholarship, but I still had to pay my room, board and fees. My dad was paying for all of this, but only on the condition that I choose a STEM major, and I had to choose from a few specific majors; Biology(premed), engineering or geology. I picked geology. Apparently that still isn’t good enough and he’s barely paying for anything and threatening to stop paying completely. My mother and her siblings told me not to worry about it. They’re going to pay for everything, and they told me to pick a major I like.

  I want to major in a humanities field. My original dream was to double major in History and Spanish or English and Spanish. I had one Spanish class last semester and I did really well. I took French in high school and excelled.

Is it too late for me? I feel stuck in the sciences because I’ve had so many science classes this semester. I also don’t have any internships or job experience in the humanities fields, and I hear it takes a lot to be employable after graduation. All I’ve done freshman/sophomore year is get a few volunteer hours through Circle K because I was so busy studying. I plan to get a job next semester, and do more volunteer work.

My transcript so far:

First Semester Freshman Year
College Algebra-B
Fine Arts History- B
World Geography Africa and Asia-A
Biology 1201-C (eek!)
Biology 1201 Lab- W

Second Semester Freshman Year
Trigonometry- W(I retook in summer school and got an A)
Spanish 1001- A
African American History- A
Chemistry 1001- A
Geology 1001-A

First Semester Sophomore Year:
Chemistry 1201- B+
Biology 1201- A-
Geology 1002- A+
Geology 1001 Lab- B
Race Relations- A-

These are what I have in the class right now. They may go up or down depending on the final. Our school just starting doing the +/- system.

Could I make my science classes marketable even as a humanities major? Will my bad grades hurt me? Should I just stick with the sciences? Am I far behind in getting experience to put on a resume?

I’m not close to anyone that can give me advice on career opportunities that don’t involve teaching, nursing or farm work.

Honestly I also feel terrible that my mother’s side of the family has to take on this financial responsibility and that my father has basically disowned me. I’ve tried to make my dad come around but he refuses to accept anything other than me being a premed student. I don’t want to be a doctor. I know I would be a terrible premed and an even worse doctor. My father wanted to be premed growing up but couldn’t because his father insisted he go into education. I don’t understand why he’s repeating that mistake with me. I have other older half-siblings and only one of them is in the medical field(nurse). He doesn’t give them any grief about not being doctors, so I don’t understand why he’s pinning all of his hopes and dreams on me. I just don’t know what career would actually please him and let me keep my sanity. Is there anything in the medical field for someone that likes to write and speak Spanish?

2

I don’t see how a major in Spanish is worthwhile, given that you only had one semester and are not even taking it now. Taking Spanish as an elective would be fun, so I hope you can continue to do that.

Your dad’s threat doesn’t seem credible if he told you he would pay for geology but now he has changed his mind.

3

You don’t need a double major. Likely English is the most flexible option unless you intend to get a teaching credential for Spanish. Since you aren’t in a Nursing program, the isn’t an option at this point. Are you not familiar with the graduation requirements at your uni? Look them up, likely your classes will satisfy some distribution reason or electives. Many students declare a major sophomore year and that shouldn’t be a problem. Look up the requirements for each major. Did you not have algebra in HS. I can’t understand why you took that unless you place low in math on placement tests. Go find an academic advisor to talk with. Maybe an advisor in the depts you are considering.

4

I had a low Math score on the ACT.

5

Can you take out your federal loans to help cover your costs? Your custodial parent has to fill out FAFSA for that, though.

6

Are you a US citizen or legal permanent resident? If so, who is your custodial parent for the FAFSA?

What do room, board, and fees come to?

Do you have a part-time job, and can you work full-time during the summers?

Have you taken out any student loans?

Pay a visit to your university’s career center and counseling center, and get some help with identifying potential career pathways that you would like and find out which majors at your university could lead to them. Then compare your coursework so far, and see which of those other majors could be completed in the time-frame you have before your scholarship money would run out.