Junior Year - Major Flip-Flopping

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

Hello all! I hope you’ve gotten your weekend off to a good start.

I just wanted to get some opinions on my current college path. I transferred early this year from the local community college to UCSD. When I was in high school, I always planed to major in Biology or another hard science, but somehow ended up with a transfer guarantee into the CogSci field instead. It had less transfer requirements, and the department at my school actually has a pretty okay rep in the field, to the best of my understanding.
Anyways, I’m in my second quarter and it’s like the magic is just gone- I can’t even remember how I got here and if I ever liked this field in the first place. Instead of eagerly sucking up knowledge like the academic sponge I used to be, each test I study for just feels like pulling teeth. I can’t tell if that’s just what’s supposed to happen or if I’ve outgrown my major or am just getting burnout, but it’s awful. I find myself reading Campbell’s Bio and Shankar’s Fundamentals of Physics in my down time, just longing for hard science- something that, to me, feels more tangible.

My question to you: Should I suck it up for one more year and dole out the extra cash in hopes that my enthusiasm re-ignites itself or otherwise just… suck it up? Or should I try to find a way to hard-science it at the risk of trashing all the work I’ve done already? I worry is that if this IS just burnout, the same thing will happen regardless of what field I get into. This is just a undergrad degree, but for me the idea of getting a Masters in this field and studying it even more makes me uncomfortable to say the least. But then… so much money and time… thinks self into a knot

TLDR; CogSci isn’t fun anymore. I want a challenge- I want hard science! What do you think? Any thoughts and feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks!

2

Do what makes you happy. Don’t waste money or time on something you don’t love. If you loved it, you would’t have lost passion so quickly or easily. What’s the big rush anyway :slight_smile:

3

I think you need to go to an advisor, and maybe not trash Cog Sci but say you want to know if it’s doable to make a switch and what your options are. They are related. There is the biological/neurological side of Cog Sci, so it doesn’t seem that out of left field…

4

Definitely speak to an advisor in your current department, and the one you’re interested in. Find out your options for switching. Is it even possible or not.

If it’s not possible, IMO, you should just continue what you’re doing. You can’t really transfer again due to unit caps, so you just just find a way to make peace with it.

If switching IS an option, then find out what you’ll have to do to make it happen. How much longer will you have to be there? Will you hit the unit cap before you finish, and if so, can you get an exemption?

Once you have all the facts and information, then you can weigh your options, and make a more informed decision.

5

Thanks so much for your feedback everyone. Looks like I’ll be making an appointment with the advisors this week!