From Pre-Med to Economics

Three Semesters and a major change later

My first three semesters of college were packed with basic premed classes like chemistry and biology, so if someone had told me this time last spring I wouldn’t be premed anymore, I wouldn’t have believed them. Switching my major, and more so my entire career path, was a tough decision, which made me wish that I had known from the start that I wanted to get into Economics. However, looking back, I’m happy I went through this process of change. 

My approach to these difficult science classes stemmed from their reputation as “weed-out classes.” Someone described it to me as “survival of the fittest,” so I labeled the challenge and stress that came with these classes as their weed-out nature. I kept pushing myself to work hard and study for these classes as much as possible. 

Yet, there came a point where I realized that the amount of effort and time I put into these classes didn’t translate into my results. I was taking Econ 101 and Chem 343 last fall when I realized the amount of effort and time I put into my econ class was fairly represented in my results, but despite the numerous hours I put into O-chem, it wasn’t clicking. 

I was under the impression that this was the moment I was getting weeded out. This was the moment I worked so hard to avoid. Obviously, it wasn’t a great feeling, the feeling of failure. However, my econ advisor offered some valuable insight into this conflict I was facing. 

She told me that dropping premed and taking up econ isn’t a sign of failure but is a sign of growth. From my past three semesters of college, I’ve gotten to know myself better and have grown up. I’m not the same person I was in high school. Taking this step to switch to a new interest means that as I grew up, my preferences changed. 

To be honest, this semester, as a newly declared econ major, didn’t provide me instant relief or a sense of belonging in this field. On the contrary, it started with the fear of taking a drastic step and uncertainty about whether this path was for me. However, now, six weeks into the semester, I’ve become more confident in my decision and am very happy I took this step. 

Although a part of me wishes I knew what I wanted to do from the start, I found this change to be a great way to learn more about myself and accept that change isn’t necessarily bad.

The point is, I know it’s hard to take the first step toward change, but once you take that scary first step, everything falls into place.

• econ
• majors
• pre-med