Is it possible to start college over?

[kostoglotov12]

I need your advice. I'm about to enter my senior year of college, but I wouldn't exactly call consider my time in college to be well spent. I'm completing a major that I do not like. I've had to deal with pretty significant health issues and a few other things that have made it difficult to do very well.

I would very much like to go into physics or mathematics. The problem is, I've only taken a handful of mathematics courses so far, my GPA is in the crapper, and I'm a little demoralized at the whole college experience. I'm not well connected at all, and I don't know who to turn to for advice.

On the plus side, I am financially well off and could afford a few more years of college.

 

[eri]

If your school doesn't make you graduate in 4 years, you could switch majors and take a few more years to finish. Or you complete your bachelors, then apply for a second bachelors somewhere else, which would take about another 2 years if you're ready for college math (as in, calculus, not algebra). Starting over somewhere else would also improve your GPA. But it would be a good idea to take a few physics classes this year and make sure you really do like it - if you're behind in math, there's a good chance you haven't taken any real college physics, so it would probably be a mistake to jump into it assuming you'll love it.

 

[Stengah]

What major are you doing that you don't like?

 

[Pengwuino]

Consult your universities catalog and look up what their stance on 2nd bachelors degrees are. If you haven't graduated, I expect they'd allow you to do a 2nd degree with little question.

 

[Aimless]

I would very much like to go into physics or mathematics. The problem is, I've only taken a handful of mathematics courses so far, my GPA is in the crapper, and I'm a little demoralized at the whole college experience.

College is not a race. It is entirely possible to start over (and, as an added benefit, your GPA will likely improve). However, what helped me out the most, both from a maturity standpoint and from a "demoralized at the whole college experience" standpoint, was to take some time off.

I am going to guess that the reason you are feeling demoralized by the "college experience" is because you are still thinking of it as an "experience" and not as an education. I'm also going to guess that you are there not because you particularly want to be, but because it is expected of you. Both were true for me, when I hit my low as an undergrad. Taking time off did wonders for my perspective and motivation, and was the best thing I did as an undergrad.