Academic Plan
Academic Plan
1. Course of Study
I have come to realize, through my failures in courses for my economics degree, that I am not suited to do a major in Economics. I have known over the past few years that I wanted to switch from economics, which I didn¿¿t enjoy learning, to geology, which I have loved since I took it as an elective. However, I was not brave enough to do the switch when I wanted to, which was last summer. This has been a wake-up call for me to reorganize my life and pursue the degree that I want to do.
Therefore, I will be changing my degree plan from a Bachelor¿¿s of Arts in Economics to a Bachelor¿¿s of Science in Geology. I have already taken GEOL 104, which is the pre-requisite for most of the second year geology classes, as I had considered doing a minor in Geology. The courses I plan to enroll in next academic year (over two semesters) would be:
1. Geol 107 (re-take)
2. Geol 200 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
3. Geol 221 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
4. Geol 232 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
5. Geol 238 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
6. Geol 235 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
7. Geol 249 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
As I have already taken many economics courses, I can still apply for a minor in Economics. Due to this change, I will have to take an extra year to complete my degree. However, I would rather spend an extra year studying a subject that I love than finishing on time studying a subject that I am not interested in.
2. Full time vs. Part time
I would like to continue as a full time student. I do not have a part-time job, or any other activities that would interfere in my studies. I know that once I change my major and take classes that I completely enjoy, I will be able to bring up my grades. Therefore, I would like continue as a full-time student at Queen¿¿s University. I will only be taking 4-5 classes per semester.
3. Strategies for Success
My strategies for success for the next year are three-fold. I have outlined them here:
1. Change my major.
Going into my first year at Queen¿¿s, I believed that I wanted to do a major in economics and work in finance after I was done my Bachelor¿¿s. Since taking economics courses, I have realized that this is not something I enjoy studying about or would like to do for the rest of my life. I took geology as an elective and I enjoyed my classes for geology much more than I enjoyed any of my economics courses. I have not done as well as I would have liked in my geology courses, but that was because I was too stressed about economics as I could not understand what I was studying for my economics courses. As economics was my major, I spent way too much studying for those and ignored my other courses, including my geology courses. Despite not doing well in Geol 107, I continued to take other geology courses because I truly loved taking geology and found it fascinating. I know for a fact that now that I won¿¿t be taking economics courses and can focus solely on geology courses, I will do much better. I always looked forward to going to my geology courses and I always felt stressed going to my economics courses. Therefore, I know that changing my major to geology will be a huge strategy for my success.
2. Attend regular help sessions/office hours from my professors and my TAs.
One thing I have recognized is that I have been too proud to ask for help. Whether it was my mental health or the issues I was having with my courses. I have come to recognize that I am not the kind of person that can study without help from other people. Therefore, I will take advantage of the numerous office hours that are hosted by both professors and TAs. If I have a concept I have trouble understanding or an assignment I have trouble completing, I will go to those sessions and get help. This was a truly wake up call for me, and from now on, I will do my best to not be in this situation anymore.
3. Seek help from mental health professionals available to us at Queen¿¿s.
I went through a very rough period after my dad¿¿s diagnosis of familial Parkinson¿¿s disease. The fact that I might develop Parkinson¿¿s weighed heavily on me and caused me to develop anxiety and depression for many months. I have realized since then that it is important to access help when I am in a position where my mental health is not right. I am on a wait-list in Mississauga for a government-funded psychologist and I plan on using the resources available to us at Queen¿¿s so I can stay mentally healthy. I believe that now I that I have coped with my dad¿¿s diagnosis and come to terms with the fact that I might also develop Parkinson¿¿s, my anxiety and depression are not as high as they were and as long as I seek regular counselling, I believe that I can stay on track of my courses and do well at Queen¿¿s in the next academic year.
1. Course of Study
I have come to realize, through my failures in courses for my economics degree, that I am not suited to do a major in Economics. I have known over the past few years that I wanted to switch from economics, which I didn¿¿t enjoy learning, to geology, which I have loved since I took it as an elective. However, I was not brave enough to do the switch when I wanted to, which was last summer. This has been a wake-up call for me to reorganize my life and pursue the degree that I want to do.
Therefore, I will be changing my degree plan from a Bachelor¿¿s of Arts in Economics to a Bachelor¿¿s of Science in Geology. I have already taken GEOL 104, which is the pre-requisite for most of the second year geology classes, as I had considered doing a minor in Geology. The courses I plan to enroll in next academic year (over two semesters) would be:
1. Geol 107 (re-take)
2. Geol 200 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
3. Geol 221 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
4. Geol 232 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
5. Geol 238 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
6. Geol 235 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
7. Geol 249 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
As I have already taken many economics courses, I can still apply for a minor in Economics. Due to this change, I will have to take an extra year to complete my degree. However, I would rather spend an extra year studying a subject that I love than finishing on time studying a subject that I am not interested in.
2. Full time vs. Part time
I would like to continue as a full time student. I do not have a part-time job, or any other activities that would interfere in my studies. I know that once I change my major and take classes that I completely enjoy, I will be able to bring up my grades. Therefore, I would like continue as a full-time student at Queen¿¿s University. I will only be taking 4-5 classes per semester.
3. Strategies for Success
My strategies for success for the next year are three-fold. I have outlined them here:
1. Change my major.
Going into my first year at Queen¿¿s, I believed that I wanted to do a major in economics and work in finance after I was done my Bachelor¿¿s. Since taking economics courses, I have realized that this is not something I enjoy studying about or would like to do for the rest of my life. I took geology as an elective and I enjoyed my classes for geology much more than I enjoyed any of my economics courses. I have not done as well as I would have liked in my geology courses, but that was because I was too stressed about economics as I could not understand what I was studying for my economics courses. As economics was my major, I spent way too much studying for those and ignored my other courses, including my geology courses. Despite not doing well in Geol 107, I continued to take other geology courses because I truly loved taking geology and found it fascinating. I know for a fact that now that I won¿¿t be taking economics courses and can focus solely on geology courses, I will do much better. I always looked forward to going to my geology courses and I always felt stressed going to my economics courses. Therefore, I know that changing my major to geology will be a huge strategy for my success.
2. Attend regular help sessions/office hours from my professors and my TAs.
One thing I have recognized is that I have been too proud to ask for help. Whether it was my mental health or the issues I was having with my courses. I have come to recognize that I am not the kind of person that can study without help from other people. Therefore, I will take advantage of the numerous office hours that are hosted by both professors and TAs. If I have a concept I have trouble understanding or an assignment I have trouble completing, I will go to those sessions and get help. This was a truly wake up call for me, and from now on, I will do my best to not be in this situation anymore.
3. Seek help from mental health professionals available to us at Queen¿¿s.
I went through a very rough period after my dad¿¿s diagnosis of familial Parkinson¿¿s disease. The fact that I might develop Parkinson¿¿s weighed heavily on me and caused me to develop anxiety and depression for many months. I have realized since then that it is important to access help when I am in a position where my mental health is not right. I am on a wait-list in Mississauga for a government-funded psychologist and I plan on using the resources available to us at Queen¿¿s so I can stay mentally healthy. I believe that now I that I have coped with my dad¿¿s diagnosis and come to terms with the fact that I might also develop Parkinson¿¿s, my anxiety and depression are not as high as they were and as long as I seek regular counselling, I believe that I can stay on track of my courses and do well at Queen¿¿s in the next academic year.