<p>I'm a junior in high school and I'm starting to look at colleges. I have absolutely no idea what I want to do when I'm older, so as of now I'm an undecided major. I live in NY and want to stay nearby for college (NY, NJ, CT, MA, PA). I know you can go to pretty much any school as an undecided major but I've heard that bigger schools are better for an undecided major cause they have more options. I also really don't want to live in a rural or small town even if the school is really good tbh. I have a 4.03 GPA from sophomore year. I don't know my junior year GPA yet, but I've gotten straight A's so far with honors and AP courses. 1930 SAT but I'm retaking it. Decent amount of extracurriculars. Don't qualify for financial aid besides scholarships. Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Is there a general area you are likely to choose (e.g. humanities, social studies, science)?</p>
<p>Can you and your family pay list price at the more expensive schools (up to $60,000 per year), or would you have a lower price limit (so that scholarships would be needed at more expensive schools)?</p>
<p>I’m not really sure yet tbh. I’m not really interested in social work if that helps. The price of the school doesn’t really matter. My parents are able and willing to pay full tuition at a more expensive school</p>
<p>general liberal arts schools are the best schools for people with under decided majors ( the best liberal arts schools are all in NEW ENGLAND!!!..btw) however most universities are adopting a liberal core requirement which means that before you can pursue only courses in your major you have to take classes from all the five courses… hope this helps… msg if you have questions… i visited a lot of schools this year so i can kinda help you.</p>
<p>Thank you for your help! What do you mean by “liberal arts?” I’ve heard that phrase so many times but I still don’t know what it means</p>
<p>Liberal Arts colleges generally do not have programs in pre-professional studies (like business, engineering) and focus on undergrad students (few to no post graduate programs). They also tend to be smaller. [Liberal</a> arts college - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_arts_college]Liberal”>Liberal arts college - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>disagree that “the best liberal arts schools are all in New England.” That is so untrue. Have you never heard of Oberlin, Macalester, Grinnell, Carleton, Colorado College, Pomona, and so on and so on! PUH LEAZE!</p>
<p>And, for the record, I live in New England and attended Williams College.</p>
<p>Thanks that article was very helpful! And yes I’ve heard of most of those colleges but I prefer to stay in the northeast</p>
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</p>
<p>No doubt there are many excellent LACs in New England.
There also are many excellent LACs in other regions.</p>
<p>One advantage of many LACs outside NE is that they offer merit aid, which the most selective NE schools generally do not. Some of the S/MW/W/Mid-Atlantic LACs are in urban/suburban locations that many students might find more interesting than the average rural New England town. </p>
<p>If you want a larger school, there are plenty of those in the mid-Atlantic and New England. Being in or near a large city may provide relatively good access to internships. Check out some of these schools:
George Washington, American U
Drexel
NYU
Northeastern, Boston U.
(plus many public universities, e.g. Maryland, Delaware, Pittsburgh)</p>
<p>
Liberal Arts encompasses most majors; its pretty much anything not considered a pre-professional program like nursing, accounting, journalism, engineering, etc., or anything in the Fine Arts domain such as music, theater, etc. So majors as diverse as geology, economics, biology, chemistry, French, etc. would all be considered Liberal Arts. You can get an example list by looking at many colleges online; all the majors on this list would be Liberal Arts: [Majors</a> - College of Letters & Science - UCLA Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/Majors/lsmajor.htm]Majors”>http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/Majors/lsmajor.htm)</p>
<p>Your dilemma of not knowing what you want to do is pretty common, and perhaps a good thing. Too many kids decide they are going to be a doctor or lawyer or what-have-you even though they have little actual knowledge of what the day to day life or career path is like, let alone whether its a fit for them. </p>
<p>As a future liberal-arts major keep in mind that your major is not intended to prepare you specifically for any career. You should start working with the career center from your frosh year. They will have workshops on career choice, speakers from different fields, counselors, etc. They aren’t going to tell you what you should become, you’ll need to put in time and effort exploring different areas. But if you do it from the start its a relatively low-key effort that lets you explore different areas and find ones that are a fit for you. In addition to your college degree you’ll want to get experience in your future field thru summer jobs, internships, coop positions, etc. Without these it is much more difficult to stand out to future employers. One great book along these lines (out of print, but still available used) is called “Major in Success”. There are lots of other good career books, something you’ll be seeing on your frequent visits to your college career center.</p>
<p>As a side note, even majors in the preprofessional area are not out of the question for you should your interests turn that way. But you’ll need to be at a college offering them. And many of them come with a healthy list of required classes, so that you probably will need to decide by the end of frosh year that is what you want.</p>
<p>One thing to be aware of --</p>
<p>Some Universities did NOT permit transferring or cross registering between the “colleges” inside the university. You will find this more in STEM (Engineering), Nursing, Music and Art. So, at the least, spend some time soul searching for an overall field of study. </p>
<p>An extreme example of this is Carnegie Mellon known for both Engineering and drama. You could not apply undecided and take classes at both schools. </p>
<p>Changing majors within the Uni. College of Arts & Science is seldom an issue.</p>
<p>Do you have a budget?</p>
<p>If I understood your opening post correctly, you are undecided now, but want to attend a college that has plenty of options so that when you decided what you want to major in, the school is more likely to have it. If that’s the case, I think you should be looking at large public universities. Try looking at University of Pittsburgh, UMass/Amherst (although the town may be too small for you), Rutgers, and the University of Delaware. You didn’t mention Delaware as an option, but Newark is so close to PA, that you could consider it.</p>
<p>I think Ithaca College has an exploratory program for undecided majors. Also, many state schools are good for undecided majors.</p>
<p>I would suggest a large state school rather than a smaller liberal arts college. It seems to me that if you are truly undecided and have no specific area of interest then it behooves you to go somewhere you can go in a variety of directions. It’s easier to study history at a large state or private university than it is engineering at a liberal arts college.</p>
<p>I’ll go against the flow and say that a small LAC may be perfect for you. Or maybe not. Choice of majors is nice, but IMHO pales in importance to fit. If you’re the person that wants/needs more personal attention, then being lost in the crowd at a large public is not going to do you any good no matter how many majors they offer.</p>
<p>Think about fit. A lot. Most HS kids, having not attended college, are unaware of all the possibilities out there. From advising, living arrangements, greek societies, class size, and so on – all new territory. A good book on college admissions should be your first step here so you understand the lay of the land, how admission works, and so on. One book I like is “Admission Matters”.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for all your help!! Your posts have definitely helped me. I’ll visit both liberal arts schools and large public universities and find the best for me. Thanks!</p>