<p>You can complete the pre-med requirements before you graduate even if you don’t start on them during your freshman year.</p>
<p>However, if you wait until sophomore year to start on them, you will not be ready to take the MCAT at the usual time. This is not a disaster, and it does not require paying for any extra semesters. It simply means that the student will not have MCAT scores available in time to apply for admission to medical schools with an enrollment date immediately after college graduation. </p>
<p>There is a simple solution to this problem: you work for a year (or more) between college and medical school. No big deal. Lots of people do this anyway.</p>
<p>“The other schools within a university are entirely different when it comes to choosing majors. They offer professional majors, which are very often complex and sequential. Examples include engineering, architecture, education, and nursing. If you don’t start the necessary course sequences for one of these majors in your first semester, and continue the sequence every semester, you can fall behind in ways that can only be corrected by spending an extra semester or year in college.”</p>
<p>Yes - this has been our experience. I have a music education major and an aspiring mechanical engineering major. Both of them have very “sequential” coursework. Failing or dropping a class (for my music major) can put you behind not one semester, but a whole year because of the way the classes are scheduled. You can imagine what it would be like if you decided late in your sophomore year to suddenly be a music major! From looking at my engineering student’s degree plan, it appears it will be somewhat similar.</p>
<h1>21 At this point in time, she is working on a degree in the nursing school. I am not sure exactly what degree it is, but my brother and SIL mapped out the whole 4 year plan for this particular major. The plan did not include summer school, though that is clearly an option. No one has any idea if the student will continue with this major. This is just one example of the many ways parents approach the original question.</h1>
<p>D1 was not sure really what she wanted to do but was leaning towards communications/journalism/photography - that vein - she wound up coming home - not quite ready. The major choice was all hers.</p>
<p>D2, I have to think, knew what she wanted to do but was afraid to say. When we’d talk about it, she would say that she just had NO idea. But I knew she wanted to teach music and I told her so and she seemed soooooo relieved that I was okay with that. She’s a sophomore and doing great.</p>
<p>D3’s goal is to MAKE MONEY doing something she’s good at and something creative. She’s always liked a “project” approach - She’s a very well-rounded student, good at math and science, GREAT at English/Lit. She chose engineering and I couldn’t be happier - but I know (haven’t spent a whole lot of time talking to HER about it) that she COULD change her major. Engineering is a tough major. We’ll see if she’s ready for that. ;)</p>
<p>So yea, MOSTLY I helped my kids decide - but the choice was theirs.</p>
<p>Here is what we have done with D2 (who is a HS senior, but not sure of her major):</p>
<ul>
<li><p>We had a discussion about both of our viewpoints on the purpose of going to college. Discussed the social, emotional growth, and preparation for future life aspects.</p></li>
<li><p>We talked about post-college. That she is on her own to fund grad school and I expect her to be self-supporting when she graduates (I am covering her undergrad expenses except for books & spending money). She is welcome to come back and live at home rent and board free while in grad school if it works out that way, though.</p></li>
<li><p>Purchased a book from the College Board (yup, chucked that black hole a few more dollars) called the Book of Majors. Gave her pads of green & yellow post its, and asked her to go through the book and flag any very interesting (green) or somewhat interesting (yellow) majors.</p></li>
<li><p>Reviewed what she had flagged. There were some definite patterns (of the 15 or so things she flagged, about 1/4 were in the biological sciences). We did this summer before senior year.</p></li>
<li><p>Looked over her already well-along college list with this info in mind. Took a few schools off the list that did not have the majors she was most interested in and added a couple based on strength in her top choices.</p></li>
<li><p>If she has not completely made up her mind when she gets to college, her plan is to take two classes each in three of her possible majors over the first three semesters. And to visit with the career office at her college to discuss jobs in those majors. Then make up her mind.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Of course, she still may end up doing something not on that list. But I think it is about as much prep as you can do with an undecided high school student. At least you know the majors she is thinking about are offered at the colleges she applies to if you do something like this. And D2 really likes the “two classes and discuss with career office” idea, too (got this from D1’s boyfriend, who did it successfully).</p>
<p>D2 also went to a summer camp in a specific career area (engineering) this summer. She liked some aspects, but ruled out engineering as a career. I am fine with that, better to find out before going down the path in college. So next summer could also be used to explore career options.</p>
<p>Thank you! That’s all I meant. For an undecided kid, I don’t see the <em>inherent</em> benefit of a LAC over the liberal arts college of a university. That comes down to personal preference for smaller vs larger as well as personal fit considerations for the specific schools in mind.</p>
<p>It’s only October of her junior year in high school. I’d at least not push the issue until summer. Senior year is so much about the future and college selection; let her have her last year of high school without being in the shadow of “what’s next”. If anything, maybe plan a few college visits on weekends or school breaks so she can start to narrow down what she likes in a school … small LAC, big university, urban, college town etc. Visits can be a fun family activity and sometimes the visits start them on the process of thinking of their future.</p>
<p>Engineering is a special subject. If you think you might be interested, you probably should try it out from day one. But that’s not a reason to choose a research college over an LAC. There are any number of reasons you might like a research college:
More research happens there!
You might like having a mix of lectures and smaller seminar (I did)
You may want to take graduate courses (I did, both in my major and outside of it.)
The university may be best in its field in the departments that interest you
You want to be in a big city (most LACs aren’t)
You might like being friends with engineers and architects or taking some of their courses
You might want more courses offered in the majors you are considering, fewer courses offered in alternate years, less likelihood of a department being decimated if someone takes a sabbatical.</p>
<p>Not that there is anything wrong with LACs, just don’t think not knowing your major ahead of time is a reason to choose one.</p>
<ol>
<li>You might want to live in a community larger than your high school.</li>
<li>Even if you plan to major in a liberal arts subject, you might want to take applied courses related to it. (My daughter, who majored in economics at a research university, took five business courses as electives, and has found the material that she learned in some of them, especially the two accounting courses, very helpful in her current job.)</li>
<li>You might enjoy big-time sports and all the excitement that goes with them.</li>
</ol>
<p>D1 chose her major against my begging and pleading. She never wavered and is now employed.</p>
<p>D2 had a unique set of interests and I came across a major that seemed utterly perfect for her and called it to her attention. I was right and she chose that major and couldn’t be happier. But I wouldn’t say that I helped her choose the major, just that I noticed something that encompassed her two interests in one major.</p>
<p>While my son knew in 10th grade that he wanted to study music composition in college, the more important aspect is that the kids keep up their grades. Much better to have great grades and no clue as to major than know the major but the grades aren’t there. Unless the student is going into a field or a graduate program that requires that they start right off the bat meeting requirements during first year of college or the potential major is used in the evaluation of what colleges in which apply, a HS senior need only have a range of options in mind. And in the best of all worlds, the parent provides wisdom but does not make the decision.</p>
<p>I appreciate all the thoughtful replies. Intparent, your approach sounds most like how I would proceed. I think I’ll check out that book you mentioned. I want to provide her information, but not necessarily pick a major for her. It’s also reassuring to hear how many kids are similarly situated. I didn’t pick my major until I was a junior in college, but it FEELS like students these days don’t have that luxury. It feels like colleges want them to have a set plan before even applying and want them to be able to articulate those plans.</p>
<p>Intparent had a good plan and it was something similar to what we followed with my oldest S. Junior year in high school he was unsure and we discussed his strengths and interests. During the summer we purchased books describing jobs in the engineering field since he had expressed interest. Forgot the name of the books but there are some good books that describe the day-to-day activities of people in their jobs. S decided to pursue an aerospace degree and chose colleges based on this. He ended up changing his major before he started school but is still in the engineering field (CS). </p>
<p>I think having a general idea is important to some students. Some schools offer acceptance to colleges within the school and require applicants to state their intended majors. Just something to consider. Good luck.</p>
<p>But when my oldest decided to major in one of those highly sequential majors half way through first semester, it meant summer school. It would’ve meant a whole 'nother year had her initial major not been so closely related (she was already enrolled in a number of the prequisites for the new major). As stated, there are some majors that you have to know you want when you walk in the door because of the sequencing. </p>
<p>d’14 has no clue. She was thinking about education, another major that would require a student to know what she wanted before enrolling. Now, she doesn’t know. I feel like I have to just sit and watch the back and forth, even if it absolutely drives me nuts.</p>
<p>However, the student should be aware of any long prerequisite sequences for majors that s/he might be interested in. For some majors, it is ok to decide even as late as one’s fourth semester, while other majors need to be started in one’s first or second semester to be able to graduate on time.</p>
<p>A quarter system school may have a slight advantage over a semester system school for an undecided student who wants to sample a lot of subjects in his/her freshman year.</p>
<p>I don’t think I child should over focus right now. If they found their passion, that is wonderful. If not, I try to provide many opportunities to help narrow down. Volunteer work is good for this,. summer classes, apprenticeships, shadowing, etc.</p>
<p>Physics is also another long-sequence major – the prerequisite sequence may be up to seven semesters long (six for students who start in a more advanced math course than first semester freshman calculus).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Perhaps the lesson here, for those considering majors with long sequences of prerequisites, is to consider whether the school offers every course in the sequence every semester, so that taking semesters off (including for co-op jobs), or missing a course one semester due to scheduling issues, does not set back the schedule by a whole year. Also, students who start advanced by a semester with AP or college credit in high school may not be able to gain any schedule flexibility if they cannot take the more advanced courses a semester early because they are not offered every semester.</p>
<p>The guy with the sequence problem was at a flagship state university with 10,000+ students. At my own alma mater, which also was a 10,000+ school, you also couldn’t get every course every semester. On the other hand, at the university my son attended (also a flagship, but with a population well above 20,000), quite a lot of courses that were halves of two-semester sequences were taught in the “wrong” semester as well as the “right” one. So maybe there is an advantage to attending truly huge universities if you have a highly sequential major.</p>
<p>Another point: It may be helpful to recognize that the object of the game is not to graduate “on time.” It’s to pay for no more than eight semesters.</p>
<p>A classmate of mine at college used this kind of thinking when she wanted to switch her major from biology to chemistry halfway through college. She had already taken organic chemistry, but she had taken the sequence for life sciences majors, which was less rigorous than the one for chemistry majors and could not be counted toward the chemistry major. The course for majors was a prerequisite for chemistry courses she needed to take, in sequence, in her last four semesters.</p>
<p>Here was her solution: She took a year’s leave of absence and got a job as a laboratory technician at the university during that year. Using a program that allows employees to enroll in university courses at a discounted tuition rate, she took the organic chemistry sequence for chemistry majors during that year. She had no difficulty paying the reduced tuition out of her technician’s salary. Then she returned to college as a full-time student and completed her degree (and, incidentally, went on to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry). She graduated a year later than expected, but her parents paid for only eight semesters. Most of us would consider this a satisfactory outcome, I think.</p>
<p>Not really. H and I are scientists, and DD wanted nothing to do with anything science-y</p>
<p>D: I want to work in the music industry some day. Maybe at some alternative record label?
Me: But you dont’t know much about music. You don’t even practice the piano.
D: I don’t NEED to know music to work in that industry. I think I’ll study some kind of business.
Me: What about accounting? I’ve heard that’s a pretty good career.
D: Mo-therrrrrrr. No way could I be an accountant. That’s so dull.</p>
<p>Last week she began her full-time job as a staff accountant at a Big 4 firm. Go figure.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus–declaring your major is not the same as “knowing” your major. Sequential majors are an issue even if you start right away freshman year, especially at larger schools where courses fill up and you don’t get into the classes you need. It is increasingly rare to finish school in 4 years at any larger university so those going into fields like engineering should be prepared to do 5 years anyway or 4 years and several summer classes which amount to the same thing.</p>
<p>There are general education classes that are required of all majors at every school. Those classes take up almost 2 full years of courses. It is still possible, even with sequential majors, to get your coursework done in 4 years provided you are lucky enough with the registrar, even if you start sophomore year with the first sequence, but then again, you are probably going 5 years anyway if you go to a school that offers engineering because they are larger institutions.</p>
<p>This is also why I pay little attention to the 6 year graduation rates. Kids change their mind more often than not, extending their college stay, due to no fault of said college.</p>