<p>My daughter is a rising junior. She has an unweighted GPA of 3.95. She is more inclined to study science. So far she has expressed interest in biology. In her sophomore year she took Honors Biology and Honors Chemistry. She didn't particularly care for chem. This year she is taking Honors Precalc, AP Bio, and AP Lang.</p>
<p>She is a methodical and detailed person. She'll spend many hours on an assignment, until she gets it perfect. Sometimes I think she would be a good architect or engineer. She doesn't seem to fit the humanities/liberal arts direction, although she is a talented musician. What major or career matches this personality or profile? If you have any ideas, post them here. Thanks!</p>
<p>Based on how you have described her interests–mostly science based–I assume any field in the sciences will do. Biology is quite a broad field. There’s evolutionary biology, ecology, microbiology, molecular genetics, biochemistry, cell and developmental biology, etc.</p>
<p>…and because she is a methodical and detailed person, going into the biology field would be great. So, to answer your question, a biology major would be a great match. But like I said before any science (as long as she is interested in it) will be just as good. Physics is very methodical, and is very math-based, so if she’s into math and science, that would be good too.</p>
<p>With biology, the career options are quite honestly… a lot… Is she interested in research-type stuff? Teaching? Medical-side of biology? Again, this depends on personal interests.</p>
<p>If that’s the case she needs to stay FARRRRRRR away from biochem or biophysics</p>
<p>Really if she likes biology there is no way to get around dealing with chemistry. Buckle up I would say general chem is doable organic a bear and biochem annoying. </p>
<p>Come on over to engineering, I would say we’d love to have you! She seems like a math major too me. </p>
<p>Honestly there is no way to get around chemistry in college, it’s just one of those things you have to suck up. I can’t really say what it’s so bad. Is she more of a math type person or logic person?</p>
<p>Gingeralelover: My daughter’s favorite drink is ginger ale. 
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<p>She did have some intro into physics in her freshman year, and did not entirely enjoy it. I told her that she didn’t do real physics and anything truly exciting in her class though. It was not a dedicated physics class. She is quite good in math. She has received straight As in math since middle school. </p>
<p>Biology seems like one the best options right now. She might be interested in one of the specialties listed listed. Fortunately or in-state schoool, University of MD, is quite good in both biology and engineering.</p>
<p>Nutz4Bucks: She got an A in Honors Chem first semester and a high B 2nd semester. She had different teachers in those semesters. He 2nd semester teacher just didn’t click with her. Her HS switches teachers for each semester. While she struggled 2nd semester and “hated” chem, she did quite well. I am wondering if her not liking a subject is a good reason to not study it. Sometimes it takes hard work to be successful.</p>
<p>Since she is good at math and doing puzzles. I think she is good in both math and logic.</p>
<p>Engineering is a field where you apply scientific knowledge to the real world. I highly recommend it. Maybe Biomedical Engineering at the graduate level would be good.</p>
<p>alchemist007: That’s a good idea. UMD has a bioengineering program as well. Do you recommend biology as an undergrad and biomedical engineering for the graduate level?</p>
<p>^ Biology simply as an undergraduate degree alone will not provide the quantitative background needed in an engineering field, especially at a graduate level.</p>
<p>My opinion is that she should take a Chemistry class of any sort one more time. Some subjects just do not click the first time around. If that is not an option, then Biology looks to be a good way to go. However, “methodical and detailed” makes me think of a math or engineering major. Bioengineering could be an option if she is open to the physics involved.</p>
<p>darkdream: thanks for your input. </p>
<p>aGGieENGiNeeR: She might take AP Chem in her senior year, so maybe it will click then. I keep telling her, there’s no escaping chemistry, not even by majoring in biology.</p>
<p>i’m a rising college freshman, and in high school, i was EXACTLY like your daughter. except a little more interested in chemistry, and took AP chem my senior year. i’m also a bio person.
I personally always pushed myself to go into that direction, but now that i’ve taken a step back, i’ve realized that a lot of the decisions “i” made, my parents kind of made. i had decided to go pre-med, was dead-set on becoming a doctor, had the gpa and classes (and teachers opinions) to support it, but i’ve really been questioning it lately.
All i can offer her is this: give it time. I’m not sure about anything now, and am entering college completely undecided, possibly looking at oceanography or atmospheric sciences (even though i’ve never taken a physics class b/c i thought i would HATE it). and my college advisor agreed with me that its a good route to take. Considering the fact that she doesn’t actually have to declare a major until the end of her sophomore year, she has all of freshman year to just take classes that appeal to her and then go from there. You never really know what the major will be like until you take college classes, because they’re so different from high school classes. Have her investigate her interests, and just steer her toward something that will keep her happy for the rest of her life (that’s the best advice i’ve been given so far, so maybe it will help her, and you, too). good luck!</p>
<p>bdk0719: Thanks for your insight on this. We are trying not to be too pushy, since we want her to be comfortable with her own decision. Going undecided is a definitely an option. The only downside I can see is that she might be eligible for scholarships or grants if she doesn’t declare her major. She might not be able to apply for college Honors programs that some universities offer.</p>
<p>AP Chemistry will be a good measure for her. I took it senior year too in order to verify my choice in major (ChemE) , but after going through the class I realized that I really didn’t have much of a passion for the subject to warrant majoring in an extremely chem intensive major. However, if she goes through this and can stomach it to any extent, she should be able to take a path in college that integrates both.</p>
<p>To me it seems like she would be fit for the following three majors. </p>
<p>Math: If she is very picky in details and a hard worker at math then she will probably like math. Once you get to higher math classes in college a lot of it becomes theory and logic which is the stuff that I like. They may require her to take physics or chemistry or allow her to choose several tracks in math. (They do this at Ohio State)</p>
<p>Biology: Anything in biological case since will entertain her. If she likes working things down to itty bitty then this may be perfect. She seems like someone who wouldn’t like gen chem but would love organic. In college I got a C, C+ and A- in general chemistry then a solid A in organic because I love memorizing things to the detail. Stick with it! </p>
<p>Biomedical Engineering: She seems like she like to pay attention to details. The major I am in requires a lot of it. Logic and Math skills are of essence so this probably would be a good choice. </p>
<p>*** My recommendation would be for her to take AP Chem, AP Physics, AB Calculus and a few classes at a community college. This would maximize the amount of college credit she can start off with in college. Good classes to take at a community college would be social science classes. I don’t know what state your in but in ohio, the state pays for it. Also make sure she has a maximum amount of exposure to topics this way she can avoid the freshmen struggle I went through.</p>
<p>Also AP chem is just general chemistry. It’s not the full thing. There is also Organic, Inorganic, Physical Chemisty, Biophysical Chemistry, Analytical, Quantitative and Qualitative. So much, so don’t expect AP to cover it all.</p>
<p>Thanks for the follow-up Nutz4Bucks. When I show this to my daughter again, I hope she doesn’t get too intimidated by the all the varieties of chemistry. I’ll have to see which chem classes her high school offers. She might be more interested in organic chem vs. AP chem.</p>