I’m a high school junior and I’m currently taking four AP classes. I have an unweighted GPA of 4.0. I currently am part of NHS, Junior Representative of Habitat for Humanity, and president of Math Club. I play soccer year round and Varsity tennis in the spring. I also am part of our Unified Basketball team, which helps special needs kids at our school play basketball. I’m also in our Wind Ensemble Band. I’ve won Athlete of the Week multiple times and won a MAC Athletic Scholarship last year.
All this and I have no idea what I want to do for college. I know I want to go out of state but I have no idea what major to do. Which I know isn’t a big deal, but for scholarships I feel like you need to have a major in mind. I want to go to a good school because I’m a relatively good student, but how do I look for a college? I’m not religious and I don’t want to go to a small school.
I want to do something based around biology, business, mathematics, accounting or engineering but I have no clue.
So how do I find a successful college without knowing what I want to major in?
Start with a budget…what can/will your family pay per year for college?
Do you want to play soccer or tennis in college? Are you recruitable?
Have you taken the ACT or SAT yet? PSAT?
Beyond size, you might narrow options based on geography. If you are interested in majoring in engineering, business or accounting you would obviously include schools that have those majors.
Do you have a guidance counselor at school who will be helping you thru the process?
I agree with figuring out a budget and talking with your guidance counselor. There might also be a section on your high school’s website with counseling information and basic tips for college searches. Depending on where you live, there may also be upcoming college fairs in the spring that might be helpful to attend. That would give you a chance to speak with different schools, hear about their opportunities, which could spark some ideas about majors and how to combine your interests at a university. Good luck!
I’m from a middle class family and my brother is currently in college. I’m not planning on playing sports in college. I’ve taken the PSAT and got a 1240 which sucks, but I’m also not the best test taker. I’m planning on taking the SAT in March but am unsure if I’m going to take the ACT, is it beneficial to take both? I’m from the west coast and know I don’t want to move to the east coast, so I’m looking at Colorado, Arizona, Montana or in that general area. The guidance counselors are always fully booked with seniors looking for college advice.
Every college up front wants to look amazing so it’s hard to find details without digging into each and every college individually. Any website suggestions that will give upfront and clear information?
With a 4.0 uwGPA, I’m not buying that you are not a good test taker. ? In all seriousness, if you prep for the SAT and/or ACT you can do well. What are you doing to prepare for the March SAT? You might check out Khan Academy’s free SAT resources and see if you find that helpful.
Researching colleges does take time, and will require visiting individual websites to see what majors they offer, whether you apply to a major or school within the college, HS curriculum requirements, average GPA/test scores of current students, etc.
There are several sites that have decent college search functions including CollegeBoard and Princeton Review. Does your school use Naviance? If so, Naviance also has a college search function that categorizes schools by reach, match and safety…typically students applying to a few reaches, 4 or so matches and at least one affordable safety. The good news is that being from California, you have a number of good state college options…do any of those appeal to you?
Lastly, have the budget talk with your parents sooner rather than later. Will you be able to visit any colleges this spring and/or summer?
You might also look at the WUE schools (Western Undergraduate Exchange). There’s a reciprocal agreement between a handful of western states that lets students apply to select out of state schools and pay lower tuition costs. Certain schools in Colorado, Arizona, and Montana are all options.
It does take time to research! But you’ll start to get a feel for what appeals to you and what doesn’t, as well as what your priorities are. Keep a spreadsheet, figure out the budget, and start building a list.
Definitely want OOS. Don’t want a small school. Up in the air about very different majors. Interested in CO, MT, AZ.
Your GPA will not hinder you. Maybe, you should start with only 6 - Colorado, Colorado State, Montana, Montana State, Arizona, Arizona State, since they have very wide course offerings in their state. See what appeals to you and what you don’t like. If you like the idea of those big state flagships in the arid/mountain states, look at some of the surrounding states flagships.
If you start to get more specific and are okay with mid-size, then you can consider Colorado School of Mines (STEM/engineering), University of Denver (Business), etc as options.
Ask you parents what your budget is. This is the most important thing. You might be able to get merit aid or need aid from some schools, but you need to know how much money you can spend first and then go from there.
If you want facts about any particular college, google "college X common data set". This presents facts about almost every college in the same format.
It's okay if you don't yet know what to major in. Take a deep breath. You are only 16 or 17 years old, so be kind to yourself even if you don't have your entire future planned out yet. Most kids switch majors anyway! Just remember that if you are considering something like engineering, it is much easier to start in engineering and then transfer out if you change your mind than the other way around. Your other potential majors will be more forgiving (although it sounds like you should make sure you take math your first semester with most of those potential majors that you listed).
Once you have the budget figured out, think about several other items to create a profile.
Major / Minor course of study
Geography (region of the country)
Location (rural, suburban, urban)
Size (small, medium, large)
Big sports culture
Big school spirit
Greek vs. Non Greek
Alumni strength
Job Placement history
Graduation in 4 yr history
Anything else that’s important to you
For example, S wanted smaller mid size school, not in the city, on the east coast, with a great UG Buisness school, strong sports culture and a very social vibe. He didn’t apply to Penn or NYU or a number of great UG B schools because they weren’t on the profile. He got admitted to several and rejected by a few. All on profile so it wasn’t about not getting in to dream school or anything like that. it was more like a dream profile and he had good choices that checked most of the boxes.
Unlikely you’ll get everything you like and nothing is perfect, but if you build your list with the profile in mind, you’ll eliminate a lot of wasted time. Probably makes sense to go see a few local schools of varying size to get a feel.
Regarding test taking: I know it sucks to hear this (at least it did for me), but test scores can open a lot of doors-or shut them. Take an ACT practice test and see how you feel about it. Then choose the test format that suits you best and dedicate time to it- that is essentially the key to improving on it. Lots of schools and community colleges offer small group classes for reasonable prices. Have you checked out any offers in your region?