<p>So I'm a college freshman who is currently on winter break. I've been taking college courses since I was a junior in high school so I have enough credit hours to be considered a sophomore, 1 more semester until I'll be considered a junior. I wanted to get ahead because I knew I would hate school so I even opted to start college early and moved in over the summer. Now that I'm finally on break after all this time of nonstop school, I'm starting to freak out a little. Since I'm so far ahead, I have all my gen ed classes taken care of and I should be well into the courses for my intended major. The problem is I've changed my major 3 times already and even though I thought I had settled on English, I haven't. I also haven't made any friends while at school, and it doesn't help that I live in a single dorm room. I don't like the college I chose and now I don't know what I want to major in. I've been thinking about transferring but I hardly have time to think about anything other than my classes once school starts up again. And since I don't know what major I want to be in, the classes I'm scheduled for next semester are just a bunch of random ones that don't count towards anything. All my scholarship money has run out and I've already taken out a loan for next semester but I'm going to be stuck paying off a loan for classes that I didn't need. I feel like I should just take some time off to figure things out but my mom insists that I go back. She thinks I won't ever go back if I decide to take time off, and the truth is I think she doesn't want me to move back home. I'm just so overwhelmed right now and I have 2 weeks left of break to figure out what I should do.</p>
<p>Sounds to me like you need to take some time off. There’s no use taking out a loan for courses that mean nothing. Talk to your mom about moving home for a semester. If she doesn’t like the idea of you ‘mooching’ a room and food off her, consider getting a job to support yourself and offer to pay something for ‘rent’ and food. Even just a job stocking shelves somewhere could maybe provide you some time to think and find perspective. </p>
<p>Good luck, my friend!</p>
<p>Absolutely as LLaKHigH says.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, what were your majors? How did you decide upon each one? Do you have a vague idea of what you might like to do after college? </p>
<p>Set yourself deadlines towards getting back into college and find yourself a job to contribute to the home. Sell it to your mum that its in both your interests in the long run. In your spare time, read and research as much as you can. Ask the people you work with about their own careers and jobs. </p>
<p>Just remember that most majors allow entry for most jobs. Its how you sell it. If you haven’t decided on a career, pick a major because you enjoy it. That will create opportunities in turn.</p>
<p>I started out as undecided and then changed it to psychology after 2 weeks. I took my first psychology class and didn’t like it so I changed it to English, which is what everyone has always assumed I would do. Something like English or Journalism or something because they think I’m a good writer. I can be a good writer when I want to be, which is not very often. I took the first few classes I needed as an English major this last semester and absolutely hated those classes because they were so boring and there was so much reading that I didn’t care for and I didn’t feel like I learned anything. I switched to Early Childhood Education towards the end of the semester, but only because my friend told me I would make a good teacher and because I was desperately looking for something to cling to. I haven’t been officially added into that program though because I haven’t taken the prereqs, so technically I’m still an English major. I have a job on campus in my school’s dining hall, and I think that might be a reason my mom doesn’t want me to take a break because it will mean giving up a job. I’m sure if I talked to them I could have it when I came back, but she isn’t sure. I’ve been thinking about taking a break for about a month now and when I first thought about it I knew my mom would want me to get a job, so I had one lined up to start at over winter break and she still wasn’t happy so I never took it. I don’t know what else I can do to please her. But I have spent all day researching different majors and different schools in case I decide to transfer in the fall. I don’t know what my interests are, though. It seems whenever I’m reading a novel I always think I want to be a writer. Whenever I’m at school, I think I want to be a teacher. But when I’m just sitting at home doing nothing, I think I won’t be any good at those things and decide I don’t want to be anything.</p>
<p>Stop caring about pleasing your mom and do what you want to do.</p>
<p>IMO taking loans for classes you don’t need is crazy.</p>
<p>I don’t know if I am fully understanding your situation, but I feel like you are doing things in the wrong order. You decide what you want to be before even taking classes in that subject area. This approach is turning out to be a waste of time for you. Why don’t you just take some classes that you think you <em>might</em> find interesting, and then if you like any of those classes enough to pursue a career in that field, major in that?</p>
<p>Honestly, don’t worry about it. I’m a (soon-to-be) second semester sophomore with junior standing. I started out as a physics major, then realized I hate physics and switched to chemistry and Spanish double major, then realized I really wanted to study abroad and switched to just Spanish. And I still haven’t officially declared yet. You have plenty of time.</p>
<p>And I agree with bomerr. This is your life, do what makes you happy. And if you’re happy, your mom should be happy too.</p>
<p>Do you want to be a teacher? That’s more important than whether or not your friend thinks you’d be a good teacher. Why don’t you try tutoring or volunteering in a school to see if it’s a good fit for you? If it’s something you’re interested in, why don’t you take the prerequisites for the program next semester so the classes aren’t totally useless?</p>
<p>If you do want to take time off, why don’t you come up with a plan on what you would do during your break and when you plan on going back. Your mom might be more amenable to the situation if you have a well-thought out plan about what you’re going to do and how it’s going to help you in the long run. Think of the practicalities involved with taking time off: would you be able to take a semester off and return to your school without re-applying? Would you be able to find a job near your home during the break? How easy would it be to find another on campus job when you return to school?</p>
<p>Think carefully about what you would do when you’re taking time off. Don’t just say that you want to “figure out what you want to do with your life” because that could mean anything, and like you said, if you’re just bumming around at home, you won’t feel like you can do anything with your life. Come up with things that you can do while at home that would help you decide what you want to do: volunteering, job shadows, and the like. Find a job near home so that you’re mom doesn’t think that you just want to laze around all day.</p>
<p>If you can figure out what sort of career that you would like, then you should be able to figure out what sort of major you want. Have you tried talking to advisors or career counselors at your school? They may be able to give you some advice on how to pick a major or how you could go about taking time off most effectively.</p>
<p>I know all of the schools have different labels but . . .
Early Childhood Education, in California, is for persons who plan to do Preschool.</p>
<p>Teacher Education is for all levels from k-12</p>
<p>Ask at your school.</p>
<p>I went through five majors before settling on the one I graduated with. Take a deep breath. You have time. You can probably stay in college 4 years without running into SAP trouble. Try thinking of yourself as a freshmen, just like any other undecided freshmen, and explore things that might be of interest to you, even if the classes look arbitrary. Your gen eds were met through AP? Newsflash. Lot’s of AP classes, taught in high schools by high school teachers, really don’t resemble college classes at all. You might find you really like a subject that you didn’t like before (happens to me in history), so don’t be afraid to take a course even if you already have the gen ed.</p>
<p>Re the scholarship: Sounds like it was just a one year one and you used in up in summer and fall? Since it wouldn’t have gotten you through to the end anyway, I assume you had a plan B.</p>
<p>Lastly, though, is your statement about expecting to hate school and then actually hating it. School’s not for everybody (and definitely not for everybody at 17 or 18). While I wouldn’t worry so much about having a major so early on, I would be concerned about hating school. An option might be technical training at a cc and get yourself out into the work world sooner. Have you ever considered that route? There are great programs in IT, green and wind energy, allied health fields, and others that can get you out of school quickly with good prospects for well-paying jobs.</p>