I'm not sure what to major in yet?

College Majors
1

So, over the past few weeks I’ve sort of convinced myself to major in engineering. Eventually, my dream would be to own my own business and make some of my invention ideas into tangible items. Therefore, I thought I’d get a degree in some engineering field and then get my MBA or maybe just do industrial engineering and get a little bit of exposure to business. Now that I’ve been thinking about it, I’m not really super passionate about math and especially not at all about science. I do like anatomy and biology a lot, but I don’t like physics that much, or chemistry at all. I also did get a C in both chemistry and physics first quarter, but after I learned how to study properly for the classes, I did get a B+. I guess I don’t mind them, but I’m not really extremely passionate about them. I hated chemistry because it was so hard for me to understand, so I did poorly. Physics I did like more, but it was still never like I loved the class.

Math on the other hand, I used to hate, but over the past couple years I’ve grown to enjoy and understand the necessity of. Again like science, I don’t mind it, but I’m not passionate about it. I don’t actively go out and seek more math practice. I do it because I have to.

In high school, I’ve taken Algebra 1, Geometry, Honors Algebra 2/Trigonometry, Precalculus and AP Calculus AB. For science, I’ve taken Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, Honors Physics, AP Biology, and Anatomy and Physiology.

Because I’m not super into math or science, I’ve been thinking about industrial engineering or computer science. I know that they both require amazing math skills and science somewhat, but I feel like they’re different kinds of math, and maybe I’ll be better at calculus than I have been in high school? Hopefully?

My interests really range all over the place. Right now, I’m thinking about biomedical engineering, industrial engineering, computer engineering, computer science, physical therapy, finance, and healthcare management.

My real interests out of those would be biomedical engineering, finance, and healthcare management. I really love biomedical engineering as a concept, but I’m not sure about the math and science.

I am currently taking: AP Computer Science, Orchestra, AP Statistics, AP Literature, Anatomy and AP Calc AB as a senior which I don’t know if that affects anything.

What do you think I should do?

2

I would suggest looking into your potential majors. See what is needed of those and see if any of them interest you.

3

To a certain extent, the best predictor for how you will do in the future is how you’ve done in the past. There are some things that are quite different about college and the way subjects are taught there vs. high school. And yes, the math does change a bit - after a certain point. However, it still requires the same kind of thinking. If you don’t like thinking in the ways in which math forces you to think, then math-heavy fields might not be great for you.

That said, I don’t think that you have to be “passionate” about something to major in it or have a career in it. Obviously I wouldn’t seek out a major in something I hated, but if you’re relatively content with math then that might be okay if you like the other concepts in engineering. However, it doesn’t sound like you’re particularly interested in any of the building blocks of an engineering major.

What do you actually like to study?