Insight into Choosing a Major

<p>Hi, I'm currently a junior in HS and am quite confused about where I want to go for my next step in education and some help would be greatly appreciated. I'm a pretty well-rounded student in just about every subject, and I pass any course I take with ease but I can automatically tell which courses I have a passion for and which ones I still dislike (sciences, liberal arts). Unfortunately, my ability to do well in school has its faults and I'm having trouble deciding which path to take. My current unweighted GPA is 4.00 and my weighted is around 4.65, although it should go up with the next coming year, as I'm literally taking every advanced class there is to offer.</p>

<p>My brother is a civil engineer major at UC Berkeley right now so this and good job prospects has pushed me towards the engineering department a little bit. But over the years I've discovered my strength isn't quite in math. I am still able to suceed in my classes (I just completed Calculus AB), and if i gave it a lot of effort I think I could keep up with the engineering curriculum. However, it's kind of those things that I have a growing dislike since I don't excel at problem solving and logic, although I wish i did lol. I haven't taken physics yet so that doesn't help my case either.</p>

<p>There is one thing I'm looking for in my career, and that is the ability to design, create, and understand just about any project that gets thrown at me. Looking back, I have loved pouring hours over physical projects from elementary school to a large graphic poster for 9th grade English. I enjoy learning about how things work in order to create the best aesthetic designs and functioning product, and I like combining ideas in a team, not just my own. I'm also very organized and a bit of a perfectionist. I have leaned towards art-centered careers because I've loved drawing as a kid, but I've lost my creativity throughout my academic focus in HS. The thing is, I don't want to spend ALL my time struggling to come up with the next best design, nor ALL my time struggling with calculations. I would really like to do both.</p>

<p>So...THIS now leads me to careers and whatnot lol. I've considered a lot of fields, such as Structural Engineering to Architecture to Environmental Engineering to Industrial design to Mechanical Engineering. I'm extremely split between what path to take, and of course I know I can always switch. Still, I would like to choose a major AND a top college with the best flexibility, preferably in California. I'm not quite keen on structural with its intense problem solving and I'm not quite set on Architecture/Industrial Design with its instability in the job market/extreme focus in art. I recently ruled out Environmental after taking a course this year because if it's intensity on the sciences. And I don't know much about mechanical. :D</p>

<p>I was hoping if anyone can lead me in the right direction based on all my interests and strengths? I'm so lost right now, I'm supposed to be studying for the SAT and subject tests and AP tests and the ACT but I JUST CAN'T without knowing what I'm studying for. Any opinions on majors, colleges I should choose, or anything at all would be incredibly helpful. Thank you so much for reading my very long rant. If no one even responds, at least i practiced some writing. </p>

<p>You have a lot of talents and cool interests. That’s great! </p>

<p>“I’m supposed to be studying for the SAT and subject tests and AP tests and the ACT but I JUST CAN’T without knowing what I’m studying for” - Here’s the good news. Those test scores are important regardless of the major. Just focus on that for now. </p>

<p>Regarding Subject tests, many schools/majors don’t care which subjects. Some do. Look at some of the maybe-choices for Engineering and see their requirements. (Sometimes they have math/science requirements). Good luck! </p>

<p>thank you! :)</p>