Looking for A College; Afraid of Being Useless

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm going to do the best that I can to not spill my life story on here, but to put it bluntly, my situation has left me with no idea of what I'm doing. </p>

<p>For the first two years of High School I was dealing with a really crippling depression that took a lot to get over. Towards the end of Junior year to now into my senior year, I've been at an alternative high school that I've been doing pretty well at - As, A-s and a B+ here and there. </p>

<p>I'm really thinking hard about what I want to do with my life and I've run into a problem: I'm not a programmer, engineer, etc, but I really want to do well in the world after college. My SAT scores that I took cold were 660 Math, 680 Reading, 580 writing, and I'm planning to take it again to up that score. With such a screwy high school record, I have no idea where I stand with getting into schools.</p>

<p>Here's the kicker: I'm an artist. At least, I think I am. I love animation and art, but I also want to tell stories and be creative. I am very interested in sciences, primarily physics, and I've been thinking my best shot would be to get into the best school that I can, major in physics, and pursue art outside of that.</p>

<p>I only hear bad things about art schools, and I don't think I'd work well there anyway. Despite being an artist, I get along much better with smart, thinking people more than the types of people that go to art schools (I feel like that sounds extremely condescending, but here we are.) </p>

<p>I'm an upper-middle class white kid. Whatever school I want to go to, my parents will support it, which is nice, but doesn't feel good. I don't want to go get a $200,000 dollar Bachelor of fine arts degree that my parents payed for and then bum off of them for the rest of my life. </p>

<p>I want to do things, but I don't know that I can with the hand I've been dealt.</p>

<p>Help.</p>

2

<p>First - You are not alone. Most kids simply are not firm on their futures when they are Seniors in high school. You will get to college and see many kids change majors after their first semester or two once they realize how hard <strong><em>insert whatever class they think is hard here</em></strong>* is. For me, it was Biochemistry - It ate my lunch and determined for me that I was not to major in Medical Technology. </p>

<p>My advice is to pick a school that has a broad spectrum of majors. Stay away from specialized schools and Liberal Arts Colleges that only offer 25-30 degrees and focus on those that offer 60 or more.</p>

<p>I tend to be more practical than many here and as a result I’d tend to think about looking at nearby state universities and mid-sized liberal arts colleges, but in terms of tuition, you might try to steer clear of your state’s ‘flagship’ university as those tend to be the most expensive of the state schools. Try to do you and your folks a favor and keep debt down to a minimum, though, until you are at least firm on your plans.</p>

<p>Luckily, Art and Physics are available at lots of schools, but keep in mind, that many a Physics major changes to Math after a year and many a Math major changes to Music after a year, and so on. The truth is that there are probably degrees you don’t even have a grasp on yet that may interest you once you get there.</p>

3

<p>Here’s my concern for you - not knowing your personal story other than your bout with depression, I would think that a smaller, more personalized college would be the right choice, at least to begin with. Also one with a looser series of gen ed courses and other requirements given your current success at an alternative high school.</p>

<p>I would suggest looking at colleges mentioned in Colleges That Change Lives (you don’t have to buy the book, just google it for the list and then do some research) and also schools that don’t require SAT scores. I would suggest looking at schools that take a holistic approach to admissions as you have an interesting story to tell. </p>

<p>Oh, and don’t dismiss art/animation so quickly - one of my daughter’s friends has been very gainfully employed at a graphics animation house since mid-June after graduation and is totally independent from her parents.</p>

<p>Look outside the box as you did with high school, and you will find great matches for a successful college career. Good luck!</p>

4

<p>There is no conflict between studying art and going to college. There are many colleges that have good studio art programs. If you have broad interests and aren’t sure what you want to study, a liberal arts college might be a good choice for you. </p>

<p>There is nothing wrong with being your age and not knowing what you want to do. Don’t put additional and unnecessary pressure on yourself to have it all figured out. Most people your age who believe that they know exactly what they are going to do end up changing their plans anyway. There is a lot of pressure on kids now to proclaim big structured goals at the age of 18. Don’t buy into the hype. You don’t need to know what you’ll be doing in 10 years. Just focus on next year.</p>