So it’s been a while since I posted on CC but I need some help and would invite any useful suggestions. I am currently a HS teacher and have one of my top students asking for guidance in her college search. She is struggling in trying to find an area of study. Although she has many academic strengths, her personal interests suggest something in the science field. She does not want to pursue medicine and just needs suggestions in how to determine what to study. Any suggestions?
I would reassure her that most students are either undecided or change their minds once they get to college, so she shouldn’t feel pressured to know what she wants to do while still in high school. If she likes science, she should just focus on schools that have strong science programs where she is a good fit. She will have 2 years in college before she needs to declare her major (at the end of her second year.) Assuming she’s been trying various things, it’s highly likely that she will have found her fit by then. Even after the second year, she can still change her mind assuming she has enough credits in a different area to graduate on time. So no pressure on this score.
Does your school GC have a copy of The Book of Majors, published by College Board? Have her do this:
- Go through the book with two colors of post-it notes.
- Flag majors/careers that look super interesting (we used green post-its) and possibly interesting (we used yellow for these).
- When she is done, go back over to identify groupings and patterns.
- Try to have her make a list of the three that seem like the best to her. Ideally she will enroll in a college where all 3 are offered.
- When she gets to college, she should try to take 2 classes in each area to see if she likes the major (two gives a broader sampling of material and dilutes the impact of one good or bad prof).
- She should spend time in the career office at her college learning about jobs ( and internships) in her areas of interest.
These steps should position her well to settle on a major by sophomore year.