Picking a major...

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>I'm only a first year in college, but I'm already stressed in what to major in. I really love my school (academically speaking. Socially, I managed to make friends with people who make fun of me. that's beside the point) but I don't know what to major in.</p>

<p>I was going to do Business, only because I thought it would be good to help me get a job later and help me pay off the loans I am using to go to college. I decided that while I like my Management class, I can't see myself doing business. I would be 100% miserable. I hate all the classes I have to take to finish the major, like economics and finance. I was terrible in high school with economics.</p>

<p>I was looking around and speaking to my advisor and now I'm on track to declare a double major in PR and Arts Administration. History was one of my best subjects in high school, along with Arts and English. However, I don't know how I'd feel about working for a non profit, and I don't know how the job market is? I've never considered Arts Adminstration, and I wanted to do Graphic Design, but I can't get into any of the classes because I had such a late registration time.</p>

<p>I actually applied to my school as a nursing major, because ever since I was a young I had seen myself working in a hospital. I would love to be on my feet all the time and be busy. I was never that good at Chemistry, but I was good with both honors and AP Biology in high school. Since I didn't start the year as a nursing major because I was afraid I was going to fail out of all of my classes (I see now that it wouldn't have been hard). I'm a semester behind, and if I try again to take the classes next semester, I would have to re-apply as a nursing student, and I don't know if I'd be able to catch up with summer classes. I don't want to stay in school an extra semester. </p>

<p>I don't know what to do. If I want to be a nursing major, I need to decide that now because then I need to start taking the classes next semester. If not, I don't know if it would be worth staying in the school I'm in. My school is famous for their amazing nursing program, and that would be the only reason I would stay. </p>

<p>The academics for everything else is good, but I've had such a terrible social experience a part of me really wants to leave. I managed to come to college and make friends with people who make fun of me all the time and make me feel bad, and I feel really alone all the time.</p>

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<p>I’m sorry you’ve been having a rotten time but glad you’ve been able to find some positives to.</p>

<p>Its great that you have 2 clear career paths. Arts admin is worthy if you enjoy various forms of visual and performing arts and selling or promoting that work to maximise money and visitors. So its quite business orientated but for keeping the art existing. But it does take a big hit during recessions where public funding gets cut. Art isn’t seen as a priority.</p>

<p>Looking at the nursing, you’re in a good school. So it’d be a perfect place to train. Unless you can’t afford the extra semester, do go for it. Don’t cram in the summer courses. Enjoy your free time/work and get excited for your chance to finally follow your dream. It’ll be a long slog to graduate. No one cares the age of your graduation. There’ll be lots of older students in the class too. </p>

<p>I’d say the same for graphic design, if its a good department. If you can afford it. Go for it. There’s a case for summer classes in that you’ll be ticking along towards your major sooner rather than later. </p>

<p>Ultimately, once employed as a nurse, it’d be easier to become a graphic designer learning, designing in your spare time. From there, you can see if you just like it as a hobby or really want to go pro. As you know, doing things the other way around is a possibility but would be more costly. </p>

<p>You know what you should do right now? Go and make an appointment to speak to an academic in the nursing program. See what they think. What route they’d advise. You might get another option you hadn’t discovered. </p>

<p>As for the losers you hang around with? Jack them. You don’t need them. In the short term, stand your ground and tell them they can’t speak to you like that. "Stop! That’s completely disrespectful."and keep doing it even if you sound like a broken record. Join a club/clubs you’d enjoy. Heck, I ended up making random friends when we all ended up on a dead newsgroup on a message board about a ghost club. We decided to meet up at the college library and had a very pleasant lunch together. </p>

<p>See this as a brilliant new start. You’ve found a focus. Get the help to find out how best to achieve it and leave the loosers when you skip off into the sunset too busy with your own life to worry about theirs.</p>