hi, i’m a senior in a public hs in ny and i honestly don’t know what i’m doing w my life or for college. my interests have changed a lot over the past couple months, and as of right now i’m not sure whether to major in psych and be some type of counselor, education and be an elementary school teacher, or social work to hopefully work for cps. i’m interested in it all but i don’t know what to do, so i don’t know what colleges to look for either. right now i’m either trying to stay in NY or MA, but at the very least the northeast. i’ll list some updated stats below, any advice about careers, majors, colleges, etc would be greatly appreciated.
•98.6662 weighted GPA, unsure what my unweighted is
•11th in class of 313
•1330 SAT superscore, 1300 highest alone
•3 APs throughout HS
•6 dual enrollment classes through UAlbany, SUNY Dutchess, and Marist College
•6 week summer program through Boston College, took 2 courses and lived on campus, got As in both classes, got 6 college credits total
• National Honor Society, International Thespian Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society
•Work as an assistant teacher at a dance studio
•Within the next month I’ll start working/volunteering at a nursery school
•Actively involved in dance outside of school (about 8-9 hours per week)
•Actively involved in my school’s music (vocal and instrumental) and theatre program
I would look at schools with dance programs (just because it’s nice to continue your dance even if it’s not your major) and that are test optional, because your test scores aren’t as strong as your GPA.
Mt. Holyoke
Bryn Mawr
Simmons -- would give merit
Wheaton in Mass
Connecticut College
Smith
Muhleberg -- is not test optional I think but yu might be in range
You should be able to find many good options. You posted a very similar question in July – have you done any research since then? Here are a few comments/suggestions:
– Please understand that you don’t have to decide what you will do for a living or even what your college major will be now. Find a college with an array of majors/courses in areas you are interested in and spend your first year or two exploring options. That is not unusual. In fact I’ve heard an admissions officer say that about 50% of applicants apply undecided and of those who do apply with a major about half end up changing it during college.
–Talk to your parents about any limitations on your college search (ex. financial, geographic, anything else).
–Talk to your guidance counselor to help develop a list. If your HS has Naviance that is a valuable tool.
–Get your hands on some good college guide books (ex. Fiske, Princeton Review) which can often be found in the guidance dept. or a library and start reading about schools in your academic range. It looks like you are in NYS so be sure to look at some of the excellent SUNY schools especially if finances will be a constraint.
–Try to visit a some different types of schools.
–Consider what you want in a college. Anything you care about is fair game. A few ideas of questions to ask yourself are: What size school do you like? Do you want Greek Life? Do you care about big time sports? What type of location (not just geographic, but also rural/urban/suburban) do you prefer? What do you want to study?
@Dustyfeathers i would definitely like to either minor in dance or be involved in dance. i understand my is my sat too weak for ivy leagues and schools like BC but what about schools a step below them? thanks so much for the suggestions!!
@happy1 i’ve definitely done more research since then, including some more college tours. i’ve heard it’s smarter to pick a major and switch later than it is to go in as undecided, do you know if that’s accurate? i know i want closed campus near a city or in a large suburb, but other than that i’m pretty open. thanks so much!!
Many people go to college undecided and many people change majors while in college (including my D).-- it is just fine. Give yourself a chance to try different things and think about different careers during your first year or so of college. IMO the worst thing you can do is to box yourself into a major or a career before you are ready and then find out it isn’t a great fit for you.
The exception might be if you thought you wanted engineering or business then you may have to apply to the division of the college that houses that discipline but that doesn’t not seem to be your situation.