Pursuing a Major - Advice Needed!

College Confidential Community
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Hey all!

To fully understand my dilemma, I would need to say quite a lot more, but here’s my shot at a short summary:

I’m interested in music, engineering, business, and entrepreneurship. I love music because it’s creative (and I’ve started making my own music), I’d like to go into engineering because it relies heavily on problem solving and I want to make a difference in the world (as cliche as it sounds, it’s my foremost goal), and I’d like to be an entrepreneur and start a business from my experience with engineering (music would be a fun hobby)…

Here’s the problem- I don’t love mathematics, nor am I talented with it, and it’s not something I love to do. I’m worried that during college I’ll dislike my major and/or do poorly with it, affecting the rest of my plans. Have any of you every wanted to do something so much but you just don’t love it? It’s beyond frustrating!

Once I fully understand concepts, I don’t mind, but I still take a long time to figure out most mathematical problems. I’m a freshman in high school right now in the honors track for math, science, and foreign language studies. I have yet to take Physics or Calculus, so the fact that I currently hover around a B or B+ in Algebra II-H is concerning. The second part is that I cannot find an engineering major that think I’ll enjoy. Instead, I’m interested in aspects of each (Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science Engineering, Product Design, and Computer Science are the top five I’m looking at).

Better yet my goal is to get into an Ivy League school or schools of similar status such as Stanford, and knowing there will be a large amount of academic rigor is nerve-racking! At least I have time, right?

Is anyone in a similar situation where you’d like to have a major in a certain field but you don’t love it? How did that go? What advice do you have, and what was/is your college life like under those circumstances? Should I just stop planning my future until my decision becomes final? Any advice is much appreciated! Thanks!

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I have always thought that I was not particularly talented at math. When I was being tested for the gifted program in 3rd grade, my mom had to push for me to be admitted because my math scores were on the low side. My freshman year math teacher contributed to this by expressing general disappointment with me and implying I was not smart enough to double up on math the next year, which I was not even planning to do.

I am currently in my first year majoring in engineering. I got a 4.0 last semester, earning an A- in my difficult honors math class, which was then bumped up to an A for “improvement.” I expect to do similarly well this semester, crossing fingers.

Point is, it’s not impossible to major in engineering if you’re not a math genius. Plenty of people take a while to work through problems. It’s okay! Plus, you may get better as you get older. Algebra 2 honors was also the class I had most trouble with during high school. Calc is infinitely easier!

Don’t worry about your major yet; just keep thinking about what you like and what you don’t like. It’ll clarify as time goes on. And don’t worry about which school is right for you, either. Work as hard as you can and then junior year you’ll apply to what fits you then, not what you thought would fit you freshman year.

Good luck!!!