<p>You're confusing lack of clear focus with complete and utter apathy.
Just because someone is a little aimless doesn't mean they won't work hard.
And just because you arrive undecided doesn't mean you'll wait until junior year to pick a major.</p>
<p>No, it doesn't mean you won't decide until junior year, but it can mean you just wasted a lot of time and money, but most important of all: EFFORT.</p>
<p>If i studied pre-med at college but went to law school, I would not consider that a lack of focus. People's opinions change over time, BUT they are clearly set on something while they are doing it. This is one of the biggest drives behind working hard.</p>
<p>Not everyone needs clear motivation to justify hard work. Some of us just strive to do well even in the absence of an obvious goal. Obviously, you need that carrot on a stick to keep your feet moving.
Most schools have some core classes, and nearly all schools have distribution requirements.<br>
If you're undecided, fulfill your basics in your first semester or two. Try on some electives, see what interests you. Work hard, get good grades in your necessary courses, and figure out what you want along the way.</p>
<p>Better to have an unfocused college education than none at all. besides, even if you end up majoring in something ridiculous, it wasn't a waste of money. Studies show that even with a major unrelated to your career, you earn more just by being a college graduate.</p>
<p>You're neglecting the fact that so many people drop out because they don't know/can't decide what to do!</p>
<p>Source, please?
I could easily locate half a dozen studies for my last post.
What about you? You seem to be grasping at straws. And abstract straws, at that.</p>
<p>So post them; I already posted a few links.</p>
<p>I don't know where to find such data, but it is pretty common sense that those who drop out are not focused on their goals (if they even have one).</p>
<p>Focusing does not stop after you choose your major, it continues throughout your studies and eventual career.</p>
<p>People drop out for a variety of reasons, not simply lack of focus.</p>
<p>Such as...?</p>
<p>money
family crisis
health
other, better avenues (professional sports, acting, etc.)</p>
<p>I personally know several people who are taking an indefinite hiatus due to severe illness in the family (I have two friends whose mothers have cancer).</p>
<p>Afruff, I am now getting my MA. I am going to Rice next year to pursue my PhD. </p>
<p>Let me say this: I thought I might major in what I did major in when I went to college. However, I had no goal of going to graduate school. In fact, I am pretty sure I was against going to graduate school until my senior year. Now I am so glad that I did.</p>
<p>I hear ALL the time from school admin people who actually encourage people to take their time figuring out their "goal". I'm sure that if you have a clear cut goal when you enter college you are more likely to be successful, in some sense. However, to claim that one must have a goal, or one is somehow making a mistake is ridiculous. Some people cannot know what they want to do until they actually take the courses. This happens very often. I would say that it's much better to go to college with an open mind than to just push through to a goal, even if you realize that you hate the courses you need to accomplish that goal. </p>
<p>My advice, go to college, and then major in the types of courses you like. You will be happier.</p>
<p>One more thing: almost everyone I know who dropped out knew exactly what they wanted to major in and do after school. They dropped out because they found out that those college courses were a bit less "fun" than they imagined. Once they lost their "goal" they just gave up. Perhaps if one does have a goal it should be simply to find something one enjoys and go with that.</p>
<p>The problem with a goal is that you might miss some side roads along the way and ignore where you should be heading to find real happiness. A lot of very bright people, especially those going to Rice, are multi-talented and have lots of direction in which they can head. It's nice to have choices, but that can make it harder to narrow it down and choose a major. That doesn't mean they won't work hard, they do and that's why they have many strengths. The great thing about Rice is that you can try a lot of college level courses before you must choose a major. So much better than many schools where you get accepted into a major and then can not switch. Rice is the best choice for the OP. Good luck on finding your path! By the way, my husband and I both started out many years ago with goals and majors and ended up doing something completely different. I always told my son that the field he may go into may not have been invented yet! Would I have ever imagined placing computer people in jobs when I was very young in the 1950's? Who'd have thought....</p>
<p>Congratulations to all accepted to Rice. Rice graduates make about the same amounts as Princeton graduates and Stanford graduates, actually more in science and engineering. Harvard and Yale do not show stats of their graduates.</p>
<p>"money
family crisis
health
other, better avenues (professional sports, acting, etc.)"</p>
<p>These are all pretty rare.</p>
<p>money- they wouldn't have gone there in the first place</p>
<p>family crisis-when's the last time you heard somebody drop out ebcause of a family crisis? Or what about somebody even having a family crisis at any time? Not even comparable to dropouts who have no goals.</p>
<p>health- again, very rare</p>
<p>other avenues- these are very few in number and people hardly drop out for these. They usually finish college or do these activities concurrently. Brooke Shields graduated from Princeton. People in national sports leagues (e.g., NFL) finish college, then go play.</p>
<p>"Once they lost their "goal" they just gave up."</p>
<p>This is my point!!! You have to have a goal at any point in life to be successful (there are some rare cases of goal-less people succeeding, but these are too uncommon to consider). It doesn't necessarily have to be the goal you end up with a career in, but it has to be a goal nonetheless.</p>
<p>Ask a dropout why they came out. They'll all say something like "I didn't see the point in college for me". Of course I'm discounting those rare cases mentioned above (health, family crisis, etc.). Many of these people are the same people who can't seem to decide what they want to do with their lives.</p>
<p>Choose your favorite option now (major-wise) and if you don't like it later on, then change it.</p>
<p>What's wrong with a goal of learning as much as you can during college and a goal of finding your passion? And a goal of doing the best you can? Any goal of a job/career would more lead to a trade course. You are negating the whole purpose of all the liberal arts colleges, which is Learning to think and to learn on your own once you leave. Why study German or Greek or any unusual topics if it's not going to get you to the goal of: being a doctor, lawyer, fill in the blank. There is a problem with being too goal oriented...$$$$$ is at the end, not love of learning and learing to think, explore, question, study, understand, think critically. I would hate to think only a career goal is the only real purpose of going to a university.</p>
<p>Or some people drop out because their goals simply changed. Even for those who do stay in college, some may change their majors 3 or 4 times before settling down on something they really do enjoy. What's so different about choosing to be a stay-at-home mom or dad if your child is now the most important thing to you?</p>
<p>AFRUFF23: I see that you are still a junior in High School, and that you have goals to go to med. school. Congratulations on your choice. Thank goodness, however, that not everybody is quite so freight-train-down-the-track about their choices! ;)</p>
<p>Ruff: I am coming up on my 40th reunion next year. Still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>LOL I just looked at the two articles you referenced. Both seem to want you to sign up for their valuable info. That's a good reason to get a college degree, you develop a keen eye for critical thinking. What is the article really saying, who is saying it, why do they want me to listen to them, what is their motive, what is in it for me versus what's in it for them?? It's important to look at everything critically, with a bit of doubt..especially politicians...and people selling newsletters and books!</p>
<p>afruff, I think that you need to define 'goal'. Apparently it means something very general and vague to you. </p>
<p>I didn't have a specific "goal" when I entered college. I am successful, so are most of the graduate students in my department. Most of them had no well defined goal.</p>
<p>afruff, you sound like an out-of-work motivational speaker. You talk of "goals," but you have difficulty defining the meaning of the word. You repeatedly use the straw man logical fallicy in arguing against those who oppose you. You keep using buzzwords like "drive" and "purpose," and yet you fail to truly define these words. You give no clear statistics besides "a lot of people...". Shall I continue, or have I wasted enough of my time putting down a silly argument?</p>
<p>First, I'd like to understand what you mean by "goal." You seem to be rather shifty in your definition. Originally, you were suggesting that ramsfan does not have a drive or goal because he/she is not yet set on a major. But later, you suggest that changing one's major before he graduates does not constitute lack of a goal or motivation.</p>
<p>My suggestion: move away from the buzzwords, and breathe. You're sixteen or seventeen years old; you do not need to know what you want to be doing with your life yet. Some people (like myself) work with much shorter-term goals. For example, this semester my goal is to get three As. I don't know what I want to be doing three years from now, but I know that I want to do well at Rice. I didn't know what I wanted to major in (as is true with ramsfan) when I came to Rice, but that doesn't mean I wasn't motivated. It is possible to have the motivation to do well without any clear direction.</p>