<p>Senior year of HS is coming up and I'm stressing out about picking a college to go to along with a major. As of junior year I have a 2.8 gpa and a 1250 on the SAT. Both of these scores are embarrassing to me and do not reflect my knowledge nor work ethic at all. The fact that my grades are currently so low are making me stress even more about college and my future. So this is a question to all the once undecided college majors, when did you find your career calling and how did you find it? </p>
<p>I found mine during my last year of high school. If you don’t know what you want to do you still have time! So don’t worry. Why don’t you take a couple classes at the local CC near you? That way you can see what interests you. </p>
<p>What subjects do you like right now?
Do you enjoy math? Writing? History?</p>
<p>I entered college as undeclared under college of natural science. Part of the reason was that an admission counselor told me it’s reasonable to select “undeclared/pre-pharmacy” on the drop down menu of major selection in the application process. Another part was I was tired of listening to my parents debating which major will get me success (and admission to pharmacy school). </p>
<p>Anyway, I didn’t declare a major until after Spring Break. I spent the time before that going through personality tests/quizzes, taking mental notes of classes is enjoy or do well in, talking to upperclassmen about their majors, and researching majors on their respective websites. </p>
<p>I wish you good fortune on your future endeavors. </p>
<p>There are plenty of students who go into college without previously deciding on a major. The first few semesters are going to be full of Gen Ed classes from a wide range of disciplines, and one of the purposes of this range of courses is to help students find their passions. It’s often a better idea to go into college with a major already decided on because you can start gearing your courses toward that major right from the very first semester. But it is by no means necessary.</p>
<p>There are some majors that are less applicable to this point though. Fields like physics, math, engineering and other heavy scientific fields are going to have a lot more lower level coursework than a lot of other majors. It’s harder to declare a major in engineering or physics during your sophomore year of college than it is to declare something like a sociology major. </p>
<p>THis is a time to figure out why you have a low GPA, but have a “good worth ethic”. </p>
<p>You may be “pseudo studying”…sitting in front of your book/computer but not really learning.
<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/How-Become-Straight-A-Student-Unconventional/dp/0767922719”>http://www.amazon.com/How-Become-Straight-A-Student-Unconventional/dp/0767922719</a></p>
<p>I struggled with the same stress! I had no idea what I wanted to study going into school and I was having trouble deciding which school would be the best fit for me. I was worried that if I went in undeclared I would miss out on something or fall behind and I was afraid that if I picked a major, it might actually not lead me to what I really want to do so I would get stuck.</p>
<p>It wasn’t until I started taking classes and gaining experience in college that I realized everything was going to be alright. I ended up choosing Biology with the intent to pursue pre-med. With time I realized I was not really passionate about that path and felt like I was getting dragged down by putting so much effort into something that I didn’t really want to do.</p>
<p>Luckily, there is always an option to change your major if your’re unhappy. I worked with advisers and career counselors a lot and ended up changing my major a couple times and tweaking my study path with different minors here and there as I gained different experiences. By the middle of my Junior year I had finally settled on a major and minors that made me happy and provided many career options. I’m currently and English Major with Writing and Electronic Media minors (a drastic change) and the courses have unlocked so many doors for me.</p>
<p>I’m still working on perfecting my career goals and I’m going into my senior year, but I’m pretty comfortable with how things are working out. I have found that what helped me the most was just testing out different work experiences to see how they suited me. That has helped me eliminate some options I wasn’t thrilled about as well as spark some interests. </p>
<p>I would say the key thing to keep in mind is that you do have plenty time to figure out what you want to do, as long as you use that time wisely and keep your goals in mind. As you work on bringing up your academics and explore the general courses, stay true to your interests and disinterests and which ever path you find should guide you to something that makes you happy and satisfied.</p>
<p>I hope this helps! Good luck!</p>
<p>May be time for self-reflection. Why is your gpa low? Do you not turn in work but do ok on tests? Or do you turn in work but bomb on tests? Do you like reading and studying or do you hate it?
How are you on hands on type of work?
It might be that you are not ready for college. Many people think that taking a gap year, with a plan, is a good way to get ready for college: find out what work you like outside the classroom, gain maturity and motivation. Have you and your parents thought about that possibility?</p>
<p>I enjoy math and history, but I don’t think I would ever Pursue a career in a history field haha </p>
<p>I’ve doing the exact same thing so I’m happy I’m taking the right steps. My sister is a sophmore in college and she knew what she wanted to do the month before school so I’ve been asking her what all of her friends have been majoring in to give me some ideas. </p>
<p>I don’t think that you have to pick a major now, and you shouldn’t stress about it, but it would be helpful for you to consider majors that pre-professional undergrad programs and see if any of them float your boat. These include engineering, nursing, and a few others. In other words, if any of these careers turn out to be what you want to do, it would be go to know before you choose a school that doesn’t offer that opportunity. </p>
<p>Otherwise, a common track for academically strong students is just to attend a liberal arts school, choose any major you want and plan on attending a professional school like law, business, or public policy. Pre-medical professions have a bit more specific undergrad requirement. </p>
<p>You have to realize that MOST people end up working for some kind of business, so if you’re not academically inclined, some business major is a perfectly decent catchall major. When you graduate you can enter some management trainee program that will work you silly and teach you how to be successful in their business. You can also potentially get a management position in retail, insurance, and many other industries. </p>
<p>I think it’s important to take the time that you need to find yourself, but I also think that you can’t find yourself if you don’t look. </p>
<p>There are so many majors to choose from and so many possible career options that can stem from them so it can be very overwhelming. You could do research on the variety of jobs that can come out of particular majors you’re thinking of considering to get an idea of what you would be getting into. It might also help to look at the schedule or list of common courses that accompany certain majors to see if they fit your current interests since you would be spending so much of your time in that field. </p>