I will be a senior this fall at a rural PA high school, and am having a difficult time deciding what do and where to go for college and my life. I have consulted my friends and family, but am still stuck.
I am a quality student with a 3.9 GPA and an 1820 SAT, and extra ciricualrs include golf, track, boy scouts(eagle), FBLA, and honor society.
I don’t really know what I want to do.
The real goal is to make a very good living, but I don’t have to be super rich. I just want to live in an upscale suburb with two kids and a wife.
Areas that I have considered would be business ( not entrapeneur), real estate, dental school, and med school.
Any info from anyone is greatly appreciated, thank you.
Don’t worry about it, man. You’ve got great grades (although you should consider improving your SAT to atleast 2000) and you clearly seem motivated, which is already better than most juniors/ seniors in high school. Many, many people go to college not knowing what they want to do. As long as you work hard, you’ll be successful in whatever you choose to pursue in life. Hope this helps!
Applying undeclared was made a thing for a reason - so you can figure out what interests you. Raise your SAT to a 1950 - is that more realistic for you? Or try the ACT and see how you do as some do better on one test than the other. For example, on practice SATs I never got above the mid-1900s but on the ACT I got a 31 the first time (which is roughly a 2070 on the SAT), so that might be the case for you.
If you don’t want to go in undeclared to a school, maybe applying as an econ, marketing, or finance major if you aren’t really into administration could be worth a look. You never know.
Real estate is a pretty risky career choice, as the market changes often. That’s the only reason it’s not my back-up plan. As for med/dental school, I’ve heard a 2000+ SAT score is common, although it depends on the school. In my opinion, an 1820 is still an achievement. Many people go into college undeclared, just remember to work hard. Good luck!
Maybe you should look at schools located in a big city, since you’ve lived in rural PA. Maybe look for colleges in New York or even just in Philadelphia so you’re not that far? Or, if you don’t mind being farther from home, maybe look in LA/Miami?
Go on Coursera, and dabble in a bunch of random classes. The ones you don’t like: Stop participating. The ones you like: Keep pursuing. Eventually you might unconsciously develop a general theme in the types of courses you are taking.
You do NOT need to know “what you want to be when you grow up” today or tomorrow or next week. Lots and lots and lots of kids graduate high school without a real concrete idea of where they’re going. And lots and lots and lots more are sure of what they want, only to change that major a year or two later.
Let’s start with basics, like what kind of college you want. You’re in rural PA-- do you think you want a rural school, or perhaps something in the 'burbs or a city? On the coast or more to the west? This summer is a great time to begin the search. You’re fortunate in that there are so many choices within a relatively decent drive.But you can find a huge variety within a 4 hour drive of where you live, at a wide variety of price and admission rates.
Consider a liberal arts college, where you can get a little of this and a little of that-- dabble as you figure out where your interests lie.