<p>I'm a freshman right now, and I know I still have the rest of high school to think about things, but do I need to get an idea of what career I want to pursue before high school ends? I feel like I should take some classes that would relate to what I would be majoring in, but I have no idea. I have some interest in the law field, but I'm shy, and terrible at public speaking. I don't know if that's what I want to do, but I can't take debate or forensics because of scheduling conflicts with another activity anyways. When you apply for colleges, do you normally put what field you're going into, or ...how exactly does it work?</p>
<p>I put down a major on college applications that I’m already planning on changing…don’t stress about it, especially as a freshman. Sure, it would be nice to have a good idea so that you could “tailor” your high school career, but for now just focus on taking lots of different classes and deciding what you would like to focus on later.</p>
<p>A lot of people change their major in college. I think it’s ideal to know early so you can graduate in four years, but a lot of people go into college without really knowing what they want to do. The career I aspired to as a high school freshman is completely different from what I want to do now as a senior, and who knows, this new thing might change too. </p>
<p>Some universities require you to apply to a specific school within the university, like engineering or arts and sciences, and then you pick a major within that school. At other places, you just apply to the university as a whole and then you can major in anything once you get there. Usually you won’t be required to choose your major before the end of your sophomore year, but you’ll specify an intended major on your college applications. This is just for them to see what your interests are, and it’s not binding. Pre-med, pre-law, etc. are not majors…they’re tracks. You can major in anything and go to law school/medical school/whatever so long as you meet their course requirements.</p>
<p>Many majors are just general subjects (math, biology, English, etc.) and aren’t intended to prepare you for any specific career. Picking your major is separate from picking your career (unless you have a vocational major in something like engineering or nursing), but some majors are better suited for certain careers than others. </p>
<p>I used to want to be a nurse or OB/GYN when I got out of college but then I started sunday school teaching and completely changed my path. I am now going to major in Elementary Education in College but who knows, that might change. If you have an interest in debate and want to get better, go to camps or maybe run for student government. You’re right in that you are only a freshman, you have time.</p>
<p>My brother geared his high school towards PT and his sophomore year he switched to counseling. He was accepted into a Ph. D. program for counseling.</p>