Majors - College Admission Counseling

Creating a Major

Jared Hobson — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:01:13 +0000

I often work with students who really have no idea what they want to major in when they enter college. We will do career assessments, research different aspects of an academic department, but sometimes they just can’t narrow it down to one potential career or major. There is so much pressure (from parents, teachers, society in general) to “know” what you want to be when you grow up, but often times, even grown ups don’t know what they want to be. That is why I love schools that let students design their own major.
Often times, the students I work with have a hard time nailing down a major because they are interested in so many things. Art, music, science, law, why would you want to eliminate any of these subjects? A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlights some of the 900 colleges and universities that are now offering “individualized majors.” While the structure of design your own major programs is going to vary from school to school, the opportunity will still allow students to explore their interests in a variety of different subjects or focus on a specific aspect of their chosen field. While many schools offer independent study programs, the opportunity to design your own major goes beyond just one research project.
While some critics of design your own major programs claim that a student-created majors are not as beneficial as traditional majors, as long as student is self-motivated and finds a good faculty advisor, the opportunity to study what you are passionate about is priceless.
Katherine Price
Educational Consultant

The post Creating a Major first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

International Applicants: What Will You Study?

Jared Hobson — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:06:28 +0000

As mentioned in our first post in this series, this post will discuss how students at U.S. colleges and universities determine what they will study or what they will major in. Unlike international schools, choosing a major at a U.S. institution does not necessarily mean you have determined what you will do for the rest of your life. Sure colleges and universities have pre-professional programs in engineering, health care, business, etc., however most students studying in the U.S. do not actually pick a major until they are in their second or sometimes even third year of college-level work. Once in college, you will not only be exposed to academic disciplines you have not seen before, but you also may find that your “dream major” is not what you thought it would be. Therefore, when looking for schools, you should choose schools that not only offer your “first choice” academic program, but also have a variety of other majors you might be interested in, just in case you change your mind.
Reality is that most people will switch careers several times throughout their professional path, so choosing the perfect major right now is not all that important. Not only can someone’s career path be driven by changes in the economy, but it can also be driven by how the person changes and evolves over their lifetime. So what you study in college will not necessarily determine your life-long career path.
However, it is important to study what interests you in college. If you are not interested in what you are learning about everyday, you are not going to be a successful student. Educational consultants have tools to help you determine what your interest may be. However, most students applying to colleges and universities in the U.S. will state that they are “undecided” on their applications. Not only is this practice accepted in the U.S, in some cases it is encouraged. Having time to discovery who you are and what your path may be is part of the college experience.
We hope you have found this series on applying to colleges and universities in the U.S. helpful. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions about the college search and selection processes.

Great College Advice

The post International Applicants: What Will You Study? first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

Majors and the Jobs of the Future

Jared Hobson — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:36:53 +0000

We have written several posts on choosing a major in college. While there is much debate about the relevance of a student’s major and their professional future, the downturn in the economy has many parents and students concerned about long term job prospects.
Last month, The Wall Street Journal published an article called “Landing the Job of the Future Takes a Two-Track Mind”. The article describes how today’s undergraduate (and returning) students need to have a variety of skills in order to be marketable. This is great news for students who are not comfortable committing to one major. Several students have interests in a variety of academic areas, so it is beneficial for them to study multiple disciplines while in college. As the article states, students need to pick up “secondary skills or combine hard science study with softer skills”.
Choosing a major in general can be a taunting task, especially if you only in high school and are asked to indicate your future career interest on a college application. Yes it is important to think about your future, however, when you are considering which colleges to apply to, it is important to consider what your options are. Here are some questions to ask:

How easy is it to change majors?
How will changing majors delay your graduation timeline?
What kinds of jobs and internships are students getting in each particular major?
What are you interested in studying?
Are there other ways (besides academics) you can add to your “secondary skills”?

I have seen the decision to choose major completely stress students out. In the end, it is about what is important to you and what you think you can be good at. Everyone says you should “do what you love” but for some people that is a difficult quest to master. Just remember that there is probably not a “perfect” job out there. Every job is going to have some requirement that you don’t want to do, therefore there may be some “secondary skills” that you have to acquire even though you are not particularly interested in them.

Katherine Price
Educational Consultant

The post Majors and the Jobs of the Future first appeared on College Admission Counseling.