I know that the summer before college starts is supposed to be fun.
I spent plenty of time hanging out with friends, hiking in the Vermont hills, and going to music festivals.
What I didn't do is think at all about my college major, and I seriously wish I had.
It will help you honestly to take some time before you get overwhelmed by new classes, new friends, and dorm living, to have your "ducks in a row" concerning your college major.
Because believe me, four years in college will go by really fast, and the next thing you know you'll have graduated with a BS in something you didn't even realize you signed up for and maybe don't even want to use in the real world.
Here are 10 things you can do this summer to help you decide on a major before you start college: 1.
Go to your college or university's website or have them send you a catalog of all their major and minor offerings.
Go through this list in detail and check any major or minor that may be a possibility.
Star those that sound especially good.
Cross out any majors that are definitely not of interest to you.
Question mark the ones you've never heard of before.
I didn't take a sociology class until I was in my senior year, when I started saying to myself, "Wow, I didn't know that this is what sociology is all about.
This is way more interesting than psychology.
" At that point it seemed like it was too late.
2.
Take any that you starred, questioned or checked and put them in order of most interesting to least interesting.
This is your scale, not someone else's.
And remember that it's not your father who's stuck with the business major you didn't want in the first place, it's you.
So, try to narrow down the list according to your priority of interests.
Take at least an hour to look up each potential subject in more detail.
Find out what classes you would be taking.
You want to be sure that your impression of what your major is all about is accurate.
For the longest time, I was going around telling everyone I was majoring in psychiatry, when in fact it was psychology.
3.
Don't confine your search for your college major to your potential college or university.
Ok, I know you may already be accepted and it might be a pain to have to transfer or to start over again, but it beats spending four years somewhere that doesn't even offer the major of your choice, or a strong program in it.
Check online for a directory of all the college majors you can study.
If you find that your ideal college major is not offered at your school of choice, check out the National Center for Education Statistics interactive "College Navigator" and it will help you find a school that does offer it.
4.
Take a serious look at what potential careers you could enter with your top 5 majors of choice.
If you already have a career path in mind, be sure to verify that your college path will lead you there.
Not only, is it important for you to know which career you are interested in, but take some time to actually research the career.
5.
Call and talk to 3 people in your area who are in a similar field (for every field of interest), or if you can't find them, do an internet search and find someone somewhere who is working in a career that you are interested in.
Ask them about their educational path, what their undergraduate major was, and if they needed further studies to enter into their career choice.
6.
If someone in your field will let you come in and volunteer, do it! If they offer an apprenticeship, hop on it! If they will allow you to bring them Starbucks and talk for an hour, don't miss this opportunity! This time is precious to identify whether each career path is a "yay" or a "nay".
Don't wait until you are a senior to take an internship in your field, because this real life experience can help eliminate or include a potential career path.
7.
Research all the degrees you need to achieve your career goal.
Don't be fooled into thinking that a BA will land you in the field of your choice, know your odds.
If your career goal does require a masters or doctoral level of education, incorporate this into your plan.
There may be some things you can do early to ensure that you are accepted into the programs of your choice down the road.
8.
Call up your college or university and ask them to put you in touch with someone who graduated in any of the majors you are considering.
Calling the alumni office may be the best source of willing graduates.
Your mission is to ask them whether they recommend the program, what they are going to do with their major, what kind of classes they took and if the classes were more "hands-on" vs.
"lecture style", if the teachers in this department were strong, and if they prepared you for a job outside of college.
9.
Determine what aspect of your major you want to learn.
There is a wide range of focus within each major and you want to know from the start if you are barking up the right tree.
For example, I pictured myself being a psychologist, working in an office with people one on one.
What I didn't know is that my University offered a program that was largely research based, not clinically based, and the closest we got to studying about a human behavior was through a textbook.
The only live experience I had with anything were the rats that we studied in our research and statistics class! Look up what other schools' departments focus on and understand the differences.
Narrow down which areas interest you most.
10.
Schedule an appointment with your college's career center.
If they'll make you an appointment over the summer, that's great.
If you have to wait until you are on campus that's fine, but make the appointment now.
I hardly knew the career counseling center existed before my senior year, and even then I still didn't schedule an appointment to talk about my future options with them.
These are trained people who should be able to help you narrow down your interests and create an educational path to meet your career goals.
I spent plenty of time hanging out with friends, hiking in the Vermont hills, and going to music festivals.
What I didn't do is think at all about my college major, and I seriously wish I had.
It will help you honestly to take some time before you get overwhelmed by new classes, new friends, and dorm living, to have your "ducks in a row" concerning your college major.
Because believe me, four years in college will go by really fast, and the next thing you know you'll have graduated with a BS in something you didn't even realize you signed up for and maybe don't even want to use in the real world.
Here are 10 things you can do this summer to help you decide on a major before you start college: 1.
Go to your college or university's website or have them send you a catalog of all their major and minor offerings.
Go through this list in detail and check any major or minor that may be a possibility.
Star those that sound especially good.
Cross out any majors that are definitely not of interest to you.
Question mark the ones you've never heard of before.
I didn't take a sociology class until I was in my senior year, when I started saying to myself, "Wow, I didn't know that this is what sociology is all about.
This is way more interesting than psychology.
" At that point it seemed like it was too late.
2.
Take any that you starred, questioned or checked and put them in order of most interesting to least interesting.
This is your scale, not someone else's.
And remember that it's not your father who's stuck with the business major you didn't want in the first place, it's you.
So, try to narrow down the list according to your priority of interests.
Take at least an hour to look up each potential subject in more detail.
Find out what classes you would be taking.
You want to be sure that your impression of what your major is all about is accurate.
For the longest time, I was going around telling everyone I was majoring in psychiatry, when in fact it was psychology.
3.
Don't confine your search for your college major to your potential college or university.
Ok, I know you may already be accepted and it might be a pain to have to transfer or to start over again, but it beats spending four years somewhere that doesn't even offer the major of your choice, or a strong program in it.
Check online for a directory of all the college majors you can study.
If you find that your ideal college major is not offered at your school of choice, check out the National Center for Education Statistics interactive "College Navigator" and it will help you find a school that does offer it.
4.
Take a serious look at what potential careers you could enter with your top 5 majors of choice.
If you already have a career path in mind, be sure to verify that your college path will lead you there.
Not only, is it important for you to know which career you are interested in, but take some time to actually research the career.
5.
Call and talk to 3 people in your area who are in a similar field (for every field of interest), or if you can't find them, do an internet search and find someone somewhere who is working in a career that you are interested in.
Ask them about their educational path, what their undergraduate major was, and if they needed further studies to enter into their career choice.
6.
If someone in your field will let you come in and volunteer, do it! If they offer an apprenticeship, hop on it! If they will allow you to bring them Starbucks and talk for an hour, don't miss this opportunity! This time is precious to identify whether each career path is a "yay" or a "nay".
Don't wait until you are a senior to take an internship in your field, because this real life experience can help eliminate or include a potential career path.
7.
Research all the degrees you need to achieve your career goal.
Don't be fooled into thinking that a BA will land you in the field of your choice, know your odds.
If your career goal does require a masters or doctoral level of education, incorporate this into your plan.
There may be some things you can do early to ensure that you are accepted into the programs of your choice down the road.
8.
Call up your college or university and ask them to put you in touch with someone who graduated in any of the majors you are considering.
Calling the alumni office may be the best source of willing graduates.
Your mission is to ask them whether they recommend the program, what they are going to do with their major, what kind of classes they took and if the classes were more "hands-on" vs.
"lecture style", if the teachers in this department were strong, and if they prepared you for a job outside of college.
9.
Determine what aspect of your major you want to learn.
There is a wide range of focus within each major and you want to know from the start if you are barking up the right tree.
For example, I pictured myself being a psychologist, working in an office with people one on one.
What I didn't know is that my University offered a program that was largely research based, not clinically based, and the closest we got to studying about a human behavior was through a textbook.
The only live experience I had with anything were the rats that we studied in our research and statistics class! Look up what other schools' departments focus on and understand the differences.
Narrow down which areas interest you most.
10.
Schedule an appointment with your college's career center.
If they'll make you an appointment over the summer, that's great.
If you have to wait until you are on campus that's fine, but make the appointment now.
I hardly knew the career counseling center existed before my senior year, and even then I still didn't schedule an appointment to talk about my future options with them.
These are trained people who should be able to help you narrow down your interests and create an educational path to meet your career goals.
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