Once students leave their familiar ‘school nest’, and fly away and start to become independent college students, they are faced with many challenges that shape their future outcomes. Deciding on which major to pursue might be one of the hardest task faced by high school graduates. They might be scoring high marks in economics but may have a strong interest in science, so does that mean they should pursue economics as a major? Definitely not! Because what matters the most is what keeps students interested, as it is that interest which brings out a curious mind that remains engaged and eager to learn.
At this stage of your life you become more aware of the actual careers out there. You start to research more about each field of study and will develop a connection with a certain major. If you seem to be clueless about what major to choose think back to the subjects you were most interested in, and captivated by, during your high school years, build up your knowledge about the major by exploring what the subjects of study involves, or speak to a counselor to guide you through this.
At times counselors might advise students to take a psychometric test to assess student’s abilities, personality traits, and attitudes to better place them in the right field. Students who go through this assessment become more aware of their interest and start to understand why they tend to act in a certain way. It’s a great way to increase your confidence level regarding your career path.
At the end of the day there are no wrong majors. All the courses that are available in universities are of importance to society. Whether you go for Engineering, Architecture, Business, Medicine, International Studies, they all provide students with great experiences and a wide range of knowledge. After all, if you’re passionate about something you become enthusiastic to make a real difference in the world.
There are many ways for you to find the best major that fits your abilities and aptitudes, and as e mentioned earlier tests can show this very well, however it maybe easy for one to find the best major by working in the fields as volunteer. In fact many universities insist on knowing if a student had completed any voluntary work, and sometimes this forms part of the application process.
Another way is to attend talks and short courses as a lot of us become intrigued with a certain subject when we hear more about it. On the other hand students must join book clubs so they read more about anything and everything in life and that may help in accessing that hidden treasure in our heads.
If one cannot still decide on a major, then the best is to go to a university that offers many electives, where we can choose from; some electives like languages, creative writing, movie making and so on.
At the end of the day, the student should not be disheartened, as its not the end of the world, and one can change the major as simple as filling the form. The most important thing to remember is that life is great and we must live it to the fullest.