what can I do to make it easier for me to decide what to take in college??

Question

okay.. I am very confused, I know I am going to college in the next year but I have no idea for what!! so my question is how did you find out what you wanted to do? and how can I make it easier fr myself to find out what I want to go for college for???

Answer 1

First question.....have you taken any career testing to find out what you like best? Most college counselors will point you in the right direction to help you get started if you have not done this.

Second question.....have you actually applied to college? If you have, don't worry for the first year or two. After the second year has gone by, then you should get a little concerned.

I knew I wanted to do something with numbers and I enjoyed my accounting classes in high school. When I got out of high school, I went to college for accounting.

My suggestion is speak to a counselor and see what they say. Enjoy the college life for the first 2 years and see what really sparks your interest. Go from there....good luck!

Answer 2

In practically every degree you're going to be interested in you'll have to fill a certain number of credits in "general studies" as part of your graduation requirements. Because of this you really can't go wrong going over to the school you are planning to attend, picking up a class schedule and a highlighter and highlighting all the classes that sound interesting to you. Then take a few of these.

Once you've done this you'll have a better idea of what the school has to offer you personally and what you "might" want to get out of it. If you're undecided for the first year or so it's not a problem as you can apply most of these credits to general studies toward fulfilling your requirements for graduating. Don't be afraid to head for a good bookstore in your area and ask someone at the information area if there are any good books on choosing a "vocation of study" or "college curriculum". They might have just what you're looking for! :)

Career counselling might help but it sometimes depends on the counsellor. They can be pretty uninspiring and a bit depressing from what I've found. In the end I took a lot of courses that I really enjoyed (and I few I didn't as well, lol) but I realized in the end I loved anthropology and sociology. I didn't even know anything about these fields before I got to college. It kept me inspired all the time and gave me a great balance of knowledge for a lot of what life has to toss at me- and teaching isn't bad either!

Whatever you choose to do- DON'T WORRY! Take it easy and just let yourself experience the environment for at least a semester while you learn more about your most important goals and what YOU want from the school. If you can take the first year or so to identify what you think is best for you and then follow it you'll be ahead of 75% of the people there! Many people go in to college with a career chosen and stick with it whether they like it or not. These same people stay in jobs they hate until they have a mid-life crisis. Then they go back to college to try an discover what they actually wanted to be in the first place! So take your time to explore different career possiblities.

Trust yourself on this issue. If after a year or so you still don't have any idea then head for the counsellor's office and take an occupational assessment test. You can take this test any time you like. I just suggest letting you get acclimatized to college life first.

Best of luck to you! Have a fun time (but not too much fun of course!)

Answer 3

You sound serious, so I will share with you what I can.

I had no idea what I wanted to do in college. I thought I wanted to be a police officer, but they require a 4-year degree now a days. My guidance councelor said I would be a good Engineer was I was good in math and physics in HS. As far as I knew, an Engineer drove a train (I had no idea what they did). I enrolled in an Engineering program, got an Electrical Engineering degree, and went out in the working world (I decided not to be a police officer because I could make more starting as an Engineer than I would after 20 years on the force in the PD I wanted to work in). I like my job, but it is not my passion in life. I would rather do something outdoors such as wildlife biology or forestry. Becoming a doctor also crossed my mind as I like talking and working with people and am great at science.

Why am I telling you all this? I made several mistakes.

1. I did what someone else told me I would be good at
2. I should have taken time to learn more about myself. The military would have been a great "pause" to figure out what I wanted in life.
3. I ignored what I like to do. I liked to fish, hunt, talk, and help people. Engineers design things...not an especially good match (I work in customer support, so things turned out OK)
4. When I realized Engineering might not be my thing, I didn't try to change things right away. Now I am "addicted" to the money. It would be too hard to change at this point, especially with a family.

After college, life is a balance. On one hand, you have to enjoy your job. On the other hand, you need money (sure money isn't everything, but it sucks being broke). A little extra money does buy some happiness, despite what people will tell you.

Don't choose a career solely for the money though. I'm just saying, choose a career with a reasonable expectation for money Basket Weaving may be your dream job, but there sin't much of a demand for it, thus not much money. Wildlife Biology doesn't pay great, but at least it would have been enough money to live off of.

In short, take a look at what you love to do in life and talk with the councelor at your HS or at the college if you are not in HS. They should be able to help you put the pieces together to help find a prospective career.

Best of luck to you.

Answer 4

Most colleges/universities offer seminars. These are short, 1 credit classes that give you a "taste" of what the subject is about. For example, you could take a biology seminar just to see what its like, or a criminal justice seminar to see what that is like. These are developed for undergrads that are undecided as to what major they want to be in.
If the college/university you are attending does not offer these, then go see an advisor, he or she will be able to help you decide what you should be in. He or she should ask you questions about your interests and then you should come up with an idea of what major you may want to pursue. Keep in mind that it may take a semester or two to decide what you want to do. Take some basic classes to get your feet wet. Good luck!

Answer 5

Your freshman year is probably going to be core introductory classes anyway. No matter what you take, you'll most likely be able to switch majors and graduate on time.

My advice is to plan on majoring in something you think you'd like to do. Then see what classes interest you during your freshman year. You may find that the classes you like most are ones in a different discipline, or that the major you thought you belonged in has requirements that you loathe. That's okay. You'll still be able to switch without many repercussions, and you'll have a better idea of what you want to do.

Answer 6

Career Services at our college provides a survey called a Meyers Briggs. It evaluates your responses and shows you where your interests lie. That can help you select a major. Your first year is going to be general education courses which will give you time to focus on program specific classes for the second year.

Talk to an academic advisor.

Answer 7

Think about what sort of job you might want to do in the future. Then figure out what degrees can get you there.

Find someone who is doing a job that you want to do. Talk to them..

Worst case, most schools have a general program for undecided students. Your first year you are mostly taking general education classes in any program anyway

Answer 8

Speak with a counselor at your college and if you still can't decide pick some courses that sound interesting to you and try them out...if you're that unsure though u might want to start at a community college so u don't waste ur money

Answer 9

Not gonna be much help here, but I knew I wanted to be in aerospace and engineering since I was 5. I did it, now I have a career I love.

The easiest thing to do, is assess your strengths and your weaknesses. What do you love to do? Participate in? Where do you excel? Look at those things and think what career could I use my strengths more than my weaknesses... Then ask, will I love my job?

Because the mst important thing in the world is to enjoy what you get paid to do, then it's not a job, its a paid vacation.

Answer 10

Take general courses at first, math, psychology, sociology, communications classes, maybe a computer class or 2. Then see if your intrest gets sparked in one of those! Also, talk to a school counselor. They are wonderful at helping with everything!