Info about going to COLLEGE?!!!?

Question

Im in the tenth grade and Im still clueless on the type of career I want when Im out of highschool. All my parents and school are talking about is college and my future. I definitly plan on going to college! But, Im kinda clueless. Can you tell me some basic info about college? Some information about the degrees (bachelors and masters) and what they are. When I got my PSAT scores back, I also got this paper saying I was elligible for this AP course program, some kind of college based course that will help me prepare. Anyone know anything about this? I get very good grades at school, but yet I dont really know much about college and my future. What are the majors and stuff like that that can be available? What are majors? What kind of different colleges are there? I know a community college around where I live, and a university. Whats the difference? Im so stressed out, I feel like I will never understand this stuff. Please tell me everything you know. :)

Answer 1

Ok, the first thing you need to do is take a deep breath and relax. This stuff seems like it's going to determine the rest of your life, but it isn't. Here's the deal...almost no one goes to college and then gets a job doing what they decided to do as a freshman. The average person changes their major 2 times. I changed majors 4 times as an undergrad. Many people do graduate school for a program that has almost nothing to do with what they studied in undergraduate school. What this all means is...you can CHANGE YOUR MIND. You aren;t locked into doing what you decided to do in tenth grade. You're young....enjoy it. Certainly prepare, and certainly plan, but don;t let it overwhelm you. Especially when the odds are what you do in college at first won;t be what you end up doing.

What you should look for in College is learning the basics. How to write. How to think analytically. How to read well. THE BASICS. Most of what College is good for is learning from your College community. It will introduce you to new ideas and lew ways of looking at things. You are obviously a bright and serious young lady...you will be exposed to a lot of new ideas..and incorporate some into how you act and view things. You'll reject most of them. For most people College is NOT job training. Not training for a specific job anyway.

Now there are exceptions. If you know you love physics...or you know you love engineering...obviously you want to take classes in that area. If you know you want to be a Doctor, you need to take bio related courses early. But for the most part just go...take classes that look interesting to you...don;t worry about a major until later...and find out what interests you!!!! The majority of people have NO IDEA who they are or what they want at your age. So just enjoy where you;re at, and don;t let the pressure get to you.

As far as chosing between Colleges and the differences, you can get a great education in ANY college. All you need is a library. What you get out of College is what you put into it. There are differences. Some Colleges are a better brand name. Harvard has a better brand name then Boise State. It will be better off for getting you into better Grad schools. It is going to introduce you to more powerful/wealthy students. it's in essence a better/higher class network. It doesn't really mean the actual education you recieve is any better. But it's a lot harder to get into. I'd just visit a lot of campuses and see where you feel comfortable. Are you the type of person who prefers smaller social settings? You'd probably be better off at a small college if so. Larger Universities offer adavantages too...like more programs...more people...etc. It's really all about what you want and what's a good fit for you.

Remember the cost...COST MATTERS. Unless your parents are extremely wealthy, you'll be leaving College with debt. Less debt is obviously a good thing. But debt at a place like Harvard is worth it because of the better oppurtunities it offers.

Most of all just relax and enjoy the ride :-) This stuff all seems overwhleming, but it really isn;t as critical as you think and as people are telling you. I'm 32 and just figured out what i wanted to do 2 years ago :-).

Answer 2

A major is the subject you wish to study the most in college. Don't worry if you don't know. Even when you apply you can just pick a subject that seems to interest you. That does not mean that for the rest of your life you are locked into that subject. Many people are undeclared majors. That means for the first two years of school, they just study general subjects. Then in their third, junior, year they pick a subject. Your high school counselor should be able to tell you about college applications. In the fall of your senior year in high school you will need to apply for colleges to start in the fall of the next year. It is very important not to miss the deadlines. The first degree you can earn in a four year college is a Bachelor's. The second degree you can earn is a Master's. A Master's is a graduate degree, which means it comes after you have earned a Bachelors and you mainly study just the one subject, not all the other basic education classes you need for a Bachelors. Don't worry that everyone is asking about your future plans. Adults don't really know what else to discuss with teens. Majors: Each school specializes in many majors, but the topic/subject you may be interested in may not be at all schools. Go to your library or look on the Internet to see what schools are offering, the tuition, admission process and information. Just put the school's name into a search engine. A community college is a two year degree AA. A university will provide you with a BA Bachelor's or MA Master's or Ph.D. Doctorate. Relax. You have the rest of your life to plan your future. You will be getting more and more information during your junior and senior years in high school. I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 3

There are many good books about how to pick a college, how to prepare for college, what college is right for you, etc. The answers people have given here are pretty good, but you need more.

Try going to your local library and ask the librarian to help you find some books on this topic. And there are lots of websites that have useful information - try Peterson's Guide, or the Princeton Review websites..

Also, your school guidance office should have some info that might help. I realize that in some schools the guidance office is the pits, but give it a shot. In my kid's schools they were very helpful and organized.

There is no reason to be stressed out. There are over 3000 colleges in the USA - you do not need to go to the top one to get a great education! And many give merit scholarship to kids who are good students. For most majors you do not even need to officially say what you want to specialize in until the end of your second year in college... so you probably have four more years to think it over!

Just keep working along in school doing a good job, relax, and this is all going to work out for you. You will find a school that you like, you will get in, you will be able to pay for it, and you will get out and get a great job that you will love. Good luck!

Answer 4

When you graduate from high school you can either go to a 2 year community college to get an associates degree or go to a four year university for a bachelors degree. After you get a bachelors degree, you can also go get your masters degree for another 3 or 4 years, or go law school, or medical school. To get into a good university you should have a good gpa and sat scores. In your junior year you should take the AP courses, which are advanced college prepatory classes it will look good on a college application. If you take an AP course, you must pass an exam on the subject usually the exam starts in May, and if you pass you get college credit for it.

Answer 5

First of all relax...Relax..Relax.. if you are stressed u will not be able to think
its true that lot of factors decide to choose a career, inline with a educational back ground.

Major factors are
1. Your Passion (what u like to do or would like to associate with Science, History, Computer,economics,politics, Journalism, food, healthcare, medicine, public service(army.navy,airforce) & so on)

2.Your family situation & back ground (Your education & career are subjected to your back ground & family situation, one of the main driving factor in choosing a carrer, you may have a passion but if ur family is in a position not able to support u, u will feel dejected)

3.Society (Your value system determines what ur career should be like, for some money is not the only criteria and they like to meet lot of ppl and interact, example journalist, or for someone though they may have passion for some job they don't take it , because it may offer low salary, or friends & relatives views are given importance.

4.Future (nobody can not predict what will be future, for example someone is learning a software for a year thinking there will be lot of projects in the futute based on that, but before he completes the software course, it migth totally become obsolete. Also in the fast changing world, in the world of globalisation & dynamics bound to occur)

So i will suggest you not confuse or stress yourself right now, take up the exams now,

If u need further counselling email me at

[e-mail]

wish you good luck

3.

Answer 6

Many people in college didn't know. I was never sure.

I'm 43 and I'm still not sure...

If you want to be a doctor, lawyer or engineer college it's great, but it's of less value to everyone else. College can be a good idea, but so is 4 years in the military.