Do fresh high school graduates know enough to make crucial college decisions?

Question

I am wondering if people fesh out of high school are mature enough to make decisions about their future (i.e. their major, what college or university they attend, what classes they will take, where they will live). In my experience, college is a rough place with many chances for error in judgment to occur. So... do you think recent high school graduates are well-qualified to make important decisions affecting their future? What would better qualify them for making decisions about their future?

Answer 1

No, but hopefully their parents and advisors help them out.

Sometimes you have make mistakes and learn from them.

Answer 2

Most colleges don't make you declare a major on the day you walk in the door. Here at UPenn, we have to declare by spring of our sophomore year. That gives us 3 and a half semesters to mature a little and get used to life away from home. I think that many high school graduates have some idea of what they want to do, but that that is not necessarily what they are going to end up doing. I think the only thing that can qualify people for making better decisions is more experience

Answer 3

Colleges don't lock you in. If you don't know, you pick undecided. You have over a year to decide. Nearly 2 years really in most cases. If you change your mind, you can switch.

It's not really a big deal.

If a kid is mature enough to know what they want, they have that option. They can get ahead of the ones who aren't ready.

Someone told me about a speech Bill Gates gave at a high school. He made 11 points. You can find it on the web. I'd just like to mention a few of them because it's important for kids to hear since there are too many idiots in education and child psychology filling kids ears with utter crap. It's appropriate for high schoolers and college kids to hear.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has NOT. In some school, they have abolished failing grades and they will give you as MANY TIMES as you need to get the answer right. This DOES NOT bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life!

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you 'find yourself'. Do that on your own time.

Answer 4

I think high school need to better prepare student for college life by making them more independant I also think that high school should offer more focused classes such as law, medical careers, etc. so students can get a taste of the major in high school before picking something they do not like in college...I do not think that high school graduates know enough as it is to make crucial college decisions..the average one changes their major 6 times and look at how many college freshmen fail classes during their first year.....I think it's up to the school system to better prepare them for college though

Answer 5

Typically no. and I must contradict the first answer by saying that while UPenn does not make you pick a particular major, they still ask for a college (business, engineering, arts, etc.). You don't have to declare a major within those until Sophomore year.

If it's any consolation, many students change majors at least one time. And more than 50% of working college grads are not working within their field of student.

I was a history major and I work IT.

Answer 6

congratulations! Are you occurring to varsity? I graduated from intense college in 1975 and from college in 1981, have been given my masters degree in 1984...after that I on no account took yet another type....

Answer 7

For the most part, no, I don't think so. That's why there are advisors, which are WAY underutilized.