What's your opinion?

Question

I'm a junior in high school, and I'm beginning to take the tests -- SAT I's, SAT II's, ACT's -- in prepration for college. I'm having trouble deciding what school I want to go to, because I am unsure of my major. I am very much interested in art (I've taken all the art classes, and I plan to take AP art next year) I am also interested in psychology -- just because it seems fascinating (but I have not taken a psychology class yet, so I don't really know what kind of studying it involves) Some of my friends suggest taking Art as my major, and others suggest taking English language as my major, which I am also slightly interested in. So, I'm pretty much interested in everything except science. How should I choose my major?

Answer 1

You really don't need to make that decision yet. The most common major among freshmen at U.S. colleges is "undeclared". Once you are in college, you will probably take a variety of general education classes, and you may find some subject matter to which you have not yet been exposed which becomes a passion and the obvious direction you want to go in.

As far as the exams, you should probably take the SAT I's and maybe the ACT, and if you really think that you will be going into a particular subject matter and that a school you are looking at it, the SAT II's for that subject. Not all schools use these.

I disagree with trying to be too practical upfront. Many English, Psych, and Art majors are doing very well financially, either because they went on for more education in their fields, or because they went in nontraditional directions. You can get a lot of jobs with just about any college major - choosing the "wrong" major won't cause you to starve in the long run. And I say this as a business professor, so while I have nothing against practical subject matters, choose that only if what it is what interests you, not because you see it as earning you a lot.

Answer 2

I wouldn't worry about it at this point. Declare an "undecided" major when you get to college and start on your general studies classes. (You'll have to take a ton of them in all different subject areas.) Take a class or two in each field to get an idea of what you'll be studying. This will give you a better idea of what to expect later on.
I went to college with a major declared and after a few semesters in that major, I decided I wanted to do something different and changed.
Take some time deciding what you want to do and keep in mind that you can declare a double major or have a major in English and a minor in art or psychology if you want. But make sure that you are studying what YOU want to study.

Answer 3

My nieces who are close to your age are going through the same thing.
One thing their parents urge them to consider is what sort of income they can anticipate using a degree in their selected major.
Art, Psychology and English will probably not lead you to high paying professions unless you pursue the Psychology through to a doctorate.
If Art is what really calls you, back it up with a double major in Business so you have that to draw on when it comes time to support yourself. I am an artist, and very talented, but I don't want to twist and spin that to try to make money from it because I don't want to destroy the joy in it by feeling forced to do things that are not my 'heart'. I do make money on my art on the side, but don't count on that for my main source of income because I am not willing to be that poor.
I live in a very arty community in California, and personally know many professional artists who are very, very talented who really struggle financially. I know one guy who is world famous in his field, gets called to other countries to do presentations, and he lives in a bus.

Best wishes.

Answer 4

A British one.Change SATs for GCSE's andA Levels .Get good grades and go to Oxford or Cambridge.Or London Univ. where I am .There are lots of Americans here.

Answer 5

You don't need to worry about this until you're in college. You can double major in art and psych if you really love both.