Applying to College
In our senior year of high school, we apply to colleges throughout our first semester, which can cause great amounts of stress for students as choosing between colleges, application fees, and certain aspects of the college application process can make any student feel overwhelmed. One of the most important and difficult decisions in this process is choosing a major, which can dictate your entire career and the opportunities that open up to you as you continue to pursue higher education. This may sound daunting, but remember that you can change majors, acquire multiple degrees, or apply a degree to a different field of study or work.
What Should I Major In?
To bring much-needed comfort and assurance, plenty of resources are already available online to help guide you through deciding which major to choose. The general message of many online videos and blogs about choosing a major for college encourages exploring your passions and what subjects you are most interested in, which may seem obvious, but it's common for students not to know what exactly they're willing to extend to achieving higher education in studying.
No matter what major you choose, there will be challenges and obstacles in your college career, so don’t feel discouraged when you experience failure or make a mistake; use it as a learning opportunity and help you grow as well as learn about what you want to study.
Many videos from colleges and universities are online, often on YouTube, and have guides or descriptions of the majors they offer, as well as partnerships between popular academic online channels or blogs and colleges. Researching the courses that the college(s) you are interested in applying to is vital to know not only if the college you want to attend has the courses needed to achieve your degree in your major or the different specializations of each major that they have.
If you are unsure of what you are interested in studying and feel very confused when looking into selecting a college major, look into online resources along with asking questions about the different majors at the college(s) you want to go to from people in those programs or professors who work in those fields (who also, more likely than not, research that same topic outside of teaching it as a college professor).
What If I Choose the Wrong Major?
When applying for college, it is often times of great difficulty and stress which can heavily impact aspects or processes of applications. If you end up regretting the major you choose or simply lose interest in the topic, transferring between majors or careers is still possible, though, of course, it will take considerable time and effort. Studying the general field of your major will make this process much easier, and for every major, there are related fields of study that have similar course material, which will also allow you to transfer your major or change your career with much more ease.
How Do Specialized Fields Affect My Major?
For each major and depending on which college you attend, there can be several different specializations in each major offered by your chosen college. Again, look into online guides, email professors or alumni from the college you want to go to, and self-explore your interests and specific fields you wish to study. Choosing a very specialized major for college does make it more difficult to transfer, though it doesn’t make it impossible. When choosing a major, specializations in those fields can seem overwhelming, but it is not necessary to choose a specialized major. Doing so, however, will greatly help demonstrate expertise and interest in a specific field compared to general education in that field.
Recommendations
As stated before, researching the details of each major you are interested in and exploring the content of the different majors at colleges you are interested in applying to will be very helpful when deciding on a major to study in your college career. Educational channels such as the ones referenced earlier have thorough and extensive information on different types of majors, which can help you discover what you wish to study.
Reach out to your counselors and teachers of subjects you are interested in to find additional information and specific advice on what your major should be; there are many resources available on campus and online to guide you through the process of choosing a major for college. Stay safe and do your research, Mustangs!
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