The College Admissions Process - Choosing a Major

Is your child undecided about their future collegeRemind your son or daughter that their college
major? In today's world, college is no longer optional.education will give them foundational skills that they
Many teens agonize over what they will choose for awill build on for the rest of their life. There is no
college major. They feel like the rest of their lifepossible way anyone can learn all the information
hinges on this one decision. In a way, it does. Thenecessary for a lifetime of work in four years, but
major your child selects is quite important. However,college will give them a great head start.
the truly important decision is simply making theMany students apply to college as an undecided
choice to finish school.major. Studies show that up to 20 percent of college
When your child is selecting a college and careerfreshman are undecided about their major. Many
path, you need to remind them that the main pointmore than that decides to change their majors during
of going to college is to open doors. With a collegecollege. Several colleges offer courses for undecided
diploma, your child will find that there are many moremajors to help them choose their future career
choices available to them. They will have many morepaths. While they are choosing a major, they can get
career options than someone that only has a hightheir general education requirements out of the way.
school diploma. So, choosing to go to college is theUndecided majors have the advantage of learning
key; choosing a major is entirely secondary.about all of the college's different departments
For instance, if your child selects a liberal arts degreefirst-hand before they choose which one is right for
in English, they will not be resigned to only being anthem. In fact, students often choose more than one
English teacher. They can pursue careers in fields asmajor in order to learn about all of their fields of
varied as journalism, marketing, copy writing,interest.
communications, research or consulting. The degree isSo, if your son or daughter is trying to choose a
the basic building block; where your child decides tocollege, but they are frustrated because they don't
take their degree is very open-ended. The possibilitiesknow what they want to do with the rest of their
are as diverse as their ambition.lives after college, let them know that they are not
The average person in the modern marketplace willalone. The most important thing to remember is that
have about seven distinctly different careers overthe degree itself is the critical part; the major doesn't
the course of their lifetime. This might sound veryset the rest of their professional life in stone. On the
intimidating to a high school student. How on Earth willcontrary, it opens up many more opportunities than it
they be prepared for seven different careers whenexcludes.
they are having a tough time choosing just one?