Starting college is an intense and confusing event that plagues all recent high school graduates. It is like trying to run when all you can do is crawl, and for many freshmen, myself included, one can get easily overwhelmed by the daunting task of picking a major when less than two months ago some of our parents still packed our lunches for us every morning. The concept of entering college tends to be frequently skewed and expecting an eighteen year old to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives, without having them actually experiment in different areas, has the potential to create a generation of adults who are aggravated and depressed in their careers. What I am slowly coming to learn and accept is the concept that failure and not knowing is okay because finding out what one will thrive in, is a process that has peaks and valleys but ultimately you have learned something from each of those. Neil Gaiman talks of a concept of “making great art,” and many would define great art as the “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo Da Vinci or “Moonlight Sonata” by Beethoven, however, I think Gaiman ultimately means make and do what you enjoy most because what you enjoy most will, in time, produce success. What is most genuine, what frightens you most and entices a feeling of both fear and adrenaline, what exposes you …show more content…
I am not saying ignore those around you who tell of their experiences, which one can learn a great deal from, just do not let the pressure to earn money or please your parents be the deciding factor of what you do for the rest of your life. Father James Burtchaell makes a good point in claiming that “the choice of a major is not the choice of a career,” it is a stepping stone, an important one, but your major does not define your
Throughout this course, topics such as the transition from high school to college, learning skills, self-discovery, and career exploration have been discussed. Conversations occurred concerning the challenges and benefits of private and public colleges as well as the transition from high school to college. We also talked about our strengths and weaknesses while studying. Finally we talked about the jobs that we wanted, and the jobs we would be good at. During the rest of this paper, I will go into more detail about the topics we discussed; and go more in detail with what I learned.
One of the challenges post-secondary institutions are facing today is their declining in student retention rates. This may be attributed to the fact that high school students are graduating without being college ready. College readiness is defined as a combination of skills, knowledge and habits of mind necessary to fully participate in college-level courses. To make this happened, across the nation and the state various efforts and initiatives have been taking place to form college readiness programs or curricula geared to help students to obtain the skills, support and resources necessary to be successful in college.
College majors are one of, if not the most important aspect of college. Starting at young ages, students are pressured to think about their future and the possible career paths they will take, leaving little room for them to relish in their childhood. In high school, they are told the AP classes they take and the clubs they join should be reflective of the major they will have in college. This pressure ends up being a source of stress for many incoming college students who have no idea what they want to do with the rest of their lives. Moreover, when students are rushed to make a decision, they may end up in debt, unemployed, or working a field they have no interest in. Additionally, the necessity of bachelor’s degrees to get well-paying jobs,
Today, it is quite common to encounter a student who conflicts on deciding a major. In fact, according to academic-advisor Dr.Fritz, eighty-percent of college students begin their undergraduate uncertain of what career they want to pursue but choose a major anyways. Fifty-percent of those students decide to change their major once or much often more than once during their college career. Even worse, due to their indecisiveness, students often decide to change their major which also leads to a list of other dilemmas. For instance, students may become prone to stress if they contemplate too long on deciding on a major, this could also lead to the student’s poor performance in school which also reflects badly on the school’s reputation. Needless to say time and money is used up carelessly when students take courses and then decide to change their majors. Some likely sources for students’ indecisiveness when choosing a major could be due to their lack of research and experience related to their interests from the very beginning. This issue has become a very common in nearly all universities. Students need to know that it is okay to explore your options and gain experience; a student shouldn’t wait too long to be confident about their major. There are, however, some potential solutions to this issue, nonetheless,
Aside from a college degree, what do you hope to gain from your college experience?
In high school, students always have to make the decision of what their future has to be. As they determine their future, they also have to determine what their major will be in college as well as what college they want to go to. College can help you open many doors in life, but also, it can also close some doors if it the major or the future does not fit for them.
Tons of people want to expand their horizons and meet new people. As many campuses pride themselves on being diverse, it is a great place to discover other cultures and different people. More importantly, going to college is a decision based on the choice of a specific career. When someone discovers their dream career, they will do anything to achieve it. Most of the time, these dreams need a college degree. On the other hand, many students go to college as “undecided” majors. With many colleges offering upwards of one-hundred majors, college allows students to select the major and future career that will work best for them.
Ever since my parents divorced, everything was confusing. Under the circumstances, my mother decided to immigrate. Since I was a little girl, I wanted to travel the world; I wanted to experience new things, I wanted to meet new people, and to speak different languages. But not at twelve. I wanted to stay in Barranquilla, Colombia; I wanted to hold on to my culture, my traditions, and my familiar surroundings. However, I wasn’t old enough to make life changing decisions anyhow, we migrated to the US on September 7, 2012.
Life is full of transitions, how they are handled and the choices made ultimately effect the overall outcome. College is a transition in which many students begin to truly discover who they are, and what they are meant to fulfill in life. Throughout my time at the current institution I attend, the journey has not been what I quite expected. My goals were afflicted, this includes several unexpected roadblocks throughout the course of it, which ultimately have been detrimental to my success. In order to truly discover the path that is right for me, I have come to the conclusion that the only way to fulfill this is to take my journey to another institution of higher education.
This abrupt career decision is made without proper guidance and foresight, which results in students working toward a degree that they are not interested in pursuing or they drop out of college. College professors said: “I find my colleagues around the country deeply concerned about students assuming vast debt burdens and about those parents who respond to the financial pressure by urging their children to make career decisions at just the wrong stage in their development” (McPherson). Students are too young and uninformed to be making crucial decisions about their future alone. In order for students to succeed after college with the littlest amount of debt possible and a profession that they enjoy, they need to have a precise path to follow while obtaining an education. Having a plan and guidance allows students to determine the pros and cons of each field of study and the opportunities that are available. This instruction guides students to obtain a degree that offers a variety of stable jobs. Therefore, this process is an efficient way to help eliminate unemployment, and massive amounts of debt for college graduates. Many students assume that by going to college they will come out with a bachelors degree. Without having the navigation skills to pursue a degree, students will fall flat. According to a study by Avery and Turner “Of everyone who enters college expecting to get a bachelor’s degree, more than half leave with no degree and average of $7,413 in debt” (Haltom 14). This problem occurs because students don’t have any specific person guiding them to make sure they reach their goals. Before college, students would depend on their parents to keep them on track and get things done, but now they are forced to manage themselves. Therefore, if students had someone overseeing their progress and
It was difficult to accept that I was going into college undeclared. It seemed as if everyone else in my grade already knew their true calling in life; several of my classmates were planning to major in psychology, another in business, and even one friend going into a specialized art therapy program. Being an immigrant and a soon-to-be first-generation college student, I felt the pressure to choose something, anything, just to prove that I had at least stepped foot onto the path of success.
I come from a family who has a very close bond. For myself and my family education is
I’ve just entered my senior year of high school. I know that this is a very important year. I have a lot of decisions to make and not much time to make them. These decisions will either make or break my life, and I want to make sure that I make them to the best of my ability because there is no turning back. I need to make sure I definitely want to attend college. The decision is totally up to me. There are many positives and negatives of attending college. Go over them, and then decide. I know myself better then anyone else, and I won’t let anyone else tell me what to do. I will make sure if I am going to attend college that I have something in mind that I will want to do, to succeed in. Choosing a major can be a very stressful situation so why not sit down and take some time to do it? Be creative, don’t rush, give yourself plenty of time and really think about what interests you in life. My major is something that I will want to enjoy, something that I will be doing for the rest of my life. Why would I want to be miserable at something I do in life? In two short essays: “College? What’s in It for me?” by Steven M. Richardson, and “What It Means to Be Creative”, by S.I. Hayakawa, I can relate to my major very well. Athletic Training is something that takes skill, as well as being creative in your own way. No two Athletic Trainers are the same. The more creative I am at whatever I do, the better off I will be. I hold the keys to all the doors that can ...
According to CollegeAtlas.org, “30% of college and university students drop out after their first year.” Growing up, most people 's dream is to graduate from high school and enroll in a community college or a university, but what happens once they get to that point of their lives? To some people, attending a college or a university is the most important step of becoming an adult, and if they have a clear mind on what they want to study, they will begin studying their major. While for others, college is the place where they will find out what they want to become. Some students, as they go to college, have a clear idea of what they will be studying, but once they start taking courses for their major, they may realize that the classes are difficult
Coming from a small town where farming and working right after high school is what everyone decides to do, I decided to further my education by going to college. College to some people isn’t even an option, most kids would follow up their families and go work for them or start helping out around their farms or in the family business. Not wanting to be stuck in my hometown for my young years or working right after school I started looking at colleges to get out and go do bigger and better things.