Future University and major

Hi there!

I wrote a post you might find helpful about choosing the perfect major: Choosing the Perfect Major-Please Comment!! | CollegeVine

Thoughts for colleges:

Many students have a dream college before they know what they want to major in. While that is not bad, it is not ideal because you end up shutting your mind to other schools that may have better programs for the major you eventually choose. My advice is to figure out what general area you want to study. You can use career quizzes (on BigFuture Collegeboard)- just know that a machine cannot determine what is best for :) I found the quiz helpful because at the end it recommended jobs related to my likes. Some were options I did not know existed, so it got me thinking. Then I began researching different career options. I was trying to decide between 2 things and had no idea what to choose. UNTIL I did 2 things.

First, I followed some wise advice I heard: Try the career for 10 hours. If it flew by, then do 100. If it didn't move on. The goal is to discover what you could do the rest of your life and STILL enjoy it.

So I did it. I kept gardening and visiting famous gardens (horticulture) and volunteered at a local VBS (teaching). I found that though I enjoyed teaching, it drained me, while horticulture invigorated me.

Secondly, I looked at colleges with education and horticulture programs. I got pretty bored going through the education information pages, but when I began looking at horticulture programs, I got so excited!! Like, super excited...I spent hours looking at it without even realizing it.

In the end, I knew the path for me. When you know, you know. It takes time, but it should, so don't be discouraged and don't rush yourself. High school is meant to be a time of exploration, so explore and explore until you discover The Thing for yourself. And don't be afraid to do something abnormal. Nothing says you need to go with the tide or majority. Just do what is best for you and you will exceed.

Once you know generally what you want to study, go to BigFuture and use the college search engine. It is literally a lifesaver. You put in the general major, your preferences, your stats, and they give you tailored recommendations. After that, go to each college's website and make sure they have the exact major you want (if you know what that is). I found that I put in horticulture/agriculture majors and got things like plant science and botany. Those are fine, but I wanted a horticulture focus. So just know that not every college recommended will have the exact major you want. If you don't know what major you want, then still look at each college to see what this college emphasizes in the program and if that's what you want to emphasize in your education.

Hope this helps and please lmk if you have any questions!

For the major question, I am running with the idea that you shouldn't feel "just ok" with what you pick. Like I was having some trouble thinking about my major because I would always think "I could make this work if I had to" but that leads to sadness later in life. So if you have one of the options that you only like because it could be stable then I would suggest the other. I hope this helps.