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Free College Counseling:
How do I choose my major?Questions
Answers
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Question:
Dear College Prowler Counselor,
What should I study after my 12th year? I live in Kuwait and attend an Indian school 'Faips' with a cbse sylabus, I have taken up 5 subjects :
1.Physics
2.Maths
3.Computer Sc.
4.Chemistry
5.English
My interests are more in physics and math.
Should I go for engineering or what are the other choices available to me?
Subhav, DPS
Kuwait City
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Answer:
Hi Subhav,
An Indian school in Kuwait city?wow! It sounds very interesting and I?m sure a great experience. If you are interested in Physics and Math then engineering would be a great major. If you are interested in doing something else there is always aeronautics and also teaching math and or physics?.there are plenty of opportunities out there! If you don?t have your heart set on engineering wait until you get to college to feel out how you want to channel your interests. Just make sure you don?t take too long figuring out what you like or else you could be on the 7-year plan!
Best of luck,
Madison B.
College Prowler Counselor
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Question:
Dear College Prowler Counselor,
I want to be a psychiatrist but I have no idea what to major in when I go to college or what courses to take. I keep hearing "pre-med" but I have no idea what that means, much less what school would be good for me.
-Amira, The Preuss School
San Diego, CA
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Answer:
Amira,
Pre-med is good advice . . . if understand what it means! Pre-med stands for pre-medical studies, which is a program or a set of courses that medical schools expect you to have taken before you apply to them. Usually, you take these undergraduate courses while majoring in something specific such as biology, chemistry, or in your case, probably psychology. Psychiatry requires medical school, since it deals with both psychology and medication/physiology, so it would probably be best to take pre-med requirements while majoring in psychology so that you will be ready for graduate school.
Allison G.
College Prowler Counselor
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Question:
Dear College Prowler Counselor,
I want to become a doctor someday (I am still uncertain in which area, but I know medicine is what I am going to pursue.) I planned to major in Biology, but recently I was talking to a Med. student who said the one thing she regret was that she majored chemistry in college. So that instead of working at a higher salary during summer if she had majored in nursing, she was working at minium wage in some lab.
I come from a low income family, so it is necessary to think about how i am going to get the money for my tuition (b/c it would simply unrealistic to say i should major in whatever i like.) So should i major something that could actually help me get a good paying job during the summer or something that's solid for Pre-Med?
-Xin, Plano East High School
Plano, TX
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Answer:
Xin,
My utmost advice is to major in what interests you the most. If this happens to correspond well with the pre-med program, then so be it. However, you can still fulfill your pre-med requirements without majoring in science or math.
Meanwhile, concerning your summer job, the most lucrative job a general college student can have is waiter/waitressing as far as I am concerned, unless you can get a really good-paying babysitting job. Most students? majors have nothing to do with their summer employment unless they intern, and most internships are unpaid, anyway. Therefore, I would not concern yourself with summer employment when choosing your major. Your major is supposed to prepare you for your future career, not to help you to get a 3-month-long job right now.
Allison G.
College Prowler Counselor
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Question:
Dear College Prowler Counselor,
I did all 3 sciences and math in Junior College here in Singapore but now i realise that science is not quite what i want to do.
Do you have any suggestions as to how i should go about finding out what i want to study?
-Anan, Raffles Junior College
Singapore, MB
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Answer:
Anan,
I would recommend taking classes that simply interest you. If this seems like too expensive a proposition, you can continue to work toward your previous degree, but audit classes that seem interesting. This way, you do not have to do the work but can listen to the lectures and see if the material interests you. Other than that, the best thing you can do is read about topics that catch your interest. If you can determine a pattern from what you choose to read, this may help you decide what to study, as well.
Allison G.
College Prowler Counselor
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Question:
Dear College Prowler Counsleor,
I have no idea what school i want to go to or what i want to study. Someday i want to be a professional coach, resturant manager/owner, or resort, or event planner.
-Korrie, Inglemoor
Bothell, WA
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Answer:
Korrie,
My best advice for students who want to attend college but feel as though they have no idea what they want to study or pursue after graduating is to attend a liberal arts college. This way, they will continue to get a good well-rounded education, gaining knowledge and learning skills that will help them in any career they choose to pursue. Meanwhile, the curriculum will be free enough to allow them to pursue their various interests and hopefully find one about which they are passionate.
Also, while you are in college (and even while you are still in high school), try to get experience in and near the jobs you feel you may want to pursue. You mentioned perhaps wanting to become a coach, so try coaching a little league team. If you hate it, you will know that coaching is not the job for you and will not have spent class time and college tuition discovering this fact. For event planning, try to take charge of planning a brother, sister, or cousin?s birthday party, from the invitations to the thank-you notes. These sorts of ?stepping stones? will help you to get a feel for the type of work you may want to do in the future.
Allison G.
College Prowler Counselor
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