Planning For A Major! Part 2

In the previous post, I wrote about the importance of declaring a major. This post will concentrate on how declaring a major will affect your college career. 

It is okay if you are undeclared, you do not need to panic! But there are advantages to declaring a major sooner, rather than later. As a counselor, I see students on a regular basis to advise them on topics related to their pursuit of a college degree. The next few paragraphs will outline the impact declaring a major will have on your college career, from a counselor's perspective.

Chances are, that if you have seen a counselor here at your college, you have been exposed to the "ed plan", which refers to the process of a counselor going over a proposed plan to satisfy your general education (GE's) requirements for degree or transfer. Especially for students looking to transfer to a 4-year school, declaring your major will give you more focus and clarity of your class seletion going forward. Once your degree is chosen, your decision may impact which schools you consider transferring to. Every school is different, some schools may not offer the degree program you are interested in pursuing. Some schools have a "stronger" program than others in specific areas. Choosing your major may affect whether you transfer to a UC or a CSU. There are programs offered at CSU's that are not offered at UC's and vice versa. Instruction at UC's tend to be more research based, while degree programs at the CSU level tend to be more hands-on. This is avery important factor to consider, one that you can follow up on with a counselor here at Foothill.

If you have seen a counselor, you may know about www.assist.org. This is a very useful website that allows students access to specific admission requirements for each public school in California. Users are able to search or find majors that each school has available. For example, if you were interested in obtaining a BS in Biology, you can find which schools offer that degree. It will also break down specific specializations each school has. For example, Business Administration is a common area of study. But this is a broad scope of study, so often times schools will break this down into areas of specialization. Form the site, you can see which areas of specialization each school offers. You can see how this may be helpful in researching which schools offer programs that are of interest to you. Once you have selceted a specific school and degree program, you can tell the webiste which school you are transferring from to see what specific classes the 4-year university requires for admission into that major. In addition to the GE requirements, each school, and each major may have separate requirements to transfer under a specific major. Classes specified under this area are required in addition to your GE classes. You can see how it will be to your advantage to know the major prep classes, so that you may add these classes to your ed plan. Again, the sooner you can successfully declare a major, the easier it will be to set your education plan for your stay at school. You are less likely to take classes that are not necessary for your successful degree completion or transfer to another school. 

Yes, it can be a bit intimidating to make major life choices, but remember how exciting it can be to really make decisions for YOURSELF. Remember that you will be the one studying, writing papers, and taking exams. It will be you that will graduate and look for a job in your chosen career. It is important that you take this process seriously, but also be thoughtful and aware of things that will hopefully bring you satisfaction. Once you have chosen your major, you may also find that you become a little more motivated, and your new sense of direction may help you achieve more in class.

The next pose will explore different resources to assist you in the process of choosing a major.

JV

Planning For A Major! part 1

So you are enrolled in college and taking classes, but have you declared a major? If you have, great! If not, you are not alone! It is natural to be a bit apprehensive about choosing a major. Although every student is allowed to change his/her major, there always seems to be a bit of finality in deciding a major. It can definitely be an intimidating experience, but it does not need to be.

Declaring a major is one of those very important steps in your college career and life. A large percentage of students will examine and choose majors that relate to jobs and careers they would like to enter into after graduation. This is closely tied to one's personal interests and skill levels. If you are going to work 40+ hours a week for 30+ years, at the very least, you should have a mild interest in the work you are performing. Your interest will have a direct impact on your overall quality of life. A large percentage of people cite work as one of the few factors that influence happiness. In other words, if they are happy at work, they are more likely to be happy in life, or overall. If they are not happy at work, they are more likely to have a pessimistic outlook on life.

It also makes sense to explore and identify where your strengths and weaknesses are. This does not mean that you need to choose something you excel at over an area that you find harder. It means that you are better off if you are aware of these things. Self-awareness and preparation are the name of the game. For example, if you are writing a research paper, there are several steps that you need to do to complete the assignment. You would need to pick a topic, from there you would go to the library and research the topic by finding and choosing the appropriate sources. From there you would read and take notes. Once done you might gather the notes and form an outline, then start writing the paper. Once done you might proof-read the paper, then add a bibliography, then a title page, and make sure the overall format is correct. Quite a few steps, yes? If you have a certain amount of time to complete the paper, you may make a timeline that allocates a time period to each step. If you are stronger in research and writing the bibliography and formatting the quotes and citations, it may be helpful to know. You still need to write the bibliography and insert the citations, but you may allocate more time to these tasks, if they are not your strengths. Again, self-awareness and preparation are very important when making decisions about your future.

Remember that the decisions you make now will affect your careerpath, and life in general. This process can be fun and exciting, as this is YOUR FUTURE! You are investing heavily in your future as you are preparing by attending college. Take advantage of this time to take a keen interest in deciding your major. As a general rule of thumb, I typically will do more research/diligence/ask more questions/find answers to my questions/think about/reflect as the decision becomes more important or life-changing. The more informed you are about the major that matches you and your interests, the more likely you are to enjoy and be more successful in your career.

There are a lot of resources and people that will aid your quest for knowledge. As you find more information, the decision will likely become more clear, and you will be more confident moving forward.

This is part 1 of Planning a Major, I will move onto the next topic of how declaring a major will impact the rest of your college education in the next post.

JV