Help my below average son chose a college major

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does he need to declare a major now? Ideally he would take a range of classes freshman year, both to fulfill distribution requirements and be exposed to new areas that might spark his interest.

+1. This. Spend year 1 taking a range of courses in areas of interest and see what clicks.

Plus, you’ve told us what he isn’t good in. You haven’t told us what his strengths are. And the strengths piece is the most important. Also, what are his life goals besides “rich”. Yes, every kid in college should have a plan to become self supporting. And yes, wanting to earn a lot of money isn’t unusual. But, there are many paths to get there. And for some, your kids ability to hustle and his personality will determine income. For example sales. Get a communications major and the right job, and he’ll earn a decent living. But he needs a certain personality and natural ability to do so.

Plus, what majors does his college offers. For example, I know a kid who is a self starter and doing well for themselves with a hospitality major out of a VA school. My kid is at WM and even if she wanted that major, it isn’t an option.

I does sound like your kid would be better with a hands on hospitality, communications, etc major over a liberal arts (English, History, etc) major with a goal of grad school, law school etc. Besides that, more info needed.

PS— going to college doesn’t mean he can’t be in the military. Maybe he’s a natural leader and would make a great officer.

+1

So much is about work ethic and attitude. Ironically, my partners last two heads of sales (at companies with 1500+ people, have NOT had their college degrees. Both started, and never finished. Both highly successful people who make $600K+/year. One has been with them thru sale of Two companies---so is worth $15M+ from just those. Have known the one for 20+ years and literally had not clue they didnt' complete college degree. And it doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter, because they started 20 years ago. This is the era of hyper credentialization, and you need the degree for success in these type of careers.

No you do not. They just hired the new head of sales. Did not care at all that he didn't have a degree...because your work experience matters more. Many of the younger sales people also do NOT have a degree. Because it's work ethic and learning on the job and personality to excel at sales (think Penny from BBT).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP! Thanks for posting so I could read all of the responses. Like you, I have kid that's a senior with terrible grades and a SAT score in the 900s. As a person, super sweet, pleasant, easy going. I feel like we are all alone when reading the questions about college typically in this forum. I am just hoping my kid can get in somewhere and then I'm hoping they can actually be successful there. I haven't been thinking too much about a major, but maybe I should be!

OP here. Thank you to all, I am writing down all of the majors mentioned to run it by him. Also will reassure him and myself that there is no rush. I just want to say thank you to this poster because yes, it feels very alone. My son is so sweet and a good kid but he just doesn’t seem like the kids on here and that scared me a bit. My son has many positives. Looking back, I see how my post mentioned only his weaknesses. He is respectful, he plays sports for fun, he likes to work out, he likes to keep his room in order/clean, plays video games, good with his much younger siblings and likes science the most. I honestly could see him being a health or PE teacher!

OP and pp- your kids sound great. My best friend has a similar son and he found his calling (out of the blue!) in fashion. I believe he's a buyer now. I have another friend who's son became interested in the art of "pizza"- has been working through college at wood fired pizza restaurant, and is making plans to open his own place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not everyone belongs in college straightaway. Try a couple of years at a community college and see how it goes.

Community college is a college, why don’t people understand that? It sounds like he’s going to attend a state college that will allow him to increase his basic skills with free classes in the summer.

My niece probably had similar SAT scores, took basic classes in high school, got mostly Bs. No real ambition. She’s graduating this year with a degree in psychology. It’s not an uncommon story. He’ll mature and assure him that many students switch their majors after a year or two. Some don’t declare until end of sophomore year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is a below average student. His SAT score was a 900. He was a B/C student all throughout school. His greatest weakness and where he struggled the most was with Math. He is going off to college. I am thrilled that he is going to college. We all thought about the military or college and he landed on college. However, we are having a difficult time figuring out a major. He knows that he wants to be successful (financially). He knows that he does not want to be a teacher. He knows he does not want to take a lot of classes in Math. Could anyone help point us in the right direction with careers/majors? We and he knows where he stands academically and what he is capable of. I fear that he will choose a degree in which he will not be successful in and it will be defeating for him.

Communications