How to apply without a specific career goal?

[Anonymous]

My daughter is a senior who doesn’t yet know what she wants to do. She is planning to major in math, which she loves, but that is as far as she has gotten. She has great stats and is applying to a few very selective colleges with excellent math programs. My question is: can her application be successful without mentioning a specific career goal? Or does that leave a big part of the “narrative” missing.

Thanks for any wisdom on this.

[Anonymous]

It depends where and what her profile is like.

[Anonymous]

I work at a law firm and know tax attorneys who majored in math. She can just lie and claim something is her goal and then "change her mind" after she's in school. No big deal.

[Anonymous]

Yes definitely.
Just advise her to talk about how her aptitude for and interest in math drives her excitement in exploring career possibilities. And how she looks forward to taking more advanced math classes and learning more from distinguished professors who will expose her to different pathways to apply her natural curiousity and problem-solving nature toward a more specific field of study.

That’s a lot of mumbo jumbo but ultimately they want to know that she is bright and motivated and that her curiosity is winery in g that will lead her to finding a specific career path to which she will apply her skills. And they want to know that she can see that happening at THEIR university.

[Anonymous]

The school is not going to hold you to study what you may initially mention . My daughter took this as an opportunity to do research on what she might study/do in the future.

She went down the path of looking into her perspective major, and the classes that the school offered in that major. And she wrote her her essays on that.

In fact, halfway through she realized that the required classes in a possible second major or minor took her too deep into topics that she only had a surface level interest in.

This was a big undertaking… especially for her 1 ED and 3 EA schools. And initially I thought DD was overthinking it. but now I actually think this is was valuable exercise., but this research eiukd probably need to be done anyway.

[Anonymous]

Jesus Christ. Do colleges really expect 17-18 year olds to know exactly what they want to do with their lives and have a career plan mapped out? I had no idea what I even wanted to major in when I applied to college, and I got into schools like Vandy, Georgia Tech, and Davidson. I don't remember even having to list my expected major on the application.

[Anonymous]

make one up. I don't think it really matters.

[Anonymous]

I'm 53 and still trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up.

I can't imagine most (always exceptions) schools expect a 17yo to know what they want to do as a career. Hell, a large of students can't settle on a MAJOR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jesus Christ. Do colleges really expect 17-18 year olds to know exactly what they want to do with their lives and have a career plan mapped out? I had no idea what I even wanted to major in when I applied to college, and I got into schools like Vandy, Georgia Tech, and Davidson. I don't remember even having to list my expected major on the application.

I’m with you 100% but apparently the conventional wisdom is that these kids have to have a a singular burning passion cultivated since they were zygotes in order to impress the admissions officers at rejective schools. Asinine. Not a game I’m interested in playing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jesus Christ. Do colleges really expect 17-18 year olds to know exactly what they want to do with their lives and have a career plan mapped out? I had no idea what I even wanted to major in when I applied to college, and I got into schools like Vandy, Georgia Tech, and Davidson. I don't remember even having to list my expected major on the application.

You can’t compare what your experience was like to today’s experiences.

[Anonymous]

You don’t necessarily describe a career aspiration on most schools’ applications. Some supp essays may ask this but often there are a choice of essays. You might have to pick a major for some schools.

[Anonymous]

There are so many great jobs for math majors - she should just do some internet research and pick one if she needs to for her essays. No one is going to check later to see if that lines up with the jobs she is applying for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jesus Christ. Do colleges really expect 17-18 year olds to know exactly what they want to do with their lives and have a career plan mapped out? I had no idea what I even wanted to major in when I applied to college, and I got into schools like Vandy, Georgia Tech, and Davidson. I don't remember even having to list my expected major on the application.

I bet when you applied, it was a lot easier to get into those schools.

Some of the impacted majors are difficult to get into direct admit, and difficult to transfer into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jesus Christ. Do colleges really expect 17-18 year olds to know exactly what they want to do with their lives and have a career plan mapped out? I had no idea what I even wanted to major in when I applied to college, and I got into schools like Vandy, Georgia Tech, and Davidson. I don't remember even having to list my expected major on the application.

We are assuming they don’t. College is supposed to be about learning. My older two got into college just fine without knowing their desired career. We are hoping the third will also do fine without having her life loan decided at 17. Don’t buy into the madness, OP.