Help my below average son chose a college major
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Anonymous
| 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. |
Anonymous
| What year is he? If not in college yet, it’s not something to stress about. |
Anonymous
| 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. |
Anonymous
| Did he struggle with advanced math or just in general does he hate math? There are some careers that require working with numbers but the math is pretty basic, but if he hates that generally then I wouldn’t recommend them. |
Anonymous
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Focus on what he is good at/enjoys doing. Is he good with people? Mechanically inclined? Enjoys drawing or music?
If he really doesn’t know, his school’s career center/counseling office most likely has interest and aptitude screeners he can take. |
Anonymous
| OP here. Thank you all for the responses. I was so worried that I would get slammed for this. He is a senior in high school. I guess he feels like everyone else knows their major so he feels like he should as well. I did tell him that the first year will pretty much the same for everyone no matter their major. He will be taking the non credit Math, Reading and Writing classes during the Summer, on campus, because his SAT was so low. He does not like that idea but I think it is great to help prepare him for college. To follow up with others, he is not artistic at all, he struggled with advanced Math and we bumped him down to regular and he obtained a B. He is a kid that honestly has no motivation or desire. His dad thinks that he is perfect for the military. He is the type of kid that if you tell him to do it, he will do it and not complain but does not take initiative on his own. Dad said that is the military for him but we have to support that he wants to go to college. |
Anonymous
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Sociology, English, Marketing, Media Studies, Communications
I'd also consider that a college with 8 week terms might be better for him than the traditional 16 weeks. Then he will be focused on 2 classes at a time (including summer session, he can still graduate in four years). |
Anonymous
| How about sales or something else in business? |
Anonymous
| Regardless of his grades, he doesn't need to know his major yet. Half of those people that "know their major" will change anyway. |
Anonymous
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He can be financially successful regardless of his work or major, but it does involve learning all about investing personal finance and some basic math.
I was going to suggest finance. I may have taken two math classes only. |
Anonymous
Because he is taking these non-credit classes, how about having him work with an advisor for that program to get some ideas? I don't want to sound demeaning in any way, but would he like working in a factory? He sounds like the kind of kid who will do great in a job. I would say maybe get a general business degree and then get a job that has him on his feet and/or working with his hands. With a degree, he would probably move up fast. |
Anonymous
Finance requires stats, as well as business calc. Honestly, I think the military would be better for him. My brother also went into the military because we could not afford college straight out of HS, but he was also not motivated, though he was very good at math. The military provided much needed discipline for him, and honestly, he should've stayed in the military because once he left, he became lazy again. The military will provide training in some specialty. My brother did hydraulics and worked on helicopters. He then used the GI bill to help pay for college. So, your DS could do both. My brother is not a big guy. He barely made the height requirement, and if he can survive basic training, I feel that most guys can. Military is definitely the place to go if you prefer to be told what to do rather than have your own personal goals. But, if he's dead set against the military, then I would not stress about majors just yet. He has almost two years to declare his major. Let him take the gen ed classes, find his interests and mature a bit before he decides. Some kids know from the start what they want to do; others don't. And that's fine. |
Anonymous
| What about something like exercise science or sports management? |
Anonymous
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He doesn’t have to have it figured out on day one!
My current college senior went in undecided, like truly undecided. He decided on a major towards the end of his first year of college and further honed in in his sophomore year. I encouraged him to take a variety of classes initially and see what interests him. My current HS senior applied undecided and has a general idea of what she wants/doesn’t want, and same advice from me - take a variety of classes and it’ll come to you. Good luck to your son! |
Anonymous
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What about law enforcement? You can get a criminal justice degree, which from what I have heard is not that hard, then go to the police academy. I believe you get paid more if you have a degree.
Or a fire fighter? EMT? |