Kid has no idea what to major in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How normal is it for a high school senior to know what they want to major in? I hear people say their kids are a computer science major or pre-med. Amy kid has no idea. Could be absolutely anything from English to history to computer science to physics. Or anything else their college offers. Literally anything.

I think if a child was a STEM type, they'd know by senior year. So I'd cross science off the list.

History and english sound useless.

I'd suggest a business major like finance or marketing. Or could do communications.

Not for people who enjoy writing (well) and doing research.
DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How normal is it for a high school senior to know what they want to major in? I hear people say their kids are a computer science major or pre-med. Amy kid has no idea. Could be absolutely anything from English to history to computer science to physics. Or anything else their college offers. Literally anything.

very normal. I say this without snark but, did you go to college? Most colleges don't require someone to declare until Sophomore year or so.

OP here. I did go to college and then law school. I didn't know my major either until junior year. That was 30 years ago though, so I wondered if things have changed. So many of my kid's friends say they are pre-med or classics or whatever major. My kid's stats are highest in STEM, so I think it's on the table but he also loves history and literature. I just wondered whether kids know their majors a lot earlier than we knew in my college years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How normal is it for a high school senior to know what they want to major in? I hear people say their kids are a computer science major or pre-med. Amy kid has no idea. Could be absolutely anything from English to history to computer science to physics. Or anything else their college offers. Literally anything.

I think if a child was a STEM type, they'd know by senior year. So I'd cross science off the list.

History and english sound useless.

I'd suggest a business major like finance or marketing. Or could do communications.

Not for people who enjoy writing (well) and doing research.
DP

Agreed! College is not trade school. It is education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's what a liberal arts degree is for. I have one cousin who majored in drama and then became a lawyer, and one cousin who changed her major like four times and then became an elementary school teacher. It doesn't matter what he majors in.

And that's why so many US students end up with massive debts.

OP, I'd suggest exposing your kid to people in different careers to select the most likely (and efficient) path to end up there. That's what Europeans do, and seems to work pretty well.

[Anonymous]

Almost everyone I know changed majors are least once. I changed twice. I suspect a lot of kids who go to college knowing their major end up switching at some point. Not knowing going in is not a bad thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How normal is it for a high school senior to know what they want to major in? I hear people say their kids are a computer science major or pre-med. Amy kid has no idea. Could be absolutely anything from English to history to computer science to physics. Or anything else their college offers. Literally anything.

I think if a child was a STEM type, they'd know by senior year. So I'd cross science off the list.

History and english sound useless.

I'd suggest a business major like finance or marketing. Or could do communications.

What? Are you serious? I was an English major and my husband was a History major. We pull in a combined income of over $2.5 million. Lawyers.

Lawyers are losers thigh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. Does it matter for purposes of college applications, in terms of selling oneself as an applicant?

It is easier to create a narrative/package oneself if you know what you want to major in and you have aligned classes and ECs with your intended field.

17 year-olds, in my view, shouldn’t need to package themselves (or commodify themselves). These years are a time for exploration (for most). Two-thirds of college students change their majors, and more then 1/3 transfer.

Not true-- it's approximately 1/3 of students change their major. Data: https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018434.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of responses here seem focused on steering your daughter toward whatever will make the most money. If that's your/her goal, you're rolling the dice with regard to her happiness. Finding a passion is much more important. Anyone who's smart, works hard, plays nicely with others and has a passion for what they're doing will find success and happiness regardless of the field.

Suggest to her that she do careful research before registering for her first and second-year classes, focusing on taking courses taught by the best professors the school has to offer, as recommended by students who have gone before her. At least one of these teachers will ignite her passion for study in a specific field, and then her future will unfold naturally.

Roll the dice and become a statistc for this problem
https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-crisis

This is a huge national problem in the US.
Google student debt crisis and look around.
People need to be aware of what they are getting into.

I'm betting most folks in this forum are smart enough to not allow themselves or their kids to take on more debt than they can afford.

[Anonymous]

I'm biased, but I would recommend economics. It is the best interdisciplinary major in my opinion. It is a mix of social sciences and mathematics, and a foundation for numerous jobs. If your kid decides they want to go a more quantitative route, they can take courses in econometrics or forecasting. If your kid decides to go a more social sciences route, there are courses in economic history, law, and policy. More importantly, it also lays prepares you for graduate school or even a change of majors. The reading is great for pre-law and the quant courses are great for pursuing graduate school in accounting, data science, etc. If your kid decides to switch to a STEM major, they will have already taken the required math and stats sequences. If your kid decides to switch to business, the intro econ and math courses are taken care of. Economics really is the best major in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm biased, but I would recommend economics. It is the best interdisciplinary major in my opinion. It is a mix of social sciences and mathematics, and a foundation for numerous jobs. If your kid decides they want to go a more quantitative route, they can take courses in econometrics or forecasting. If your kid decides to go a more social sciences route, there are courses in economic history, law, and policy. More importantly, it also lays prepares you for graduate school or even a change of majors. The reading is great for pre-law and the quant courses are great for pursuing graduate school in accounting, data science, etc. If your kid decides to switch to a STEM major, they will have already taken the required math and stats sequences. If your kid decides to switch to business, the intro econ and math courses are taken care of. Economics really is the best major in my opinion.

Best major is Computer Science period. It's the King.

Economics is a very good major, and many good points addressed.
However if the school have a dedicated undergradaute business program, try to get in there first.
Business programs are almost alwasys better than economics in art & sceicne provided that the school have both.
Job placement is better. It's harder get in and harder to change into. Much easier to change to Econ if you want anytime.

Examples: MIT Sloan, UPenn Wharton, Cornell Dyson, Georgetown McDonugh, Notre Dame Mendoza, UVA Mcintire, Michigan Ross, Berkeley Has, NYU Stern, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of responses here seem focused on steering your daughter toward whatever will make the most money. If that's your/her goal, you're rolling the dice with regard to her happiness. Finding a passion is much more important. Anyone who's smart, works hard, plays nicely with others and has a passion for what they're doing will find success and happiness regardless of the field.

Suggest to her that she do careful research before registering for her first and second-year classes, focusing on taking courses taught by the best professors the school has to offer, as recommended by students who have gone before her. At least one of these teachers will ignite her passion for study in a specific field, and then her future will unfold naturally.

Roll the dice and become a statistc for this problem
https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-crisis

This is a huge national problem in the US.
Google student debt crisis and look around.
People need to be aware of what they are getting into.

I'm betting most folks in this forum are smart enough to not allow themselves or their kids to take on more debt than they can afford.

Not so fast. A lot of well educated middle class folks around here still don't get it.
They send kids to college for the sake of sending kids to college.

Some of the examples I personally konw from last year;
History at Boston Universtiy = no decent job
Design at VCU = no decent job
Biology at UVA = no decent job
(this one planned to go to a Medical school, but failed. looking into plan B probably pharmacy or PA)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of responses here seem focused on steering your daughter toward whatever will make the most money. If that's your/her goal, you're rolling the dice with regard to her happiness. Finding a passion is much more important. Anyone who's smart, works hard, plays nicely with others and has a passion for what they're doing will find success and happiness regardless of the field.

Suggest to her that she do careful research before registering for her first and second-year classes, focusing on taking courses taught by the best professors the school has to offer, as recommended by students who have gone before her. At least one of these teachers will ignite her passion for study in a specific field, and then her future will unfold naturally.

Roll the dice and become a statistc for this problem
https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-crisis

This is a huge national problem in the US.
Google student debt crisis and look around.
People need to be aware of what they are getting into.

I'm betting most folks in this forum are smart enough to not allow themselves or their kids to take on more debt than they can afford.

Not so fast. A lot of well educated middle class folks around here still don't get it.
They send kids to college for the sake of sending kids to college.

Some of the examples I personally konw from last year;
History at Boston Universtiy = no decent job
Design at VCU = no decent job
Biology at UVA = no decent job
(this one planned to go to a Medical school, but failed. looking into plan B probably pharmacy or PA)

Anecdotal evidence is not the most useful, but if you're going to use it you need more information than you've provided. The most important thing missing is how well these students did with their studies. My original post specified a student who is "smart, works hard, plays nicely with others and has a passion for what they're doing". Did these students have more A's than B's in their classes? Did they show enough enthusiasm for their major that they had strong recommendations from professors?

Also, how hard have they tried to find a job in their field? Are they only looking for online jobs b/c they're scared to be in an office due to covid? Has their preferred field been strongly affected by covid?

Etc...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How normal is it for a high school senior to know what they want to major in? I hear people say their kids are a computer science major or pre-med. Amy kid has no idea. Could be absolutely anything from English to history to computer science to physics. Or anything else their college offers. Literally anything.

very normal. I say this without snark but, did you go to college? Most colleges don't require someone to declare until Sophomore year or so.

OP here. I did go to college and then law school. I didn't know my major either until junior year. That was 30 years ago though, so I wondered if things have changed. So many of my kid's friends say they are pre-med or classics or whatever major. My kid's stats are highest in STEM, so I think it's on the table but he also loves history and literature. I just wondered whether kids know their majors a lot earlier than we knew in my college years.

Some do, some don't. It's ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm biased, but I would recommend economics. It is the best interdisciplinary major in my opinion. It is a mix of social sciences and mathematics, and a foundation for numerous jobs. If your kid decides they want to go a more quantitative route, they can take courses in econometrics or forecasting. If your kid decides to go a more social sciences route, there are courses in economic history, law, and policy. More importantly, it also lays prepares you for graduate school or even a change of majors. The reading is great for pre-law and the quant courses are great for pursuing graduate school in accounting, data science, etc. If your kid decides to switch to a STEM major, they will have already taken the required math and stats sequences. If your kid decides to switch to business, the intro econ and math courses are taken care of. Economics really is the best major in my opinion.

NP. I'm glad to read this, my college freshman is leaning towards economics and I've been encouraging him while others not so much. Thank you for this perspective!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How normal is it for a high school senior to know what they want to major in? I hear people say their kids are a computer science major or pre-med. Amy kid has no idea. Could be absolutely anything from English to history to computer science to physics. Or anything else their college offers. Literally anything.

very normal. I say this without snark but, did you go to college? Most colleges don't require someone to declare until Sophomore year or so.

OP here. I did go to college and then law school. I didn't know my major either until junior year. That was 30 years ago though, so I wondered if things have changed. So many of my kid's friends say they are pre-med or classics or whatever major. My kid's stats are highest in STEM, so I think it's on the table but he also loves history and literature. I just wondered whether kids know their majors a lot earlier than we knew in my college years.

Same here, op. My kid is at a stem magnet but loves theatre, music and history. Looking at those + math, interdepartmental studies. So, a lot of research on schools that let nonmajors into music and theatre groups, but have great majors there plus strong academics elsewhere. Looking mostly at LACs and a few Ivies. It's hard with the larger universities because they separate into schools and it can be difficult or impossible to study across schools. We are also looking at schools that emphasize flexible curriculum and interdisciplinary. Good luck!