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.

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.

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.

The above is correct. It also matters if you want admission to a specialized school (engineering, business, etc) within a large university OR a school that restricts admissions to certain majors (like UMD.)

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.

Don't do English or History.
Do Computer Science orPhysics.

Problem solved.

I double-majored (one from your do list, one from your don't list). There is nothing wrong with majoring in the humanities.

OP, it's not weird at all. Let your kid explore in college. Many kids who think they know going in change their minds.

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.

I think most kids don’t know and it annoys me that for application purposes they seem to expect that the kids should know. We decided to approach in the following way. My child has one area of interest that is more “niche” and ends up frequently being spun off into its own college or school at universities, but also have other interests that fall under the broader “liberal arts” umbrella. Child applied for college declaring interest in the “niche” subject because we figured it would be easier to add a minor or double major in the broader area and/or move entirely out of the more focused school into the broader liberal arts rather than the other way around. Child has been up front about interest in various areas with admissions counselors and all have been encouraging of this approach. We have only looked at larger universities offering lots of programs/departments/majors so our child can dabble and explore. So far accepted at four schools that offer all areas of interest and directly into the niche major program at three of them.

Anonymous wrote:I went to a liberal arts college so I didn't have to choose a major until the end of sophomore year. Can anyone tell me what it is like at other colleges? Don't some students have to apply to a certain college within a university during application time? Can they switch after they get in? If they switch, will they lose credits? I do not want my kid going anywhere where he's on the 5-6 yr plan.

Depends on the schools so you have to do the research once you apply and are accepted. My brother ended up on the 6-year plan because he started out in Engineering (typically 5 yrs at top flagship university) and then switched to business/finance. He applied as an Engineering major (required for admission). I was undecided, declared a major 2nd year, and graduated in 4 years (included one summer) from a T20.

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.

Don't do English or History.
Do Computer Science orPhysics.

Problem solved.

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

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.

I went to a liberal arts college so I didn't have to choose a major until the end of sophomore year. Can anyone tell me what it is like at other colleges? Don't some students have to apply to a certain college within a university during application time? Can they switch after they get in? If they switch, will they lose credits? I do not want my kid going anywhere where he's on the 5-6 yr plan.

Honestly, it’s better not to know what to Major in before they start college. They have two years to be inspired.

Anonymous wrote:Some kids know, some kids don't. Knowing makes the college application process easier in the sense of more focused, but otherwise either one is fine and perfectly normal. My kid mostly knows what he *doesn't* want to major in - for him, that's anything that requires a lot of math. In my limited experience (I teach grad school), it's not uncommon for kids to figure it out along the way - I know engineering majors who switched to history, several humanities majors who did post-grad premed courses and eventually became very successful doctors, etc etc. But I also know smart, happy, successful people who decided at 10yo what they wanted to be and stuck with it.

+1

Some kids know, some kids don't. Knowing makes the college application process easier in the sense of more focused, but otherwise either one is fine and perfectly normal. My kid mostly knows what he *doesn't* want to major in - for him, that's anything that requires a lot of math. In my limited experience (I teach grad school), it's not uncommon for kids to figure it out along the way - I know engineering majors who switched to history, several humanities majors who did post-grad premed courses and eventually became very successful doctors, etc etc. But I also know smart, happy, successful people who decided at 10yo what they wanted to be and stuck with it.

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.