Assistance in Selecting a Major

SlackerMomMD
Wed, 10 Jul 2013 14:15:30 +0000

Talking about majors would get me stressed if I were a rising junior coming off a less than stellar academic year.

I have a rising junior as well and I try to be proactive (I had her take the SAT and ACT this past spring to get a baseline) but it’s very early days yet for choosing a major. They still have two years left in high school and I’m sure interests may change or solidify over the next school year.

I know I went through about 4 or 5 departments/fields when i was in undergrad - it stressed out my father. My sister told me about this exchange she had:
dad: She picked Art History! What kind of job can she get with an Art History major?! (did I mention we’re Chinese?)
sister: Don’t worry Dad. She’ll change it again next month.

She may want to begin to figure out general areas: engineering vs science vs humanities vs social science by just looking at her strengths and areas of interest, but even that can change.

FWIW, I graduated with majors in Math and Design of Environment and a minor in the lamented Art History.