I am currently an eighth grader in Ohio, and am taking college class through College Credit Plus. I would like to pick a major so my class choices aren’t completely random and I can have most of a degree by the time I finish high school.
I want a degree that is very fluid and flexible, and could be used as a basis for many graduate degrees, if I decide to go to graduate school.
I’m thinking a major in Business (maybe even Math or Science)
Any advice?
Unless you are super-advanced in some subjects, it is likely to be way too early to think about what college majors pursue. You could use the opportunity to take college courses while in high school to explore courses in subjects that are not ordinarily offered in high school, so that you can make a more informed decision on what to choose for your college major.
Are you getting college credit? If you are maybe you can knock out some prereqs that every major has to take.
Number one, 8th grade is way too early to think about a major. If you are already taking college classes, I recommend starting with some general education requirements - English, math, history, art, the kinds of classes almost every college requires you to satisfy. You have plenty of time to think about a major, and you don’t want to lock yourself into anything at age 13. It’s bad enough people feel like they have to do it at 17.
Second of all, while there are many degrees that are flexible, there are few degrees that “can be used as a basis for many graduate degrees.” There are two kinds of graduate degrees: professional ones and academic ones. The professional graduate degrees (like an MBA, MPA, MPP, JD, MD, etc.) can usually be pursued by any major. You can get an MBA with an art history major, a business major, or a math major, and turn out working the same jobs regardless. The second kind are academic degrees, which are MAs and PhDs in a specific field. Those degrees usually require a bachelor’s in a specific field or a very closely related one. For example, if you want a PhD in sociology, you’ll need to have majored in sociology in undergrad - or MAYBE anthropology or psychology if you have enough relevant coursework in sociology. But a business major isn’t going to a PhD program in sociology unless she takes a lot of extra classes.
Of course there are exceptions (an M.Eng is a professional degree but you need an engineering BS to get one; an MA in human rights is technically an academic degree, but those programs will take people from many undergraduate backgrounds) but this is generally the way it’s ordered. Basically, my point is there’s no magical major that will leave you just as free as you were before you picked a major, which is one of the reasons I think you should wait to select one.