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What Should I Major In? How To Choose A College Major?
Choosing a major is one of the biggest decisions a high school or college student is asked to make. And it’s one that many wish they could redo—61% of college grads would change their major if they could go back, according to one survey.
But not everyone has a case of buyer's remorse after graduation. Here are the most important factors to take into account before choosing a major, and how to pick the right college once you’ve decided what to study.
How to Determine the Major That’s Best for You
1. Consider Your Skills
Start by making a list of your strengths and interests. Once you’re done, ask your close friends and family members what they would say about you. Sometimes it takes a third party to remind us of the talents and skills we take for granted.
Include any topics that you’ve always been interested in but never fully pursued. You should also include activities that you used to be good at but haven’t done in a while. Lastly, consider taking a career quiz, like this one from The Princeton Review.
2. Research Potential Careers
Once you’ve made a list of your interests and passions, look at what jobs fit those passions. For example, if you’re interested in music, you can work as a music teacher, club promoter or find a job at a music-related nonprofit.
After making a list of potential careers, consider shadowing people in those jobs so you can understand what it’s really like to work there. Seeing how real people work can give you a better sense of whether you’re actually interested. If shadowing someone isn’t an option, contact people via email or LinkedIn and set up a phone call to ask them questions directly.
3. Estimate Future Earnings
The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks career growth for most jobs. Visit the site and select the occupation groups that interest you. From there, you can see which jobs are available in each field.
Once you have a list of jobs you’re interested in, you can use the site to see which jobs have a positive growth rate and earnings that fit your desired lifestyle. While future earnings shouldn’t be your only motivator for a certain career, it is an important factor to consider. Knowing this information can help you decide how much is wise to invest in your secondary education.
Also, consider what you want your life to look like after college. If you hope to live in a major city, travel extensively or start a family, for example, you’ll need a job that pays you enough to afford those things.
4. Decide How Much Time You Can Dedicate to School
Not every major is created equal. Some programs, like pre-med, require substantially more work than others. Consider how much time you can commit to your training and how dedicated of a student you want to be.
Also research any advanced degrees you’ll need after college to get to work in your desired field. If you need to pursue a professional or master’s degree to reach your career goals, account for the extra time and money that will require before you make a final decision on your bachelor degree major.
Find the Right Colleges for Your Major
Now that you’ve picked a major, it’s time to find the best colleges for that program. Here’s how to narrow your list down:
1. Look at Rankings
You can easily find general college rankings online with simple searches. You can often filter these schools based on state, setting, school size and more.
You can also find specific rankings for degree programs like business, engineering and computer science. Publications tend to only include certain undergraduate programs, so you’ll likely have to do your own digging to find the best schools.
For example, if you’re interested in becoming a teacher, do a Google search for “best teaching programs” or “best teaching colleges.” Cross-reference the articles, write down the universities that appear most often and add them to your list.
Make sure to check the date of each publication; you don’t want to look at information from beyond the past five years. Programs can change quickly and you don’t want to choose a school that has since gone downhill.
2. Talk to Your High School Advisor
Your high school counselor or advisor may have suggestions on which colleges are most appropriate for what you’re interested in. They may also be able to match you with universities where you’ll have the best chance of being accepted.
For example, Stanford University has one of the top business programs in the country, but the application process is highly competitive—the school has an admittance rate of about 4%. Your advisor can help you decide how to choose schools that best fit your academic performance.
3. Find a College That Meets Multiple Interests
If you’re interested in several different disciplines, look for colleges that offer good programs for some or all of the options you’re considering. That way, if you switch your major to another alternative, you’ll still receive a quality education without needing to transfer schools.
For example, if you’re interested in studying Spanish and marketing, look for a school with a good language and business program. You may have to pick a school that’s less renowned in one area to find a school that has decent programs in both fields you’re interested in.
4. Consider the Cost
Some careers require additional degrees after you complete your bachelor’s program. If you’ll need an advanced degree, consider prioritizing an affordable school for your undergraduate degree. Try to minimize how much you borrow in student loans and make sure to apply for as many scholarships and grants as possible.
In-state public universities are often the least expensive option, and many of those colleges rank highly. But you shouldn’t discount private universities, especially if your family has a lower income. Many private schools have large scholarships or grant funds for students with financial need.
5. Be Flexible
According to the U.S. Department of Education, 33% of undergraduate students changed their major at least once. About 9% changed their major twice or more. Other data shows that more than half of students change their major at least once.
It’s normal to pick a major, go to college and discover you’re not as interested as you thought you would be. Keep an open mind and don’t force yourself to stick out the degree path you chose when you were a high school senior. You’ll likely spend about a third of your life at work, so don’t force yourself to stay with a major you don’t enjoy.
注释：
Redo：V
表示“重做；再做”，means “to do something again”. 如：
I want to redo the apartment to go with my new furniture. 我刚买了新家具，想重新装潢房子。
buyer’s remorse=buyer’s regret
buyer's remorse / buyers' remorse表示“买家懊悔，事后悔恨”，means “a feeling of regret (= a wish that you had not done something) after making a choice or decision”. 如：Mike Pence Is Giving a Lot of Trump supporters Buyer’s Remorse. Mike Pence让许多选择支持Trump的人感到懊悔不已。
take sth for granted
表示“认为…是理所当然的”，means “to believe something to be the truth without even thinking about it”. 如：
Don't take it for granted before you do anything. 做任何事之前都不要想当然。
Promoter：n
表示“（艺术演出或体育比赛的）筹办人，发起者，赞助者”，means “a person or company that organizes or provides money for an artistic performance or a sporting event”；如：The original enterprise may serve as the promoter of the company. 原有企业可作为设立公司的发起人。
表示“倡导者；支持者”，means “a person who tries to persuade others about the value or importance of sth” 如：He is the promoter of this campaign. 他是这次运动的推动者。
Shadow: v; adj; n
1）作形容词，表示“（用于主要反对党的要员的头衔中）影子的”，means “used in the title of important politicians in the main opposition party (= the party not in government)”如：Any pregnant woman who padded through her shadow would miscarry. 穿过她的阴影的所有孕妇会 流产。
2）作动词:
a) 表示“为了解某人的工作而跟随见习”，means “to follow someone else while they are at work in order to learn about that person's job”. 如：Your first week in the job will be spent shadowing one of our more experienced employees.你工作的第一周将是跟随我们其中一位经验丰富的雇员学习。
b)表示“跟踪”, means “”keep a secret watch on“， 如：He employed a detective to shadow his wife.他雇用了一名私人侦探去跟踪他的夫人。
c)表示“蒙上阴影”，means" darken with a shadow ". 如：Figmentary fears can shadow our whole existence. 想象中的恐惧能使我们整个生活蒙上阴影。
pre-med: n
1) 表示“医学预科（课程）”，means “a course or set of classes that students take in preparation for medical school；a student who is taking classes in preparation for medical school”。如：Mr. Liu returned to school this fall to focus on pre-med studies because he did not perform as well as he had hoped in the pros. 刘先生今年秋季重返校园，将精力投入到医学预科的学习，因为他在专业比赛中的表现没有预期的好。
2) 表示“医学预科生“，means" a student who is taking classes in preparation for medical school" .如:At Yale, he was a pre-med student before switching to economics because of what he described as a passionate interest in the way markets operate.在耶鲁，他是一个医学院预科生，因为对市场运作的强烈兴趣转去学习经济学。
Substantially: adv
表示“在很大程度上”，means “to a large degree”. 如：
His opinion accords substantially with mine. 他的意见和我的意见大体上是一致的。
Master's degree
表示“硕士学位”，means “an advanced college or university degree”。如：Instead, he earned a master’s degree from the Sorbonne. 但是，他还是在巴黎大学取得了研究生学位。
bachelor's degree
表示“学士学位”，means “a first degree at college or university”。如：I will definitely get my bachelor‘s degree according to my course studies and thesis. 根据我的课程学习和论文写作情况，获得学士学位不成问题。
Filter: v
1）作动词，表示“过滤”，means “to remove solids from liquids or gases, or to remove particular types of light, using special equipment”. 如：It won't take long to filter the coffee. 用不了多少时间就可以把咖啡过滤好。
2）作名词：
a)表示“筛选（过滤）程序”，means “a program that stops certain types of electronic information, email, etc. being sent to a computer.”
b）表示“滤器；过滤器”，means “a device containing paper, sand, chemicals, etc. that a liquid or gas is passed through in order to remove any materials that are not wanted”。如：A yellow filter is placed in front of the camera lens to assure that no blue light will be imaged. 为了不使蓝光进入相机而成像，可在相机的透镜前加一黄色滤镜。
cross-reference
表示“互见，相互参照”，means “a note in a book that tells you to look somewhere else in the book for more information about something”。如：We will attempt to avoid duplication by appropriate cross references. 我们将用适当的前后对照的方法来避免重复。
go downhill
1）表示“走下坡路，每况愈下”，means “to gradually become worse”. 如：This part of the town used to be fashionable, but it's starting to go downhill. 该市这一地区一度很繁华，如今已江河日下。
2）表示”下坡，一路顺畅“ ， means" go down smoothly", 如：I just love to feel the cool breeze on my face when I go downhill. 我喜欢下坡的时候微风吹在我脸上的感觉。
admittance
表示“准许进入；进入（权）”，means “permission to enter a place”. 如：I was refused admittance to the house. 我被拒之门外。
Renowned: adj
表示“有名的；闻名的；受尊敬的”，means “famous and respected”. 如：I've invited a renowned calligrapher to write an inscription for my restaurant. 我请了一位有名的书法家为我的饭店题额。
Decent: adj
表示“正派的；体面的，正经的；像样的，相当不错的”，means “socially acceptable or good”. 如：He dreamed of living in decent conditions. 他梦想着过体面的生活。
Discount: v;n
1)动词，表示“忽视，忽略，不理会，不全信，”，means “to decide that something or someone is not worth considering or giving attention”. 如：You must discount much of what he says. 他说的好些话,你必须打个折扣听。We shouldn't discount the effect of AIDS. 我们不应忽视艾滋病的影响。
2）名词，表示“折扣“，means “an amount or percentage deducted”。如：We give 10 percent discount for cash.现金付款，我们九折优惠。