Choosing your college degree is perhaps one of the biggest decisions that you will make throughout your life. The degree and college that you choose will have an impact on much of your future including your career, finances, friendships, and maybe even your hobbies and passions. Since most people will choose their college degree at a young age, being sure of something so big isn’t always easy. If you’re in the process of applying to college and aren’t sure what you would like to study, here are some factors to help you make the right choice.
Consider the ROI of Majors:
Different careers have different salaries, and it’s important to think about how much money you’ll make after college. Will you be able to pay back the loans you took out? If not, you may want to consider a different college or major. Ascent Funding makes figuring this out easy with their Bright Futures College Degree ROI Calculator. Just enter the colleges and majors that interest you, and it will calculate how much it would cost to attend as well as the average first-year salary for that industry. This can help you at least rule out some of the more costly majors that may not be worth the low starting salary.
What Are You Good At?
So far in school, what are you excelling at the most? Which subjects are you consistently getting high grades for? Unless you are determined to improve your knowledge and get better with a certain subject, there might be no point in choosing to study a subject that you don’t understand very well. Consider where you tend to be naturally gifted and what comes easy to you when studying.
What Do You Like?
Of course, choosing a subject that you have performed well at so far is ideal, but you will also need to consider how much you enjoy that topic too. When at college, you will be mainly focusing on your major subject and you’ll need to be prepared to dedicate several hours a day to studying it, so it makes sense to choose something that you actually enjoy and are passionate about. Studying something that you like will help you stay motivated throughout your degree.
Consider the College:
Some colleges offer different degree programs to students, so it’s important to ensure that the program you’re considering is offered at the college that you’d most like to attend. If you are not sure which college might be the best option for you, you can use CollegeData.com to find out more about different colleges based on programs offered, student achievements, and more. They also offer a useful tool that you can use to get an idea of how likely you are to be accepted onto a certain college degree program.
Use Your Work Experience:
Getting some work experience as a teen can be an ideal way to help you decide what you’d like to study at college. There is nothing quite like being able to experience a certain line of work hands-on to help you decide whether you’d like to do it in the future or not. Ask businesses in your area if you would be able to spend the day shadowing a professional in the workplace to learn more about what the job involves and get a clear picture of what the day-to-day life for somebody working in this career is like. This also gives you the opportunity to ask them about their qualifications and the degree program that they chose to get them into this line of work.
Your college degree program is a huge decision, so it’s no surprise that many young people struggle with it. Keep these tips in mind if you are having a hard time deciding what you might like to study at college.
