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I am applying to colleges and I am undecided about my major. Will choosing the undecided option on a application give you less of an opportunity to get accepted?

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Clara’s Answer

Hi Jocelyn!! With a strong GPA, you can apply as an undeclared major. Most colleges don't require a intended major. The most important decision you can make, is going to college. I believe your motivation should be more about purpose, instead of job security. What we do in life, becomes our life. So, choose your major wisely and with passion. Seek a career you love, seek a career that at the end of the day, you will know, without a doubt, that you have made the world a better place. Knowledge is something no one can take away from you, but it is also something you can share with others. My advice is to look within yourself, honestly, access what you love doing, understand what drives your passion, and imagine a career in that field. Do not stress over the fact you don't have a major as of yet, take your time, reflect, dream, research, and most of all, consider you, what you want, what you are willing to work really hard for, and how you can make a difference! You go, Jocelyn!!
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Ken’s Answer

The most important thing that you can do to prepare for college is to get to know yourself well enough to determine a career focus that matches your personality traits with people in a career field and then talk face to face and in person with people who are doing what you think that you might want to do to determine what they do, how they got there, and what advice they have to offer.


Approaching college with a specific focus will allow you take the appropriate courses in a timely manner, so that you will not end up nearing the end of the 4th year with too many more courses to take due to poor planning - and have to pay for extra years of college to complete them.


Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many.

 

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want  to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network  ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
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