Posts Tagged ‘choosing a major’
10 Best Undergrad Schools for Education Majors
For high school students whittling down their college wish-lists, its important to research schools based on their reputation for specific programs. While you don’t have to know for certain what your major will be, if you have a strong inclination to veer in one direction, follow your gut! If that direction happens to be education, take a look at the 10 best undergraduate schools for education programs in the United States, according to the U.S. News & World Report.
Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH)
- Students enrolled: 6,141
- Application deadline: January 1st
- Tuition: $41,736
- Fun Fact: Dartmouth is home to the oldest and biggest collegiate Outing Club in the country. The Outing Club offers outdoor excursions and courses to adventure-seeking students.
Princeton University (Princeton, NJ)
- Students enrolled: 7,724
- Application deadline: January 1st
- Tuition: $37,000
- Fun Fact: All undergraduate students are required to write a senior thesis.
Miami University – Oxford (Oxford, OH)
- Students enrolled: 17,472
- Application deadline: February 1st
- Tuition: $10,880 (in-state), $26,052 (out-of-state)
- Fun Fact: 30% of the student body is involved with Greek Life and the school has been referred to as the “Mother of Fraternities”.
Brown University (Providence, RI)
- Students enrolled: 8,705
- Application deadline: January 1st
- Tuition: $41,328
- Fun Fact: All students are required to live on campus for their first six semesters.
Yale University (New Haven, CT)
- Students enrolled: 11,701
- Application deadline: December 31st
- Tuition: $40,500
- Fun Fact: Yale is also widely regarded for it’s drama and music programs. All students belong to one of twelve residential colleges.
College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, VA)
- Students enrolled: 8,000
- Application deadline: January 1st
- Tuition: $8,270 (in-state), $30,547 (out-of-state)
- Fun Fact: Located in the historic town of Williamsburg, this school is the second oldest in the country!
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor, MI)
- Students enrolled: 41,924
- Application deadline: February 1st
- Tuition: $12,440 (in-state), $37,588 (out-of-state)
- Fun Fact: Located in one of the best college towns in the country, this university offers more than 900 students clubs and a rich athletic history.
Duke University (Durham, NC)
- Students enrolled: 15,016
- Application deadline: January 2nd
- Tuition: $40,665
- Fun Fact: Home of one of the top five winningest basketball programs in the country. Get ready to become a basketball fan!
University of California – Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
- Students enrolled: 35,833
- Application deadline: November 30th
- Tuition: $11,220 (in-state), $34,098 (out-of-state)
- Fun Fact: This university is known for it’s actively political student body – particularly for liberal student groups.
University of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
- Students enrolled: 15,152
- Application deadline: January 3rd
- Tuition: $41,853
- Fun Fact: Students who live on campus (roughly 60%) are put into houses within their dorms. These houses are like tiny communities where students support one another in academics and life.
If you’re on your way to graduating college now and are interested in attending graduate school for education, check out our list of the 10 Best Graduate Schools for Education!
Top 6 Fastest-Growing Majors
Photo: pit.edu
While you shouldn’t pick your major solely based on what’s popular or what’s going to be in demand upon graduation, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have some knowledge about where the job market is heading! Here are the top 6 majors that are quickly increasing in popularity.
Healthcare
Doctors, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, home aids, physician’s assistants and pharmacists are all in high demand right now. Many of these positions have a high starting pay. Accelerated and flexible degree and certification programs are also an attractive incentive for college students!
“Green” Majors
As concern for the environment continues to grow, colleges and universities have found themselves creating “green” majors, or degree programs that deal with environmental issues. These majors include bioethics, food science, and horticulture. According to The Princeton Review, even degrees like fashion design and packaging are incorporating an environmental emphasis.
Computer Science
The computer science major has undergone something of a resurrection since the burst of the “dot-com” bubble. An article in the San Francisco Business Times dated August 3, 2012 mentions that the University of California at Berkeley saw an 87% increase from 2007 to 2011 in their computer science department. While this major continues to grow in popularity, there is much debate regarding its future need, with some believing this field will remain in high demand, and others who believe this demand has already been met.
Kinesiology
Kinesiology, the study of human body movement, has been reported to have an increase in popularity as well. According to an article from the San Francisco Business Times, since 2008, Notre Dame saw a 160% increase and the University of California at Berkley saw a 48% increase in this field. Kinesiology can lead to careers in the sports or medical fields.
Engineering
Engineers continue to be in demand, and with a high starting pay, many students find themselves interested in pursuing this route. Engineering has many different branches including civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering as well as combinations of these. With strong coursework in physics, math, and science, expertise in this field seems to always provide a career.
Statistics
There has been a large increase in statistics majors, with the University of California at Berkeley citing it as their second fastest growing major in the last several years, per the aforementioned article. Statistics students, who have a strong background in math and specialize in processing and analyzing data, are highly useful and in demand for businesses that are joining the online community. Companies that have only recently started using Facebook fan pages and Twitter accounts need statistic majors to evaluate the new data these sites are providing to them so they can make better decisions about their digital presence.
If your major isn’t on here, don’t get discouraged! Jumping on the current trend or focusing only on the most popular majors isn’t always the best choice. If you’re good at something, and if you’re head over heels in love with it, you will have the passion and motivation it takes to find a job you like, and get paid well for it too!
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4 Signs You Have Picked the Right College Major
Most college students will change their major at least once, whether it be something simple, such as transferring from one branch of engineering to another, or something more drastic, such as going from a criminal justice major to an art major. While knowing what you want to do for the rest of your life comes naturally to some people, for many, it’s a struggle. Students often find themselves in majors they aren’t sure about. Here are some signs you’re in the right one.
You Geek Out Over It
When you start learning things in your lectures that completely fascinate you, and you find yourself repeating them to your friends at the dining hall, you have picked the right college major. When your professor’s door is covered with nerdy cartoons relevant to your field, and you both understand them and find them funny, you have picked the right college major. When you find yourself doing extra research on a topic just because you found it interesting, you’re in the right college major! The area you choose to study should be something you enjoy learning about.
You Think About It on Your Own Time
As a college student you are expected to take on some initiative, and to have your own motivation when it comes to pursuing your field. At some point, college will be over, and with the knowledge you are given, you will have to decide for yourself how to best apply it. Your major has to be something you actively consider even when you’re not in class. If you find yourself dwelling on a theory before you fall asleep, or thinking about what methods you could someday use in your future job, you have picked the right college major!
You Feel Successful in It
While part of choosing a college major is picking something you like, the other part is picking something you can do well enough to get a paycheck. That is, after all, the main point of going to college and finding a job. The major you choose should make you feel strong and confident. Your major should make you feel smart. Your major should make you feel as if you can accomplish anything. If dissecting a frog, building an engine, or giving a presentation makes you feel like you’re in your zone, then you have picked the right college major!
You Sometimes Don’t Like It So Much
Even if you have picked the right college major, there will be days where you sort of hate it. There will be times where you wondered if you should have picked something a little easier, or something that would make more money, or something where you didn’t have to take a particular stressful test. It’s okay to have these feelings. Just because you don’t necessarily “like” your major 100% of the time doesn’t mean you’ve picked the wrong one. Everything has peaks and valleys. The way you know you’ve picked the right major is that the next peak is right around the corner!
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How to Pick the Best School for Your Career
In your quest to find your perfect college match, you’ve considered your major, the distance it is from home, the number of people from your high school going there, the food, its appearance, the cleanliness of the bathrooms, whether or not you’ll have to take a gym class, and a hundred other pieces of criteria! It’s a big decision, so there’s a lot to think about! Have you considered what college will do the best job at preparing you for your career? Check out these ways you can verify that the college you’re choosing has what it takes to actually get you a job!
The Reputation of the Program
Once you’re sure a college has your major, you’ll want to find out more about the program and its alumni. How popular is this major on campus? What percentage of its graduates are able to find a job in that major? What do the students currently enrolled in the program think? How long has the major existed on campus? Who’s teaching the classes? The more you can find out about your future program online and through the college, the better. If your program has been around for a while, is gaining popularity, and has accomplished individuals teaching new information, that’s a good sign!
The Relevancy of the Program
The job market is different than it was twenty, or even just ten years ago, and with technology constantly changing, you’ll want a program that’s adjusting their coursework so they’re ahead of the game! As an education major, you don’t want to learn the art of overhead transparencies. You want to learn how to use multi-media in the classroom, and how to look for signs of bullying. As a creative writer, you don’t want a heavy emphasis on the classics. You want to learn how to produce and market work in today’s writer’s market! Make sure the school you choose has a program that knows how to adequately prepare students for today. A quick look at the required courses and syllabi are often enough to get a few clues!
The Opportunities Given to You
When looking at a perspective program, look for what the college has to offer that other colleges don’t. What opportunities does this program give you that will better prepare you for a job than other programs? Will you get the chance to create a documentary your sophomore year as a film major? Will you be asked to observe how a classroom is taught your freshman year as an education major? Is there a literary magazine writing majors can help produce? Is there a famous professor with brilliant insights in charge of your program? If you can’t see why getting your program at one college would be better than getting it at another college, then you probably need to keep looking.
Need help finding the best school for your future career? Cappex can help you search for colleges quickly and easily! Make your free online profile today!
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The Road Between “Undeclared” and Choosing a Major
Choosing a major isn’t easy.
You’ve probably heard someone say the answer is whatever you would do if you had a million dollars, but sometimes the answer isn’t nearly that simple. We don’t have a million dollars, and while many people find themselves happy in careers that are unrelated to their degree, there remains an expectation that whatever field we choose will determine how we spend our days, and how we make a living, for the rest of our lives.
That’s a pretty tough choice when you’ve only had a couple of years to truly determine what you like and what you’re good at.
As a college freshman, I was frequently tormented with this dilemma, and further annoyed with my “undeclared” label. I was (and still am) interested in everything! Having spent my high school days in choruses and musicals, I was determined not to let my love for music die. However; biology was my favorite science, and I was curious as to what I could do with my wicked memorization skills on the college level. Then again, criminal justice fascinated me, and sociology was like taking a class in everything I already think about everyday! Then there was English, my lifelong love, but after a string of less-than-great English teachers, I had lost most of my interest in writing.
Determine Your Skill Level
While many of us would love to become famous actors or professional athletes, at some point, you have to consider your skill level. In my case, while I frequently received solos and was part of the most elite musical group in my high school, I had nothing on those who were majoring in music.
Research Required Coursework
Before choosing a field, take a peek at your college catalog. What classes are required for this major? What does this major prepare you to do? Sometimes, just looking at the coursework will push you in one direction or the other. I took one look at the biology major coursework, saw the amount of practical implications, and moved on.
Research the Career
When you’ve narrowed it down to a couple different major choices, look at what careers would be available to you. Talk to real individuals who hold these jobs. Ask them what the job is like and what can prepare you for it. This might be when you realize you can’t be an environmentalist with a general science degree; rather, you’ll need an earth science degree. This might also be where you realize a particular job isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. After researching career options, I discovered that sociology and law enforcement were not majors that would lead to a job I would actually enjoy.
Get Your Feet Wet
Sometimes you won’t know if you’ve picked the right major until you get your feet wet. After declaring myself an English education major, I came to realize after the first semester that I wasn’t so crazy about the science of learning! That was something I didn’t know until I took an education class. Dabble in your interests and see how it feels!
If it turns out your college doesn’t offer the major you want, Cappex can help you search for colleges that do!
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How to Align Your Major with Your Future Career
When choosing a major, in addition to considering what you like to do and what you’re good at, you may want to think about what you’d like your future career to be. It’s not as far away as you think! While there are majors such as elementary education that essentially spell out your career, other majors such as psychology, chemistry, sociology, history, leadership, and countless others don’t have a specific job title linked to it, so choosing a career path after graduation can be complicated and frustrating. Check out these tips that will help you create a plan so you can adequately prepare yourself for the job you want!
What Does Your Career Mean to You?
Before you start looking at majors and career options, you may benefit from defining what your career will be to you. Will you eat and breathe your job, making it your life’s work? Will your career be a passion that brings happiness to you everyday? Do you want to be home nights, weekends, and holidays? Is your job nothing more than a way to make money? Is your goal to make lots of money? What’s going to be the most important thing about your job? This will give you an idea as to what direction you need to be heading.
Choose a Career
Many will find it helpful to work backwards when it comes to picking a major. Instead of majoring in something you enjoy and then deciding what to do with it later, think about your potential job first. What do you need to get you to that job? Is there a minor, or another major you could get that would give you an advantage in the job market?
Choose a Degree
While you may not think there’s a big difference between biology, chemistry, and biochemistry, there is. A bachelor of arts, a bachelor of fine arts, and a bachelor of science may all mean the same thing to you now, but it can be the difference between being qualified for a job and not being qualified. Do your research. Make sure you’re getting a degree that will prepare you for the career you want.
What Else Will You Need?
Sometimes a bachelor’s degree won’t be enough to get you the job you want. Those who wish to be psychiatrists, for example, will find that a bachelor’s in psych won’t cut it. Those who want to pursue publication may find that, despite their degree, they’ll have to take a six week workshop in another city just to be qualified for an editing job. There may be certification tests, training, and unpaid internships even after graduation. Before you begin your coursework in a major, be aware of everything it will take to get you to the end destination. For many students, knowing all of the steps to reach the end goal is exciting! For others, it’s just too much work to bother. Know what you’re going to be in for before choosing a major.
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4 Tips for Choosing a Major!
Choosing a major is one of the most important decisions you will make in college. For some students, this is an easy choice based on passion, skill or necessity. For others, it’s a less direct path that requires some research and reflection. By keeping your future career in mind, your major might choose itself for you!
Think about salary.
If you are driven to make a lot of money post-graduation, research lucrative career paths and find out what majors correlate to these jobs. According to a recent NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) survey, the highest paid majors of the 2011 graduating class were engineering (petroleum, chemical, computer, mineral) and computer science.
Think about jobs realistically.
Just because you major in something that could make you a lot of money, do not bank on jobs being available for that industry. The job market is very competitive these days; if you narrow your focus on one field and neglect taking courses outside of your chosen major, you simultaneously narrow your job opportunities. Be sure to take a few courses in school that make you a well-rounded applicant. Minors are excellent tools to add depth to your resume and display your knowledge in multiple fields.
Think about internships.
Internships are terrific testing tools. First, they allow you to test your major in a hands-on environment. No matter what your field of study, there is some form of internship out there for you. You can even look into internships outside your focus to boost your resume and gain great new experiences. If you are undecided, try an internship somewhere that just genuinely intrigues you. Perhaps it will sway you in a more specific direction.
Second, internships connect you to people who may be able to hire you in the future. Your co-workers and fellow interns will be contacts you can reference when you begin your job search. Many employers hire interns that perform well because they’ve built up a strong relationship and trust. Due to the competitive nature of the job market, skill alone may not earn you a position somewhere. It takes networking and time to make a strong impression. Start now!
Think about geography.
Are you willing to move for your job? Is there a specific city in which you dream of living? These factors may have a huge effect on what you study. Marine biology will certainly plant you along a coastline, while musical theater will plop you right in the middle of New York City. Consider where you may want to move after graduation when considering your major.
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13 of the Best Paying Majors
Choosing a major is a big deal and a hard choice. Most students don’t have the ease of going into college knowing exactly what they want to be doing the next forty years of their lives–those that do are rock stars of decision making, though!
If you don’t know exactly what you want to study in college, it may be helpful to think about majors that lead to lucrative careers. The Daily Beast recently published an article about the most useful college majors based on research from Georgetown University that charted two years of census data to determine the likelihood of positive financial returns in relation to college majors in conjunction with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics about employment projections.
Still, choosing a major based on future monetary prospects isn’t the only factor that should go into your decision. Being able to head to class excited about what you’re learning is worth its weight in gold. So, hopefully financial success and passion with what your studying wind up going hand in hand. But in a rough economy, knowing you’ll have job stability might just be worth it for you.
Here are thirteen of the most useful college majors:
1. Nursing
Unemployment, recent grad: 4.0%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 1.9%
Earnings, recent grad: $48,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $64,000
2. Mechanical Engineer
Unemployment, recent grad: 8.6%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 3.8%
Earnings, recent grad: $58,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $86,000
3. Electrical Engineering
Unemployment, recent grad: 7.3%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.2%
Earnings, recent grad: $57,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $90,000
4. Civil Engineering
Unemployment, recent grad: 8.1%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 4.5%
Earnings, recent grad: $50,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $81,000
5. Computer Science
Unemployment, recent grad: 7.8%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.6%
Earnings, recent grad: $50,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $81,000
6. Finance
Unemployment, recent grad: 6.6%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.2%
Earnings, recent grad: $44,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $72,000
7. Marketing & Research
Unemployment, recent grad: 7.3%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 6.0%
Earnings, recent grad: $37,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $65,000
8. Mathematics
Unemployment, recent grad: 6.1%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.1%
Earnings, recent grad: $40,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $71,000
9. Accounting
Unemployment, recent grad: 6.8%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 4.8%
Earnings, recent grad: $43,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $65,000
10. French, German, Latin, and other Common Foreign Languages
Unemployment, recent grad: 7.9%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 4.8%
Earnings, recent grad: $32,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $50,000
11. Business
Unemployment, recent grad: 7.0%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 4.8%
Earnings, recent grad: $37,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $60,000
12. Elementary Education
Unemployment, recent grad: 4.8%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 3.4%
Earnings, recent grad: $33,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $40,000
13. Economics
Unemployment, recent grad: 9.4%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.7%
Earnings, recent grad: $48,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $76,000
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3 Helpful Tips On Picking Your Major
Choosing a college major can be a very stressful time. While some people apply to specific programs in college and go to college knowing what they want to do, others really need to learn more about themselves before picking a major. Remember, college majors are important but they won’t necessarily push you into a box for the rest of your life. Don’t freak out! Many music majors can go to med school and pre-med students can wind up at law school.
Here are some helpful suggestions:
What do you love to do?
Think really hard about what you love to do. Picture the classes you get excited about going to. Classes you get excited about doing the reading. Is there a major that involves many of these things?
What are you skilled in?
Be honest with yourself. What are you good at? What classes have you always excelled in? More often than not, these will overlap with what you love to do. Remember, majors can lead to a field. You wouldn’t want to base your career on something that you aren’t good at.
Do you already know what job you want to do?
If you know what job you want to do after you graduate, look into what majors best prepare you for that job. Talk to people in that field. For example, if you want to be a political journalist, maybe journalists you meet will tell you not to go to journalism school but to be a history/polysci double major and write for your school paper.
Planning on Grad School?
If you’re planning on going to grad school, look into what types of majors they want. For example, if you want to go to medical school, you probably want to be a pre-med-related major. If you want to go to a certain class of law schools, find out what types of majors they like. Put yourself in the best position possible to get accepted to the grad school of your dream.
Ok remember, DON’T FREAK OUT! College majors can be important (especially if you are planning on going to a specific graduate program that requires a specific major). However, if you are getting a general liberal arts degree, your specific major might not affect at all your success in life in whatever field you want to go in to. Pick something you love, are passionate about, and will put you on the path to success in a career you want to start.
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Recess!
In this Thursday feature, we will suggest a topic or question and ask you to submit a short essay, say, about 200-400 words about that subject that provides thoughtful advice to your classmates based on your experience.
Here are the rules:
1. Post your submission to the comment section below.
2. Submissions will be be open for 3 days.
The winning submission’s author will:
3. Receive a Cappex cap
4. Be featured on our blog as a guest blogger as well as our Facebook page.
See last week’s winners’ guest feature:
3 Students Give Their Advice on Campus Visits – yes, there were multiple winners last week!
We know you all have amazing things to say and share with your peers. So here’s your chance.
Today’s topic:
Choosing a major
What is the best way to go about choosing a major? What are the do’s and don’ts when it comes to declaring a major? How important is a college major? What does your major mean or eventually mean to you?
We’re excited to hear what you have to say!
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