Emerging Majors
January 18, 2012
Today, students often hear the following career advice: “follow your passion!” The thought behind this is that if you do what you love, your job won’t feel like “work.” And because you’re passionate about it, you won’t mind putting in all the required hours for possibly low pay.
If you are lucky enough to have discovered your passion during high school, then by all means think about how you can turn that passion into a career. For example, if you love to cook, consider all of the different ways cooking can become a profession: chef, restaurateur, personal chef, caterer, food critic; as you can see, the list goes on and on. Stepping back from your ultimate goal, your next step would be to consider what types of education you will need. For instance, if you want to be the chef/owner of a restaurant, in addition to cooking classes, you will need business and marketing skills as well as general accounting. So, for an undergraduate major, you probably will be interested in business. Although being a business major sounds worlds apart from being a chef, by employing this reasoning, you can see why it would stand you in very good stead.
If, however, you haven’t yet found your “passion,” you may be wondering how to begin selecting a major. You can work backwards, so to speak. Begin by selecting a job in a projected growing field and then choose your major based upon your career goal. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, over one-half of the occupations with the fastest growth are in the medical field. This is not to say that you should be a doctor – many different occupations comprise this field, including biomedical engineers, home health aides, personal/home care aides, medical scientists, physician’s assistants, skin care specialists, biochemists and biophysicists, athletic trainers, physical therapist aides, dental hygienists, veterinary technologists and technicians, dental assistants, medical assistants, physical therapist assistants and veterinarians to name a few. Other careers that are projected to be in high demand in the coming years are network systems and data communications analysts, financial examiners, computer software engineers/applications, self-enrichment education teachers and compliance officers (except agriculture, construction, health and safety and transportation). Of course, nurses, auditors/bookkeepers/accountants and teachers always are in demand. For more information about growing industries, go to the Department of Labor’s website.
One word of caution about college majors, however. The most valuable asset that you derive from college is an ability to think, reason and research. These traits will serve you well no matter your chosen profession. In the podcast series “Ear on Careers,” many of the professionals interviewed tell the same story: their success in their career is unrelated to their college major. For example, a hospital president was an engineering major; a magazine publisher was a biology and math major; a lawyer was a psychology major; and a federal agent was a communications major, just to name a few. To listen to this podcast series, go to www.EarOnCareers.com.
New Year’s Resolutions for High School Seniors
January 11, 2012
It’s 2012 – have you made your New Year’s Resolutions yet? In this series of posts, we’re offering some resolutions for students in each year of high school. Feel free to adopt one or two!
Senior year in high school is exciting, and gone all too soon. Before this calendar year is through, you will have completed your first year of college! However, that’s a ways away, so let’s focus on the here and now. Here are some New Year’s Resolutions for high school Seniors to consider:
- Remind your parents about the FAFSA. Your parents should submit their FAFSA in as early January as possible in order to realize the best outcome. In this economy, everyone is looking for financial aid, so make sure your family is meeting with someone who specializes in financial aid, as your family accountant may not be your best resource. For more information about financial aid, check out this podcast.
- Decide which college you’ll be attending. By now, all of your college applications should have been submitted, or you’re submitting them tomorrow. The waiting game has begun! Soon, however, you will start to hear back from the colleges with their decisions about your applications. With any luck, you’ll have more than one college that accepts you! Once you hear back from all of your schools, weigh all of your acceptances carefully. Revisit the campuses, chat with college students about their experiences, and review the financial aid packages. As soon as you decide where you want to go, make sure to let the colleges know and write down important deadlines for course selections, financial requirements, dorm room survey dates and the like.
- Enjoy your Senior Prom. Even though you’ll be off to college in seven or eight months, take the time to enjoy this last year of high school! Go to the prom, enjoy the school play, hang out with your friends. Don’t forget to keep your grades up, though!
To read our New Year’s Resolutions for high school freshmen, click here. For Resolutions for high school sophomores, click here; and for high school juniors, click here. All you High School Seniors, what are your resolutions? How are you doing with them? We’d love to hear from you!
New Year’s Resolutions for High School Juniors
January 10, 2012
It’s 2012 – have you made your New Year’s Resolutions yet? In this series of posts, we’re offering some resolutions for students in each year of high school. Feel free to adopt one or two!
Junior year in high school is when college applications start to creep into your life. Well-organized students will take advantage of this year to get the college entrance exams out of the way and work on applications. Here are some New Year’s Resolutions for high school Juniors to consider:
- Take the SAT and/or ACT. We recommend that Juniors take each of the SAT and ACT once, and then re-take the one exam in which they scored higher. For example, you can take the SAT in March, ACT in April, and then retake whichever one you prefer again in either May or June. Don’t waste time or money, though. Make sure you register by the regular registration deadline, thereby avoiding late fees. And, prepare for each exam either with private tutoring, online, in-school or simply buy a study guide. There’s no reason for you to waste a morning taking an exam “blind” – be prepared and be successful!
- Create your college list and visit the campuses. Now is the time for you to refine your college list. Using your grades and GPA, plus an estimate of your SAT or ACT scores, start narrowing down the 4000+ institutions into a more manageable list. If possible, set up appointments for you to visit the campuses during your spring break. Keep notes for every campus so that you don’t get confused (it happens!). Check out this podcast for additional pointers for creating a college list. And if you feel you need more help than your guidance counselor is able to offer, don’t be afraid to reach out to independent college counselors.
- Get to know your guidance counselor and teachers with an eye toward recommendations. Your guidance counselor will be writing one of your letters of recommendation for your college applications, so if you don’t know him or her yet, now is the time to do so. Also, your other letters of recommendation will come from your teachers, so start thinking about whom you would like to ask. Work on your Academic Resume so that when the time comes at the beginning of the next school year, you’ll be able to hand them some information about yourself. For information about this type of resume, listen to our podcast.
- Work on your college applications over the summer. Once the summer starts, you should take advantage of the time without papers and tests to get your college applications in order. You’ll need to refine your college list to the 8-12 schools to which you’ll apply, and see if they participate in the Common Application. Work on your personal statement, or college application essay, early. The Common App has a 500 word maximum, and believe it or not, it takes quite a long time to write an effective essay under such restrictions! The Common App goes online in the beginning of August, but they post a preview of the application before the end of the school year, so check it out. Your goal should be to have all of your college applications DONE, with the exception of your recommendations and information needed from your guidance counselor, by the beginning of your Senior year.
To read our New Year’s Resolutions for high school freshmen, click here. For Resolutions for high school sophomores, click here. All you High School juniors, what are your resolutions? How are you doing with them? We’d love to hear from you! Stay tuned for more suggested New Year’s Resolutions for high school seniors!
New Year’s Resolutions for High School Sophomores
January 9, 2012
It’s 2012 – have you made your New Year’s Resolutions yet? In this series of posts, we’re offering some resolutions for students in each year of high school. Feel free to adopt one or two!
Sophomore year in high school is a great time! You don’t have to worry about taking college entrance exams just yet, or any of the other “college-type stuff,” so you can enjoy the year! Here are some New Year’s Resolutions for high school Sophomores to consider:
- Keep up your grades, and take SAT 2s. Grades and class ranks are important to college admissions officers, so make sure to keep studying and doing well in your classes. Also, keep an eye out for any SAT 2s that you might want to take (for more info about the SAT 2s, listen to this podcast).
- Get to know your guidance counselor. Your guidance counselor will be writing one of your letters of recommendation for your college applications, so now is the time to get to know him or her. Ask about summer internships that may be available from your high school. And make sure to attend any college application seminars that may be offered.
- Study for the PSAT over the summer. More than likely, you have already taken the PSAT a couple of months ago. You will be taking it again next October, when your scores will count toward the National Merit Scholarship. So, take advantage of the summer before your Junior year to start studying – either on your own with a PSAT study guide or with a tutor. And this prep time can be applied to the SAT test which you will be taking next year, so it’s time well spent!
- Start thinking about colleges that interest you, and visit them over the summer. Even though you haven’t taken your SAT or ACT yet, you can start researching colleges that have the major you are interested in. Start by compiling a list of school that pique your fancy, and then take some time over the summer to go visit the campuses. You’ll have a leg up on the junior year spring break college visiting frenzy!
To read our New Year’s Resolutions for high school freshmen, click here. High school sophomores, what are your resolutions? How are you doing with them? We’d love to hear from you! Stay tuned for more suggested New Year’s Resolutions for high school upperclassmen!
New Year’s Resolutions for High School Freshmen
January 8, 2012
It’s 2012 – have you made your New Year’s Resolutions yet? In this series of posts, we’re going to offer some resolutions for students in each year of high school. Feel free to adopt one or two! Good luck!
Freshman year in high school can be a pretty tricky time. You’re out of middle school (finally!) and now playing in the “big league”: high school! By now, though, you’ve had a bit of time to adjust to your new school – it’s physical layout, your teachers, your homework and all of the new friends you’ve met. Here are some New Year’s Resolutions for you to consider:
- Earn good grades! Start your high school career off correctly by doing your best academically. Competition for college is fierce, so give yourself a leg up by getting good grades right from the start. Even though college seems a long way off now, you’ll be applying before you know it! It’s harder to raise your grades in a year or two than it is to do well from the beginning.
- Join a club or sport. Getting involved in your high school’s extracurriculars will allow you to meet even more people and expand your interests. Like music? Join the band or glee club. Enjoy photography? Think newspaper or yearbook. Into wrestling, swimming or baseball? Try out for the teams. An added bonus is that colleges are looking for these types of activities.
- Plan a summer internship. Even though you are too young to get a paying job over the summer, you can volunteer to work with professionals in a career you might like to pursue. You won’t have to work 80-hour weeks – even just a few hours a week will give you a taste of the profession. It’s a great way to figure out if you truly want to follow in their footsteps.
- Read. While college entrance exams are still a few years off, one thing you can do to prepare for them is to read books. Both the SAT and ACT test your knowledge of vocabulary, critical reading and English, so why not broaden your vocabulary now? It’s more fun to read a good book than to try to memorize words off of flashcards!
- Sign up for the SAT 2s. If you are taking any AP or Honors courses, you might want to consider signing up for the SAT 2s. You definitely want to take these one-hour tests as soon as you get through the class in high school so that you don’t forget all the material! For some info about the SATs, listen to this podcast.
High school freshmen, what are your resolutions? How are you doing with them? We’d love to hear from you! Stay tuned for more New Year’s Resolutions for other high school years!
