As seniors complete their final year of high school, they are taking the leap into adulthood, full of responsibility and decision making. Underclassmen will soon be in the same situation as them, but what can they do now to prepare?
There are many components to planning for after high school graduation. For example, college is in the future of many students. However, college has many attributes that come with it, such as what major you like, what college you want to attend and looking far forward by knowing exactly what your responsibilities will be in your future career.
It is difficult to decide where to start in a search for college. But first, upon anything else, it is a good idea to find a particular idea as to which direction you want to go. For example, the medical field has many different options, so if you know you want to stay in that realm, you can change your major later on in college knowing you are swaying in the same field. Finding what you are interested in is, possibly, the most overwhelming aspect to college.
My Majors (www.mymajors.com) is a website that helps in deciding which path to take for college. To help find what you may possibly be interested in, My Majors has a quiz that provides a list of possible majors fitted to the interests you provide.
Even if you don’t have an exact major decided, knowing it will be in a particular range will bring you closer to a final decision. With that range decided, you can search for a college that is right.
Colleges come in many forms and your decision is based mainly on two things: your major and your school preferences. Some colleges are better known for journalism and some focus mainly on medical majors, so choosing a college directly relates to your major. However, the other aspect is simply preference. Some high school graduates may want to stay close to home so they can have the help of their parents, but others may want to study as far away as possible and be independent. Some may want amazing food selections, others may care more about the number of students in each class. Looking into what colleges have to offer is important. MyMajors.com will also give a list of colleges that fit your needs and offer your major.
However, college comes with a large price tag. The amount you invest into your future career is an important aspect to think about. The salary of your future should directly reflect the price of your years in college. If the career you want to have will earn you an average salary, then a cheaper college is a better choice. Your career will need to pay off your schooling. If you expect to make more, paying more will be the better option because you can then have more options as to where you can work, knowing you went to a more valuable college.
The career you are interested in should be looked into greatly to avoid doing something different than what you imagined. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov) has the information about any career that you would need, including the salary, daily life, hours you would work and much more.
Starting your search early is the best thing to do as an underclassmen. If you go into your senior year knowing where you will be in a couple years, even before doing any real advancements, your graduation experience will be so much less stressful than it already can be.