2008 Woodie Awards
Still deciding? No Problem!
Nick Moore
- Page 1 of 1
|
Is pre-med no longer working for you? Did you struggle through chemistry and barely pass it last semester? Perhaps physical therapy isn't all it's cracked up to be after all.
If you find yourself re-evaluating your choice of a major, don't worry you aren't alone.
And even if you haven't picked your major yet, don't stress too much.
Some people come to college and know exactly what they are going to study, while others don't.
At Saint Louis University, there are more than 700 students still deciding an academic their major.
Not everyone who enters college with the illustrious goal of going on to medical school will continue down that path. For some students taking the required science courses is enough to change their minds, especially when seeing low test scores and a GPA.
The staff members of the Academic Services Center and Career Services at SLU are committed to helping students select and choose a course of study that allows the student to be successful and achieve their college goals.
Research on a national level has shown that three out of four college students express uncertainty about their academic major, and more than half of all college students change their major at least twice before they graduate. Some have been known to change their major before even stepping foot on to the campus!
If you do find yourself thinking about switching a major, or still have yet to declare one, here are a few questions you should ask:
1. What are your interests?
2. What academic subjects do you enjoy the most?
3. What do you do during your free time?
Answering these easy three questions can help lead to making a decision on a possible major. At the very least it can narrow your choices down if you are still deciding from several different options.
With 80 undergraduate degrees to choose from within the University's various colleges and schools, students will be able to select a program of study based on their own personal interests and future career and professional goals.
So, you know you need to decide on a major but you aren't sure exactly what some of the majors are about.
If that's the case, then visit the following Web site: www.slu.edu/admissions/undergraduate_majors_and_degrees.html.
The site provides a complete list of SLU's various degree programs along with overviews of the program, curriculum requirements, information about the faculty within the department and possible career opportunities within the field.
Maybe you've decided on a major but aren't sure what you can do with it. The folks in Career Services can help.
Career Services also offers a convenient Web site that helps you connect majors and degrees with careers. For each major that interests you, choose "information" to find an outline of common career areas, typical employers and strategies designed to maximize career opportunities. Choose "links" to find a list of Web sites that provide information about listed majors and related careers.
Keep in mind that the information sheets and web sites are representative of typical career paths associated with each major, not a comprehensive list. You may want to explore information and websites from multiple majors to help you learn about a wide range of career opportunities.
The Web site can be viewed at www.slu.edu/services/cc/MAJORS/default.html.
Once you've found a major that interests you, speak to your advisor in Academic Services. They can assist you in making sure you will fulfill any requirements the degree program may have.
Once accepted into the program, students are usually assigned a new academic advisor within their respective department to assist students in matters that arise over the course of their education.