Nearing the end of high school, a couple of phrases loom over you nonstop — final year exams, university applications and people asking you what you’ll major in. Without a doubt, this is a very stressful yet crucial part of entering adulthood. Sometimes choosing what you want to major in can feel like choosing what you want to do for the rest of your life. In order for this process to go as smoothly as possible, below I’ve compiled some advice which I hope could give you peace of mind.

How To Pick A Course?

I believe that students have a hard time picking what they want to major in, because at that point they are just starting to discover themselves. While it may be hard to predict what you want to do in the future, you can always major in something that relates to your current interests. Several studies show that students who enjoy what they’re learning perform better in their chosen program. It would be best if students picked something that makes their heart beat quicker and not whatever their relatives or friends impose on them.

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What Do You Like?

After so many years of going to school, you must have at least an idea of what you like. A great start would be if you could narrow it down to whether you’d want to study in the STEM, Humanities, Social Sciences or Business field. To help you with that, you could write down a list of what you like doing both in class and outside of it.

After doing that, try to see whether you could connect it to a field of majors or if you could condense it more. You could also write down a list of strengths and weaknesses in order to see how your skills coincide with several majors. For example, if you don’t enjoy public speaking, you wouldn’t want to major in something that would require a lot of it. Another method would be to take a career test, although I personally find them a bit too binary. Most career tests are a bit too general and it’s easy to predict what outcome you’ll get. In order to figure out what you like, you’ll have to dig deeper and try to find some answers.

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STEM, Humanities, Social Sciences, Business Majors

From the way I see it, there is a hierarchy of majors, with STEM subjects being seen as the pinnacle of importance. While my opinion may not be the most popular one, I’d say that studying something that you like and are good at is more valuable than majoring in something and getting lower grades since you’re not interested in it. While job prospects are vital, it’s easier to get better grades in a course that interests you.

There’s been numerous instances where people say that the humanities and social sciences will be replaced by AI, but then again we could say the same thing for, let’s say, Computer Science. This just shows how arbitrary this way of thinking is. If people are smart enough, they’ll make sure that AI doesn’t replace jobs that require human experience.

For example, Business is seen as a safe major, but it is also a very popular major. This would ramp up the competition and you’d have a harder time landing internships if someone was more experienced than you. Whereas History may be a less popular major, I feel that the people majoring in it are genuinely interested and they develop soft skills in a very advanced manner. This is different for everyone, someone could be more suited to be a Business major and vice versa. The bottom line is that majoring in something that pays well isn’t necessarily the best and only option.

Learning From Others

If you have older siblings or friends, you could always ask them how they figured out what to major in. If not, there are countless videos on social media talking about their university experience and chosen major. One thing you tend to see people do is that they’ll take a gap year or change majors.

Both are completely normal to do, with taking a gap year, you have more time to understand yourself. Changing majors can definitely save you time from graduating with a degree which you already despise. Since if you didn’t like it when you were studying it, chances are that won’t change.

At times I ask my friends whether they see me majoring in the x field, although this is more of a rhetorical question, since I don’t base my answer solely off of their answer. Seeing your friends, knowing their skills and personality can also help you see what is needed in different majors. While majoring in the same thing as your friends can be fun, you can only do that if you both are passionate about that field.

University Applications And Admissions

Different countries have different requirements, after selecting your major you could look into whether you’d like to pursue a bachelor in the country you’re currently living in or whether you’d like to study abroad. If you’re looking for a new experience and have the financial funds, go for it! While studying abroad you could immerse yourself in a new culture and environment. All while making friends from all around the world.

Some university programs have programs which are ‘numerous fixus’, they are usually Psychology or Marketing courses. It means that the number of places is fixed and they only admit a certain number of students. Medicine related degrees are usually more competitive and require outstanding grades.

You may also have to take an entrance exam while majoring in certain degrees. It’s always best to look into university requirements for your desired degree. Some programs focus on different aspects, so it’s always good to see which university programs suit you and your interests best.

Image credit: Anant Chandra from Unsplash

Picking your bachelor’s degree is only one part of the picture and overall you shouldn’t be too stressed about it. Make sure you have done your research and then, based on your skills and abilities, choose a program that you feel passionate about and the rest should come naturally.