Deciding on a Major Part 1

Decisions, decisions, decisions

Some students are very clear about their passions and know exactly what they want to major in from the very beginning of college. The majority of students, however, are not so certain. What can help you to decide on a major?

A sea of choices

There are thousands of occupations from which to choose, many career assessments to jump start your ideas and frequent listings of top 10 careers or hottest jobs. But there is no specific test that will tell you what to be when you are older or what should be your major! Many students initially choose careers that open up job opportunities that pay very well. But it’s not all about the money.

While earning power is a consideration, it is more important to find a career that you love to do, that is right for you and that you can’t believe you are getting paid to do! Your values and what you deem important in life will ultimately play a role in your career satisfaction. Especially important for students with disabilities is to choose a major in which your strengths will be utilized on a regular basis and a major that allows you to compensate for less important skills that are not as strong. These considerations will maximize your chances for success.

What is a major?

A major is an area of study that allows you to build knowledge and skills around a specific subject or specialty area. To earn a degree in a particular major, each college requires certain courses and course credits and may provide choices for predetermined electives. These established programs are often based on national or state accreditation standards in order to guarantee that graduates are proficient with identified skills and knowledge. Most majors also require general education courses such as English, science, social sciences, math, etc.

Summer School Option

Failing a class in high school can be devastating to self esteem (not to mention offer potential trouble getting into a preferred college), but luckily there are options to take: Summer school, taking the class over the following year, staying back a year or, if it’s an elective, just letting it go. Here are five reasons why summer school is a viable choice:


1.) Summer school will give more time to learn the basics of the subject being taught. Middle and high school classes mimic the fast paced world in which we live. Unfortunately, students learning math and science often can’t keep up and get lost. Considering each step is a building block for the next concept in the course, it isn’t a mystery why many students do not pass a class the first time around. The needed time is offered during summer school sessions.

2.) The environment of a summer school class offers a different approach. It tends to be more relaxed with smaller classes – it’s the optimal learning environment in which all students could benefit. Couple that with having a different teacher who uses their unique teaching approach and students may do very well with the subject that they previously failed. students, such as these, do well in summer school and often become more positive about their academics.

3.) Summer school will give a second chance to obtain class credit, preventing doubling up a core class during the school year. Here is how today’s high school works: Each state requires a certain amount of core classes to be taken by every student and passed before they can graduate. So, even if a student isn’t going to college, he/she may still have to pass four math classes including algebra and geometry to obtain a diploma. This can be demoralizing to students that have a hard time in math classes. If he/she fails the one, having to take two of these together the next year can lead to more failure with the possibility of the teenager dropping out of school. Summer school prevents this problem.

4.) During summer school, students will be able to focus on just that particular class. Remember, students face the same type of stress that we are facing in our adult lives with deadlines and the push to perform well. Summer school will help those who get overloaded by having too many classes to focus on at one time. So, if the work load during the school year was a problem, summer school is the option to take to get the class credit.

5.) Summer school will give the chance to raise his/her grade point average. A failure in any class really hurts the cumulative average and can cost the chance to go on to the college or technical school of choice. While letting an elective class go and not retaking it is an option, summer school grades replace the failing grade already earned, thereby raising the grade point average.

Create a positive conversation by bringing up something your does well. Then discuss ways to keep a failing grade from happening again by using study groups and perhaps hiring a tutor at the first sign of trouble in a class. When it is all said and done, summer school will get some students back on the right track with passing grades.

Truth in College Readiness

Only a little more that two out of four high-school graduates go on to college. But nearly 30 percent of four-year students and 60 percent of those who attend community college are forced to take noncredit remedial courses because, despite their high-school diplomas, they lack basic skills in the core subjects of English and mathematics.


For most students, news of their shortcomings is a shock. Remedial class placement, which is usually determined by standardized tests taken in the months between leaving high school and starting college, is highly associated with an increased risk of dropping out. Thus, those students that are prepared academically have a greater likelihood of persisting and graduating. So how can we change this current situation? The students need to be more aware of where they stand – both to prepare better, and not be stunned when they are told they need to take Math 75 (which won’t count for their degree, but they will have to pay for it) before they even have a chance at getting into Math 101 or higher (depending on their proposed major.

In a poll done by high school counselors in 2008 found that the majority of high school students often waste the 12th-grade year on courses not in line with a college preparatory curriculum. That would be taking classes such as (but not limited to) journalism, art, choir, or physical education that are neither required for graduation nor necessary for college admission. Electives can be good, and are needed as evidence of a well-rounded secondary education, but taking too few “core” academic subjects during the senior year is frowned upon and can hurt not only an admission to a potential university, but also a student’s recollection and therefore his or her ability to successfully pass that barrage of standardized tests typically taken during or directly following the 12th-grade year.


The California State University system has shown much success administering a policy in recent years on this very subject. They offer remedial placement exams to all high-school students, without charge, one year earlier, at the end of the 11th grade. That would give each student an idea of where they are, allowing them to take that additional math class or concentrate very hard in English (or even get tutoring) during their senior year. Now, I’m not saying that this is the only way, or the best, but it is a start…

I think what shocks parents and students the most when I meet with them to talk about going to college is when I ask to speak to anyone in the 7th grade or higher. They ask why and the response is always the same: “Going to college is more a mindset than a decision.” Of course, you should decide that you want to go to college, and decide that you will prepare yourself, and decide that this that and the other will get done... But it really only takes one decision to go to college – the rest is acting on it and seeing it through, thus the mindset.

Now, I’ll walk you through each decision once the student has that mindset… Stay tuned.