Im a really confused high school junior, dunni where to goto college or what carrer(maybe stony brook or NYU)?

Question

ok im in hs and i have a gpa of about 3.6, 2 honors and will take ap calc nex yr. i have 5 yrs of sciences (3 regents) 2 math rengents and all the other ones and i guess ill have a an sat of about 1800. i was wondering since i have no idea of a carrer. should i just goto a college and figure it out there, or is that not a good idea? whats a good college. like stony brook or nyu normal prgram. im so confused what if out of no where i decide i want to be a lawyer or docotor or something will it be too late? im so confused and scared. are my grades decent?

Answer 1

Here are a few things to consider:

1.  Does your school do any type of career counseling or interest assessments?  The public high school my children attend provide both.  In determining a career you first need to know not only what you're good at, but also what you enjoy doing and what are your strengths.  I attended a conference earlier this month for students and their parents preparing for college and one of the session presenters recommended www.kuder.com for career exploration (this was a conference sponsored by a consortium of public school districts so they weren't "pitching" a particular service).

2.  I have known of several bright students who weren't sure what they wanted to do after high school, so took a year off to travel, explore options, etc.  If you have the financial support (usually parental) and have the personal discipline to pursue a goal, then consider this as an option.  (PS - have your parents check their medical insurance policy -- sometimes if a child over 18 is not a full-time student, then they may be dropped from the coverage.)

3.  Again, if you're not sure what to study, then consider beginning your school career at your local community college.  Many people make snide comments about community colleges, but they are just showing their ignorance.  First, community colleges offer the same courses offered to freshmen and sophmores at 4 year institutions.  In Virginia, a law was passed a few years back requiring the state universities to accept the credits a student earned at a community college (as long as the course was passed, of course!).  Check to see if something similar is in place in your state.  Second, tuition at a community college is extemely reasonable.  This way, it is more economical to explore various courses/interests.  (Also, if you drop a class you're not out of a lot of money.)  There was an excellent article in the business section of the Washington Post earlier this year about a family with 5 children close in age (currently in or close to attending college).  Their college senior was accepted to Georgetown U.  To help her parents save some money, the senior got assurances from G'town that they would accept her in her junior year, and she would attend a community college in her freshman and sophmore years.  Remember, no one asks where you started college -- the question is "Where did you graduate from?"

4.  Good luck!

Answer 2

A lot of people don't know what they want to do for a career.  Its a big decision to make.  You can definately start college right out of high school without knowing exactly what you want to do.  For the first two years of college you are mostly taking general education classes the will work for all majors.  After this, hopefully you will have some idea of what you want to study more in depth.  For your first two years, just have a liberal arts major, or some colleges will allow you to have an undeclared major.   You have a good gpa and if you get a good SAT I would say go to college and start your general education classes.  This will get you started on any career you choose.  Good Luck

Answer 3

I'd say doctor is about the only profession where you do need to think you want to be a doctor before you get a bachelor's degree. If you think you want to be a doctor, you should go to a school with a good pre-med program.

Don't worry about what school you pick or what major otherwise. To be honest, many professionals have degrees in subjects totally unrelated to their current professions. If you wanted to be a lawyer, plenty of majors requiring a lot of reading and writing are good starting points, but not a necessity. You can go to law school regardless of your major. My cousin who is a financial adviser has a bachelors in Art History! It really doesn't matter too much.

NYU is a top school and has a whole range of available majors and programs. I'd say that'd be a good choice for you.