Good Morning Green Panda Readers.  Welcome to the next post in our “Me, My College Education, and My Money” series.  Today we are discussing an important decision, actually many important decisions, that we have to make in College.  When we are in High School we are told that our study habits will determine how we perform in College, and in College the decisions that we make will determine how we perform in the work world after graduation.

Declaring a Major in College

College is full of tough choices from deciding on our course load to choosing where to study.  The first decision that we have to make in college is choosing our major.  Declaring a major in College is a big decision because it can determine our career path as well as our job opportunities after graduation.

I suggest that students take the maximum time allowed before declaring a major in college because it will help you explore your options, discover your talents, and avoid the same mistake that I made.  I applied to College in a faculty that seemed interesting in the course book, but that I really didn’t know much about.  I wanted to attend College away from home and the application deadline was quickly approaching, so I chose a major without exploring my options.

My quick decision to declare a major was a big mistake.  I changed my major twice before I graduated in my final program of study.  Thankfully I didn’t lose too much time and I was able to allocate the courses from my first two majors as electives, but some other students that I know where not as lucky.  Declaring a major in College too soon can add a lot of time onto our college career.  Our major in College should be a general topic and our minor (if we chose to declare one) should be a more specialized subject.

Deciding To Study Abroad

Some College Programs offer the option to study abroad for a semester.  If the option to study abroad is available I definitely suggest that we take advantage of this unique opportunity.  Learning about different cultures and how business works in different parts of the world can only help us in searching for career opportunities.  Many programs such as hospitality, finance, and business administration offer the option to study abroad.

Deciding not to study abroad in College is by far my biggest regret.  I often wonder what path my life would have taken if I had spent a semester abroad in Europe, South America, Africa, or Asia.  If I could go back and change one aspect of my College Career I would definitely decide to study abroad.

Applying to Grad School

Deciding whether to apply to Grad School is another major decision that we will have to make in College.  Students apply to Grad School for a variety of reasons that include everything from not finding a job after graduation to hopefully having more job opportunities after graduating from Grad School.  Before we decide to apply to Grad School we should consider the opportunity cost versus the educational cost.  Sometimes having the three letters MBA beside our name on a business card will not bring more benefits than the cost of a higher education.

Photo by Marina Avila

 Don’t Forget to Check Out the previous posts in this series:

Use Your Time in College Wisely

Trade School or College Diploma

Graduate From College Debt Free

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