a minipost
About this time of year I get a request or two to talk to a high school junior or senior about colleges and majors. I'll give reasons why I'm not the best the person to talk to, but if they persist I'll spend some time listening and talking. Curiously there have been three so far this year and two suggested I post something. Perhaps it can spark you into helping some students - many of you have much richer backgrounds.
A caveat is that I came from a position of privilege: white male, reasonably good at math, and from a period of time when great positive change seemed possible. I didn't view college as training for work. Somehow I knew what I was curious about from the age of twelve, so it was just following a calling. I knew I could always get work with the friend of the family in back home who had a thriving HVAC and water softener company. This gave me the freedom to follow a somewhat different path than friends who were thinking about what happened after graduation. This led to good and bad choices. I double majored, but the fields were too close to each other and I ended up with a narrow undergrad education. Since then I study a few areas on my own, but I didn't take advantage of a broader education back then. On a more positive note I got to know several professors as friends and mentors. That part was priceless.
° Ask yourself why you want to go to college? What is your drive? Many answers are correct, but you should know yours.
° A 'what color is your parachute-ish' question: are there any kinds of work you would do for nothing or even pay to do?
° Where may or may not be important. It's a plus in some fields to attend a famous college, but in many cases the quality of education can be as good at state schools - sometimes even better if you're good at making connections and really dive into the courses. Famous professors often don't have the time to talk to undergrads.
° Spend some time finding out which professors can teach.
° Double major if you can, but in mostly unrelated areas. Even if you're focused on employment afterwards - a good ROI on college - choose the second major in a field that you might find fascinating. The humanities can give you great depth and are underrated for turning you into someone who can think differently down the road. I've mentored students with a variety of double majors: CS-music, CS-art, physics-philosophy, math-paleontology for example. If you're doing a D-I sport, consider that a major by itself. It can give a rich training that can serve you down the line too. If not a double major, make sure your minor is very different from the major.
° A benefit of getting to know professors and show an interest is you might be able to get in on some of their projects. This is often in the form of work-study, which can take a bite out of the debt down the road. I was lucky enough to get in on a few great projects. The most interesting seemed boring at first and didn't pay, but it was in an area I hadn't thought about and the professor was brilliant. There was even an opportunity to have a tiny contribution to a bit of history and I still use some of the learnings.
° Remind yourself that you learn best when it's play. This won't happen all of the time - or even most of the time - but work on it.
° Learn to witness the immediate world around you in some depth. I recommend basic drawing and field drawing courses. There are many other paths, but a bit of time focusing on understanding the natural world around you changes the way you think.
That's pretty much it. I mainly listen to them. Some of the items I've mentioned cause them to react and think about their own situation. This year I recommended How to be Perfect by Michael Schur. It's basically a Philosophy 101 short course done in a brilliantly entertaining manner - the way an engaged professor might go at it. (If you're interested the audiobook is much better than the printed version as Schur has a stage background.)