by [well]You are entering an exciting and possibly scary time in your life as you start to develop a plan for after you graduate from high school and your future degree.[/well]
There are some steps you can take to dramatically increase your success and make the right decisions. Your degree preparation could help you save thousands in tuition, fees, and living expenses. The first step is to gain a good feeling for what you’re going to study in college: majors that fit your ability and interests.
The ACT 2013 College Choice Report drives home the need to select a major that fits your interest and ability. [blockquote source=”ACT”]“While many students gravitate towards majors that fit their interests, many do not. This has important implications. Evidence is accumulating that the fit between students interest in their college major is important in understanding and predicting student outcomes. Research at ACT and elsewhere suggest that if students measured interest is similar to the interest of people in their chosen college majors, they will be more likely to: remain in their major; persist in college; and complete a college degree in a timely manner.” [/blockquote]The report also found, “among the ACT-tested high school graduating class of 2013 who selected a plan major at the time of ACT registration, 36 percent selected a plan major that is a good fit with their interests, and 32 percent selected a major that is a poor fit with their interests.”
According to UCLA Higher Education Research Institute’s annual American College Freshman survey 84 percent of entering college freshmen expect they will graduate from college in four years when in fact only 38 percent will. Having a MOTIVATING GOAL/PLAN for college will dramatically improve your chances of picking the right school and graduating on time. Nationally 30 percent of college freshmen do not return their sophomore year and less than 60 percent of entering freshmen have a degree within six years.
As you start your college search begin with taking the MyMajors quiz which can be found at MyMajors.com. The MyMajors quiz is based on the expertise of advisors and counselors and will recommend a degree plan for you. It takes 10 to 15 minutes and will provide a list of best fit majors based on your academic ability, your interests and personality. Best of all it’s free. MyMajors has received a tremendous amount of support from grants from the National Science Foundation to develop tools to help students discover their best fit pathway for success. Armed with your MyMajors results you’re now in a position to research schools that offer the majors that are of best fit for you.
You can use the MyMajors.com website to research colleges and universities. Pay attention to things like retention rate: the number of students that return after their freshman year and four-year and six-year graduation percentages. All this can be found on the MyMajors.com website under the college search section.
