Good Morning Green Panda readers and welcome to the first Monday morning in November. There are less than 60 days left in the year and by now your college semester is well under way. Mid-term exams are over and you are most likely getting ready for your finals to start in a few weeks. Let me ask you a question, do you like your program and field of study in college?
If you are like me then you were super excited when you received that thick envelope in the mail that said “Congratulations you have been accepted to the fall semester at college”. I was absolutely ecstatic when I was accepted into college; on top of that I was accepted into my first choice program. I was happy because it meant that my dream of moving away for college was finally coming true.
Before my high school finals were over my bags were already packed because I was ready to leave my small town and move away to the big city for college. September came around and I enrolled in classes for my first semester of college at my new school in a new big city. However my new life didn’t stay exciting for very long. After my first semester of taking classes in college I quickly realized that my program of study just wasn’t for me. I remember thinking uh oh so what happens now?
I didn’t want to lose an entire semester of college credits because I worked hard to get good grades and I couldn’t drop out and move back home because according to my parents that just wasn’t an option. I didn’t want to drop out of college and start working full time because in reality what kind of job could I get as a college drop out? So I was stuck at college in a city miles away from home and studying a program that I didn’t like. I realized that I needed a new college plan.
How to change your college plans
Have a back-up plan. It is great when everything in life works out just as we planned, but in reality this barely happens. Working towards goals and achieving them is a great personal accomplishment, but sometimes life hands us a curve ball and we have to move out of the way. The key to making new plans is to be flexible and be open to change. If your plan A doesn’t work out then move on to your plan B.
Switch your minor to your major. Having both a major and a minor in college is a good idea because it allows you to explore your options and find a field of study that best suits you. The best field of study is one that you enjoy and one that you are good at. If you have a passion for a particular subject then you are more likely to succeed in college.
Talk to an academic advisor. This is their job, academic advisors exist to help college students find their path in life and successfully graduate from college. Before you change your major, add a minor or think about dropping out of college speak to an academic advisor first. They will ask you a few questions and point you down the right path.
Do you like what you are studying in college?
Photo by mpclemens
Tahnya is 30 years old and lives in Montreal Quebec. She graduated in 2005 from Concordia University, and she currently works for a major International Financial Institution. She recently launched http://www.mediamadam.ca/. You can follow her on Twitter @TahnyaP.