It’s perfectly OK if a high school student doesn’t know what they want to major in during college! The most popular major for college freshmen is “Undecided”. In fact, when a high school student is so fixated on a particular major, that’s when I start to worry.
In the past blogs, we covered summer programs for students interested in medicine, pre-engineering students, and those interested in business majors. Well, if you’re not so sure about which major interests you or just plain want to explore different fields, there are many summer programs that cover a range of topic areas through courses, cultural immersion, and community service.
For my high school students who are unsure of a major for college, I recommend that they try something totally new to get an idea of what they like or don’t like. We set basic program criteria, like the length of program, location, or extracurricular activities to focus our search for summer programs. Whether we focus on academic courses or community service depends on whether there are gaps to fill on their activities resume. The key is finding a summer program that’s a good match for exploring and discovering new interests.
Here are several summer programs that have different program options to choose:
Emory Pre-College – students can choose to earn college credit or not if they attend the 2-week session. The courses fill quickly so it’s a great idea to apply early to this program.
Putney Student Travel – whether a student wants to study abroad or do community service, this program has a range of options. Students may choose to do community service, or language learning, in addition to studying on a college campus.
University of Miami Summer Scholars – participants get access to professors and hands-on learning across 11 summer program offerings. Note: Applications open in October for the following summer.
Washington University Summer Experiences – participants in this program can experience all facets of college life through a wide range of introductory undergraduate courses.
What general summer programs have you found to spark new interests?