College, University, Gulag, what have you

Originally Posted by LaMenina

As a senior in high school this coming year, I hear more and more and MORE people asking the inevitable, "So have you looked at colleges yet?" "Where would you like to go?" etc, etc. Some people tell me that it's the greatest time of their lives, some people tell me that it's years of hell. Some people say that undergraduate education is overrated and it doesn't really matter where you go for undergrad, and others say, "Harvard is KEY!"

I think my parents and friends are overreacting when they urge me to look at majors, application deadlines, information sessions and the like; I don't really care where I go as long as I get to study what I find interesting...and as long as I get to travel a lot...

What do you all think about the worldly experience known as COLLEGE? Like it? Hate it? Ambivalent? Indifferent? Please share your nuggets of wisdom here...

I thought like that when I was in high school. I just left it till last minute, bad idea. It's not as important to choose what major you'll stick with for the rest of your life; but it's important to research into what you'd like to go into and what would give you opportunities in the future. Leaving it last minute means you risk not getting into what you want where you want.

Many people change their majors multiple times in their undergraduate. Some even after the finish their graduate degrees. It'd be the perfect world if everyone went into what they wanted, but no one is ever sure. Usually what you wanted in high school isn't what you expect it to be in university.

And on top of that, travel a lot? I would LOVE to travel. This is where research comes in. If you want to travel a lot, you'll need to choose a major which suits that. For example, international business, political sciences, some specialized social sciences may give many opportunities to travel. But majors such as the sciences, math, etc; give you very little chances to travel far. Even if you apply for exchange programs or study abroad programs, it depends on the degree.

Undergraduate isn't overrated, but where you go isn't the important part. It's the marks and recommendations you get. Yes, marks are everything in some majors, other majors all you have to do is pass. Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, UBC, all these prestigious colleges are known for their graduate programs. A bachelors from Harvard with an average mark is worthless.

Jam it back in, in the dark.