Performance at the undergraduate level is important, yes. But it's far more important that you get some form of connection with the faculty pertaining to your field and get some form of involvement in.

Undergrad psych is easy as hell.

you pretty much need grad school to make it in the psych world, whether research or clinical, so don't sweat it too much at the undergraduate level.

psych is a really competitive field, but i really want to go into it so we'll see.

the colleges i'm applying to have amazing psych programs but it's quite difficult to get into. seeing as my grades aren't top notch this year, i doubt i'll get in and i'll have to go in as unclassified.

we'll see, we'll see.

jackattack123 says

Once you find out what you wanna do professionally, what your major is isn't -that- important. I mean it is, but like I want to go into sports broadcasting and my major is political communication. So not really that crucial to my professional aspirations

yeah the experience is more important ultimately. If you could spin how your degree could help in that, then that'd be good too.

For example for you, you could argue that your political communication degree could be useful in sports debate and creating and presenting arguments.

Once you find out what you wanna do professionally, what your major is isn't -that- important. I mean it is, but like I want to go into sports broadcasting and my major is political communication. So not really that crucial to my professional aspirations

projectmatt says

Hmm, that's true. I was assuming that an internship would help me get some of that unpaid work in. I think I'm also attracted to Professional Writing more than English because Professional Writing seems to have quite a few more internship opportunities than English. By wanting to make decent money, I don't mean immediately, but in the long term of things it would be nice.

Out of curiosity, why would you recommend against psych?

Yeah I don't know much about the program, it really would depend on what opportunities it gives you. The more the school can help you with out of school opportunities to gain experience, the better. go with that major.

Psych is broad and many colleges gear it towards scientific research rather than application in daily life. I advise to go with a major that enables you to develop a particular technical skill that will help you get employed. If you get dope work experience and know what you want, your degree itself won't matter. But the major you take typically opens doors for you in the path you want to purse (classmates, professors, etc.)

There r so many hot ppl in uni :(

and sex ofc uni is when every1 is at peak attractiveness go get sum

get a useful degree that you're passionate about

as much as it's been said by many people/movies/cliches/friends, 'following your dreams' is not always the realistic option

secure both your own future and possible family/wife/husband/kids/drugcartel

compromise between having fun and takin uni srsly

an arts/social science degree won't take you anywhere unless you're extremely talented in it

e.g. im passionate about cooking and would be a chef but realistically i know that cheffing is tiring and doesn't pay as well as getting my economics+finance degree and becoming a corporate slave

kylehlp123 says

Now onto the English side of it, if you want to become an English major, I'm sorry to say, there's really only one route for you, a teacher.

Wrong. You can't be a teacher with an English degree; you need an Education degree [at least in all the states I've checked]. Also there are plenty of jobs you can get with an English degree. Especially if he wants to working in te publishing/editing field.

Thanks Kyle, I appreciate it~ You should tell me where you end up deciding to go. I love music, and I sing/play drums/percussion and play the piano pretty badly. I wanna learn guitar, too. Regardless though, I wouldn't be able to make that into a career.

By the way, that reminds me that you sent me a message like half a year ago and I totally forgot about it until right now ....oops.

no offense, but there's a difference between applying and actually getting it. I can apply for Harvard, not gonna get in

My friend is applying to university for a performance major in bassoon and he first played it about a year and a half ago

kk glhf matt. maybe i'll see you at college or something, who knows.

One last thing, it's never too late to pick up an instrument. Picking up the French Horn is the probably the greatest decision I've ever made in my lifetime. Band/Music has been a monumental part of my life and honestly I don't know where I'd be without it. If you have even the slightest inclination to want to play instrument, such as the guitar or piano or even an obscure instrument such as the French Horn or Bassoon, then try it out and see how you like it. The first 2 or so months will be brutal as you're learning both music and your instrument, but once you get the hang of it, boy is it amazing.

Okay psych is one of the most useless majors out there UNLESS you're certain you will love it once you get a job. Here's the thing, with other "bad" majors, if you're amazing at that particular major then you will be extremely successful. For example music/dance are considered majors that are throw away's because theirs no guarenteed money. The upswing to doing those majors is if you are completely amazing at that major and become famous and/or world renown, you will make tons of cash. I don't care if you're the best psychologist ever, nobodies really gonna care(Name me one current psychologist outside of your city) and because of such there's not much money in it no matter how good you are. Same with like communication, there's very little stability and no upswing if you end of being amazing at it.

Now onto the English side of it, if you want to become an English major, I'm sorry to say, there's really only one route for you, a teacher. If you choose an English major then what your main job in college will be is to read and analyze books and find what their "deeper meaning" is. You will understand literature dating to around the 16th century and how it has progressed over time into today's writing. An English major is extremely rigirous with the amount of reading and analyzing that must take place compared to writing which is focus more on techinics of how to write, but if you feel that's what you want to do then go for it. And yes you are right, it is harder to find an internship for English rather than writing

Hi there Matt, congrats on the acceptance letters and commitment. I know I'm still kinda young but coming from an area in America where school, college and careers have been drilled down my and every one else's throat, I feel I can add some advice (My high school is ranked approximately 130 in the nation of all school, probably top 50 in purely public schools, so it's pretty rigorous). Also, I feel like me and you are pretty similar, with similar personalities and similar interest because honestly some of the things you're thinking of I've thought of myself.

In regards to an English/Writing major, it depends where you want to go with it. Don't pick a major just because you think there are going to be more internship opportunities, know what you want to do with that particular major in regards to a job. For example, I thought of becoming an writing major to pursue a possible career in becoming a sports writing as I knew I loved sports. If you know what you want to do with a writing major, such as writing books, and feel confident that you will enjoy yourself if you commit to your path, then you should try to pursue it. Writing is more for well... writing, with it you're main job will be either writing books, writing for newspaper and/or online sites. You could go really indepth with your pick and go into something like writing for the government on China or something like that, if at this point in your career you know that's something you would enjoy. If you have a more indepth then it'll be easier for you to find an internship. Once again using myself as example, if I wanted to write in sports, rather than get a writing internship I could get a sports internship at ESPN, or wherever, allow my college to perfect my writing skills while my internship helps perfect what I will be writing about.

Hmm, that's true. I was assuming that an internship would help me get some of that unpaid work in. I think I'm also attracted to Professional Writing more than English because Professional Writing seems to have quite a few more internship opportunities than English. By wanting to make decent money, I don't mean immediately, but in the long term of things it would be nice.

Out of curiosity, why would you recommend against psych?

Reality is that unless you're either super lucky and know someone or pick a quantitative/science profession, you'll likely end up not making much in your first job. You may have to work unpaid just to get in somewhere.

If you want to write professionally, I recommend doing as much as you can outside your schoolwork like you said (School newspaper, magazine, etc). Blog about things you like for portfolio purposes and practice. There's lots of ways to generate content without any capital investments, which is good.

A "professional writing" major sounds a little fishy to me, I'd recommend going with English instead and emphasizing your writing skills through your experience. Your degree matters a lot less if you have the right work experience. It's a real toss-up though, I'm a skeptic, but check with your school about it and look people up on linkedin and see where they are. With a field like writing you just want to be well-connected and generate a lot of great content.

ie my friend was a psych major and landed a killer internship and job through networking and is working in a business function now.

I would recommend against psych though.

Oh and thanks to all of you to your input because it's super useful and motivating~

I do live in the USA and I'm still waiting to see if I can get out of college without any debt. It's possible, but it is also likely that I'll end up with at least some.

I'm conflicted because I do want to do what I love in college. Pursuing a degree like math/science will most likely just leave me bitter and unmotivated towards the entire experience. I'm passionate about music, psychology and English/Lit/Writing. I lack the musical talent to create a job focusing on that, and I'm not positive what I'd do with psychology yet.

I'll try not to stress myself too hard about my major, although I do want to make sure that I don't remain unemployed for an extended period of time. There are plenty of lowish paying jobs I think I could be eligible for, but I would want something that pays at least moderately when I graduate.

I live in Canada, school debt is ok :) and I'm already working too :) but yeah if that person lives in the Usa, that's a different story. But I would always yolo anyways.

If you want to be a proofreader or editor then I think English would help more than Professional Writing. Unless that requires grammar classes and stuff