What Major do I choose?

Answered

Currently i'm a junior, soon to be senior, and I want to go down a similar field. I don't have a absolute answer myself yet but this is what i've found out.

1. This is what college advisors are for. Your current interest is forensic psychology, look for colleges that offer majors in psychology and related social sciences like sociology or criminology. This is in the field of criminal justice if i'm not mistaken so look for colleges that offer this as a major as well. Your main task is to find schools you like and then try your best to complete actions that raise your chances of getting in like taking honors or AP classes. The main thing you need to do is pick schools that offer majors like the ones I listed, some might even have specific forensic psychology majors. In general you just need to make sure the colleges you find offer majors in your field of interest. For example you can't go to a school that focuses on engineering and expect them to many history majors available.

2. When forming your list don't just look at the majors they offer, look to see if they are in an ideal location for you and if they have other things that are important for you. For me this is language courses and a study abroad program. ( Note speaking a foreign language will usually give you an advantage in any job field) You should have at least 3-4 target schools/dream schools.

3. As for extracurriculars it really depends on the college. My #1 choice dream school focuses on community. So if they don't think you will be a good community member you'll get rejected. For me it might help if I had community service experience since it's a way to show them I care about my community and am an involved citizen. However, since I have to work I sadly don't have the time to but most schools are understanding of this and give you opportunities to explain things like this in your application. I don't know if you have access to it but i recommend you try naviance. It's a website some highschools use for the college process. On there if you select a college it tells you the main factors they look for in new students and how important each is like your GPA or the rigor of your classes. If you can't use naviance you could email or try calling the admissions counselor for your area which is listed on the college websites to ask what they look for in incoming freshmen. They should be more than happy to help since 1. it's their job and 2. they want people to apply to their school. Since most colleges charge a fee to apply lots of students don't apply to schools if they think their chances are low. I know this can be scary, specially if you have anxiety, but remember they picked to have that job, they are there to help you so if they can they will.

I hope this gives you some insight into what to look for but remember you still have a lot of time. This is usually a process that is started in your junior year, so for now don't stress about it. But it is great that you have an interest in learning about what you need to do. I believe I'll be notified if you have any other questions regarding my answer so feel free to ask if you do. :)

P.S I apologize if my grammer is off. I wrote this before class starts.