How to Choose a STEM Major
by David N., PhD
If a student is considering majoring in STEM, how should they go about choosing their major?
Tip #1. Pick Something That Can Be Your Hobby
The first piece of advice that I give students is to pick a topic that they think they will enjoy doing. But how do you define “enjoy”? This means different things for different people. In general, it is defined as a subject that you get good grades in. However, it can also be defined as a subject that I believe will move me closer to my future career, even if I’m not among the top students in my class on this subject.
Tip #2. You Will Be Surprised in College by What Subjects You Really Enjoy
I’ve seen many students who only dared to major in psychology on the college applications, but then switched to Cognitive Science once they reached their third year in college. Another student got in as a nutritional science major, but then ended up majoring Applied Math. And another student got in as a public health major but eventually double-majored in public health and data science. And then there are those who started as STEM majors and switched to the social sciences!
The reason for these surprising changes in majors is multifaceted. One reason is that high schools are not good at teaching advanced courses, like AP courses. The high school curriculum can create a lot of busy work, which does not leave much time for students to learn. Thus, when students get to college and only take 3-4 courses per quarter or semester, they have time to learn things and grow intellectually.
A second reason is that people get smarter with more experience over time. Your ability to handle stressful tests and complex concepts grows in ways that are hard to see. In college, you will have – hopefully, all of you will – the maturity to ignore distractions and focus.
Tip #3. Any Major Can Be Pre-Med
Many students are interested in attending medical one day and think that they have to major in a biological science in order to accomplish this. However, ANY major can be pre-med and get into medical school.
Being pre-med means you will take the core undergraduate courses required for application to medical school: biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, biochemistry, English, and calculus or statistics.
This means that even English majors and business majors can go to medical school! In fact, some medical schools favor non-science majors when it comes to admissions, because being a good doctor comes down to having good people skills – they call it bedside manners – and these do not come from knowing biology well.
