Helping a High School Senior Decide Their Future

By Randi Morse

As spring comes so do the pressures for seniors in high school. It's at this point in their lives that teenagers are supposed to have their entire life planned out before them. The idea that teenagers should know how they want to spend the rest of their life is a little silly, and can be quite a daunting, stressful thing for teens. How do they decide if they're going to go to college or not, and what they're going to do for the rest of their lives?

School or No School?

The first thing teens need to decide, usually during their junior year, is if they want to invest in secondary education or not. It's important for teens to know that they don't necessarily have to go to college to be successful adults. Some of the most lucrative careers are reached through experience and technical training. Before deciding what they want to do for the rest of their lives, teens first need to decide if they want to invest tens of thousands of dollars in their education. 

What School?

Those who have decided to invest in school need to then figure out what school they want to attend. There are two ways to go about this: teens who have a good idea of what type of career they want after college can research which colleges are the best choice for their chosen career. Those who aren't sure exactly what they want to do should focus on the region and the schools themselves. 

Declaring a Major

It can be terrifying to declare a major, especially if you're not extremely passionate about any specific career. Teens often mistakenly believe that they are going to be forced to stick with this major for the rest of their lives, even if they decide that they don't care for it. Firstly, it's always possible to change your major. Changing your major mid-semester may require that you take extra courses, but it's definitely possible to change your major. Secondly, you can begin your schooling career as "undecided." This gives you a little more time to figure out what you want to do. After getting some college education under your belt you'll likely find it's much easier to declare your major.

Choosing who you want to be for the rest of your life is intimidating, especially when you're a teenager. Both high schools and colleges have counselors who are trained in helping teens to figure out what their future can look like.

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