Masland Educational Consulting

  • Home
  • CONSULTANTS
    • Meet Our Consultants
    • Acceptances
  • SERVICES
    • Services
    • Grades 9-10
    • Grade 11
    • Grade 12
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • (925) 212-8915
  • Home
  • CONSULTANTS
    • Meet Our Consultants
    • Acceptances
  • SERVICES
    • Services
    • Grades 9-10
    • Grade 11
    • Grade 12
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • (925) 212-8915

To Declare or Not to Declare, That is the Question

5/12/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture

Recently I was told that students who enter college undeclared drop out at higher rates. Concerned, I began searching the literature and found that earlier studies had indicated that retention and graduation rates were higher among students who enter college with a major. However, recent studies have contradicted these findings and actually reveal that undeclared majors graduate at higher levels at the six year mark.  Until COVID, I never wanted my students to apply undeclared, and almost all my students had some idea of what they wanted to study. Since COVID, however, I have seen a marked difference in my students, and it seems to be getting more pronounced each year. Many of them have no idea what interests them, and have done nothing to explore interests outside the classroom. I have several students who have informed me that they wish to major in engineering, but they haven't taken any engineering classes, joined the school Robotics Club, or tinkered on anything on their own. They like math, get good grades, so they think they should be engineers. But they are waiting for opportunities to be presented to them by a beneficent world. They are not actively engaged in shaping their own futures. This is what I am seeing over and over again. These are nice kids, they study hard and get good grades, but there's no drive, no passion in so many of them. The other day I asked a top student what he was looking for in a college and he replied, "Good people."
I cant make a college list from that.
And he can't make a future if he doesn't put himself out in the world and figure out what he wants to learn. When I ask students what they want in a college, nine out of ten don't mention academics. Interestingly enough, many of my students have expressed a desire to make a lot of money. I know the psychologists will be studying the effects of COVID for generations to come, and we all saw the recent reports on the drastic learning deficits caused by online classes.  I think the passivity I'm seeing is every bit as frightening. Many students no longer feel a sense of agency or power over their lives, a year of living in their bedrooms took that away.
So this year I have more undecided majors (now called Exploratory, which you have to admit sounds much better) than ever before. These students have no idea what they want to study, what careers they want to pursue, or what dreams they should embrace. But they do know that they want to be well-paid for it.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Masland  Educational Consulting
    ​Blog

    Helpful tips for your college planning.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    February 2025
    May 2024
    April 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    September 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    July 2021
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    July 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    June 2017
    May 2017

    Categories

    All
    Admissions Tests
    Coalition Application
    College Essays
    College Selection
    College Tour
    College Visits
    Common App
    Common Application
    Community Service
    Commuter School
    CSU Impacted Campuses
    Early Decision Admission
    Entertainment Industry
    FAFSA
    Fine Arts
    Game Art
    Georgia State University
    Goucher College
    Graphic Design
    Johns Hopkins University
    Kenyon College
    Laguna College Of Art And Design
    Loyola Univeristy Of Maryland
    Lynn University
    McDaniel College
    Media
    Merit Scholarships
    SAT
    St. John's College
    Students With Learning Differences
    Summer Programs
    Testing
    Test-Optional Admissions
    UC Riverside
    Urban Campus
    USC
    USC Village
    Washington College

    RSS Feed

Picture
(925) 212-8915 | [email protected]
About | Services | 9th & 10th Grade | 11th Grade | 12th Grade | Blog
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
©2024 Masland Educational Consulting. All Rights Reserved.
Website by Nicolette A. Munoz Consulting
Photos from jwood601, tedeytan, beltz6