Going to college next year, frustrated over my own clue-less-ness

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Bram Turismo

Bram Turismo

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bramturismo
Yes, that's right. I'm supposed to go to College/University next year and I don't have a clue what to study.

First off, my grades in general are good to very good. Grades in religion are at maximum at the moment, in German was maximum last year but nowhere near maximum this year. I don't adore history, though I love reading about the World Wars. Math and Physics grades are OK and good enough to come into Engineering studies at Norway's biggest College, NTNU. I finished English class last year with maxed-out grades.

My problem is that I don't have a clue what I want to work with during my life. I love playing instruments, I love outer space (astrophysics?), I love weather phenomenon(I've always been fasinated by twisters when I was a kid) but how the hell does one make a living out of these things?

Currently I've been looking at different studies at NTNU, basically Engineering studies because I'm pretty sure that I'm going to study something within Math and Physics. Including are productdevelopment, architecture, industrial economics and technologyleading, Engineeringscience (or so it is called in Norwegian...), communicationtechnologi, materialtechnologi, etc.

There's so much to choose from that ensure me a good paid job for the rest of my life, but there's no point in just staring at the info if I don't know what I want to work with.

My girlfriend absolutely wants to study at the same College as me. Same place to sleep, hot nights given, but when looking for a study next year, I'm keeping a stuborn view on relationships-studies, no matter what. Hell, I'm only 19, I'm not getting married anything soon...Studies>relationship at the moment...


Anyway, to the point now. What I really want is to study something with Math and Physics, but combining this with English at the same time. No matter how much I love to study how strong the material must be to get a bridge built at a certain height, or studying the angles and forces needed to keep it straight, I don't want to throw that maximum grade I got in English in the bin, never to be used again...


Am I totally screwed, or are there amongst GTPlanet that had a similar thing going on as I'm experiencing now?
 
I don't know how colleges work in Norway. But you should go see a career counselor, if the university has one.
 
Just don't back out. Try different classes, the average college student will change their major at least 7 times.
 
Bram Turismo
Am I totally screwed, or are there amongst GTPlanet that had a similar thing going on as I'm experiencing now?
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Don't agonize over it. Some people know exactly what they want to do at your age; some don't. I was just lucky that I still liked architecture after getting out of college.

Go to as good a university (I don't know how it works in Norway) as you can. For your first year or two take a wide range of classes and sample as many different studies as possible. See if some area of study really interests you and then pursue it.

Keeping your English up will only increase your options. it should help you conduct business all over the world. Take college level English courses as well.

Again, don't worry that you don't know what to study just yet. You have a year or two to experiment. And many people end up in careers that are not directly related to what they studied in school. Good luck!
 
DO back out. Slow down dude! Don't be a in a huge hurry to load yourself up with student loans if you don't know what you want to study.

Take a year off, work, and think about it during that time.
 
You could major in "DUKEology" and after 5 years you might get to be an "Administrator" on this site just remember you have to learn to control the "hammer time". On a serious note if you know where you want to go go there and take your basic classes your first year and pick your major during your first year. Some teachers might even let you sit in on some classes to see if they tickle your fancy.
 
Just go. Then figure things out while you are there. General requirements and courses are there for a reason.

Take your time. Figure it out how you want to. And don't feel like "Oh, well, I started this program so I can't bail even if I hate it." Cause you'll hate it.
 
exigeracer
Is this an actual statistic from a scholarly source (pun intended, of course)?

But really, 7 times?
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I've heard the 7 times figure tossed around several times as well. I've changed mine... hmm...

Astrophysics
Liberal arts
Graphics
Photography
Mechanical Engineering
And strongly considered Journalism.

Yeah.... so 5 with almost a 6th change.
 
I went through three of them but I ran out of patience. Meteorology has piqued my interest lately. Whether the Discovery channel's tornado chaser series is a realistic possibility or not, it's interesting how the weather works and why.

It's a good idea to get some of your general classes out of the way, like your math and english and whatnot. All the majors require some basic classes, and each usually requires an extra step of a certain general class pertaining to that field. An example is how engineering majors are very math-intensive, while journalism wouldn't require nearly as much, and medical arts focus on science and biology and whatnot. But they all pretty much have the same core classes on the bottom rung that everyone has to get through no matter what their major is.
 
Bram Turismo
My problem is that I don't have a clue what I want to work with during my life. I love playing instruments, I love outer space (astrophysics?), I love weather phenomenon(I've always been fasinated by twisters when I was a kid) but how the hell does one make a living out of these things?
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That's what is great about college. You can take classes in all of those, regardless of what you declare as a major. In the U.S., the first two years of college are typically used for exploration of different subjects, and the last two (or more) years are spent specializing in your major. And no, you're not the only person who isn't clear on what they want to do. At your age, most people have no idea. In fact, I'm still surprised that 18-22 year-old people are expected to decide where to point their career. I chose chemical engineering when I was 17. I would not for one second trust the 17 year-old me to make other major life decisions. One thing is certain: whatever you do for a living, you have to enjoy it to some degree, otherwise life will suck. Happiness > money.
 
Like everybody said, experiment around, if you can. If you don't know where you're going next year, perhaps look at a smaller college. Liberal Arts colleges here seem to be perfect for the person who doesn't know what they want to do. And they are more personal and helpful, so you won't have a problem getting some good one on one time to discuss what you want to do, and good advising to get you there.

On another note, I see you mentioned your girlfriend. I would strongly encourage you to not let her be a part of your college decision process (if it has not yet been made). You are there to study and what is best for her is not always best for you.
 
Philly
On another note, I see you mentioned your girlfriend. I would strongly encourage you to not let her be a part of your college decision process (if it has not yet been made). You are there to study and what is best for her is not always best for you.
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Exactly. I also mentioned it to her. I really don't want her to make a choice just to be with me, 'cause her life will be messed up of she didn't study what she wanted.

I think I'll be contacting our consultant at school next week when school starts again. I've asked him before whether there weren't any classes that were more generalized, but he never gave me a straight answer :indiff:

Also, thanks for the responses guys 👍
 
If you're going to transfer to a university, make sure to pick one and then take a look at their majors' curricula. I was lost until I found some chemistry major curriculum samples from Florida Atlantic University.
 
College has been much easier for me than high school, because you're no longer troubled with busy work. On the first day, you most likely know what will be due through the entire semester.
 
Giancarlo
College has been much easier for me than high school, because you're no longer troubled with busy work. On the first day, you most likely know what will be due through the entire semester.
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Yes, exactly. And most class grades just consist of tests. Personally, I love that. More time to study and less busywork crap to worry about.
 
Giancarlo
College has been much easier for me than high school, because you're no longer troubled with busy work. On the first day, you most likely know what will be due through the entire semester.
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The image of College that's been hammered in my mind is the huge books of 500 pages each that you have to study. By the end of a couple months or weeks, you're expected to know every single word out of your head, and not only those words of one book!

How exactly is it with College? Alot of people tell me that it's less hours to go to school, but more to study?
 
How much time you spend doing things for your classes will depend on your school and what kind of field you're getting into, I assume. I have friends who are political science majors at the closest "big" university to me and it always seems like they have far more "busy work" compared to me at the local private school. My best guess is that I maybe spend 2-ish hours per week on each class, but that depends on the professor and what point we're at in the class.

As a Political Science major and a History minor, most of my time is spent reading, which isn't all that difficult. After doing it for a few years, you learn where the important stuff is, but that really depends on who you're reading and who's class it is. German History this semester was killer, I probably spent at least four hours per week working on a combination of massive reading schedules and working on my final paper. But, this semester for Russian History, I'm probably looking at little more than an hour or two per week reading and writing, which isn't bad at all.

RE: Going To College For?

I think its natural for you to start asking things like that, and I guess I'd be thankful that you're doing it early on instead of later. I know some people who have spent three or more years going to school for a particular degree only to decide at the last minute that they didn't want to do it anymore. I've spent nearly four years doing the PoliSci/History stuff, and there was a short time at which I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it anymore, but I'm sticking with it... Mostly because I need a degree, still like studying it, and hope to do something with it later.
 
Bram Turismo
How exactly is it with College? Alot of people tell me that it's less hours to go to school, but more to study?
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You spend less time actually in class, but you're expected to put forth a lot of effort outside of class reading, doing homework, etc... Some classes don't require any effort, some require a ton. Overall, there really isn't any busywork, like high school. I never really felt buried...always plenty of time to hang out and do nothing :).
 
Bram Turismo
The image of College that's been hammered in my mind is the huge books of 500 pages each that you have to study. By the end of a couple months or weeks, you're expected to know every single word out of your head, and not only those words of one book!

How exactly is it with College? Alot of people tell me that it's less hours to go to school, but more to study?
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My community college is how I wish high school could've been. It's like HS but without all the BS. If you pay attention in class, you shouldn't need to be studying like crazy. I never even opened my books in two of my classes last semester, and got the highest grades in each class.
 
Kylehnat
You spend less time actually in class, but you're expected to put forth a lot of effort outside of class reading, doing homework, etc... Some classes don't require any effort, some require a ton. Overall, there really isn't any busywork, like high school. I never really felt buried...always plenty of time to hang out and do nothing :).
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Pretty much, though I did find the math department loves to give out busy work... the professors just get a tad carried away with homework.

But no, you are not expected to have memorized a huge textbook for each class. Normally, they only use a section out of those huge books, and a block of the classes over a year or two will cover the entirety of the text.
 
Azuremen
Pretty much, though I did find the math department loves to give out busy work... the professors just get a tad carried away with homework.

But no, you are not expected to have memorized a huge textbook for each class. Normally, they only use a section out of those huge books, and a block of the classes over a year or two will cover the entirety of the text.
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I like how my cousin put it. Its like Highschool but you have to do the work.( Community college mind)

My friend that just recently graduated from Fresno State says that once you get out. Its who you know, not what you know.
 
STOP!

First, I think we need to clarify on the differences between American "College" and Norwegian "University".

It seems that in the American system you just need to get admittance into the university and then you can choose whatever subjects you like. Much like British college (2 years before University). And in your first year you can study a large variety of topics.

However, in British universities you are admitted into a specific subject (For me, Aerospace Engineering) within a school (Engineering) within the University (Swansea). Now most of the people within a school will do similair topics in the first year, and occasionly have the oppurtunity to choose a module from within their school in their first year. But, you can't just pick from any school. For example (if) I have the choice of an optional module, I can't do it in something completely unrelated like Psycology.

So it may be that Bram has to choose his topic before he goes to University, and can't just have a taste of everything when he gets there.
 
Sorry I couldn't find anything in English regarding the structure of the course.

Are you told which modules to study depending on which degree you choose?
 
Well, when choosing a study it is all divided into Engineering, Medical, Arts, etc. When I go into these, Engineering for example, three types of studies pop up: Master, Bachelor, and Professor, or something similar... After this it's simply picking your area in Engineering, like productdevelopment or such things...
 
Is there no such thing as a liberal arts school in Norway? A liberal arts school will typically offer a wide range of courses in everything from language and literature to history to political science to psychology to fine arts and architecture, as well as mathematics and science courses. At the end of 4 years you will have a Bachelor of Arts (or Bachelor of Science) degree in some field of specialization. However, you do not need to select your field of specialization until after 2 years.

There are also specialized schools within most universities - business and engineering are the most common. They have fewer background requirements and more specialized courses than a liberal arts degree. However, you do not necessarily need to apply directly to that school for your first admission. You can get into the university in general first and then into the particular school you want in the first year or two.
 
Duke
Is there no such thing as a liberal arts school in Norway? A liberal arts school will typically offer a wide range of courses in everything from language and literature to history to political science to psychology to fine arts and architecture, as well as mathematics and science courses. At the end of 4 years you will have a Bachelor of Arts (or Bachelor of Science) degree in some field of specialization. However, you do not need to select your field of specialization until after 2 years.
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From that site it looks like a bachelor's degree takes 3 years, so there isn't much time for exploration.
 
Road Dogg's right, we have Bachelor (3 years), and Master (5 years)

Great news by the way! I've spoken to a consultant at school, and I'm going to complete an "interest test" in about 10 minutes from now. By this form, they will filter a great deal of jobs that would suit me by the results of my test 👍


I also wanted to thank everybody here for their contribution :cheers: I've by now learned that I'm trying to get into Norway's largest school (20,000 students) that craves the highest grades...
 

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