Story by Aaron Lucela
Staff Writer
Hectic times approach as Bishop Amat seniors prepare for life outside high school. College applications deadlines are fast approaching forcing seniors to think heavily about their futures.
Moreover, the looming fear of rejection and the repercussions of the country’s recession are forcing seniors to rethink their first college choices.
According to Mrs. Carol Moak, during the annual college information talk for seniors, the combination of increased enrollment and decreased funding has caused a crunch for many colleges.
Mrs. Moak said budget cuts forced them to lower their acceptance rates making the application process tougher and more competitive as colleges look for reasons not to accept an applicant.
Moreover, the LA Times reported that as a result of these budget cuts, tuition cost rose up to 8.3% for four-year colleges.
Even community colleges around the state are being impacted due to the lower acceptance rates of other colleges, thus resulting in the lack of class availability which may lead to graduating in four to five years as opposed to two, according to the college counselors.
Yet, even with all these looming factors, many students have no idea what major to pick in the first place.
With so many choices, from accounting to visual arts, many students feel flustered picking the right one.
According to The Princeton Review the top 10 college majors are:
1. Business Administration and Management/Commerce
2. Psychology
3. Nursing
4. Biology/Biological Sciences
5. Education
6. English Language and Literature
7. Economics
8. Communications Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric
9. Political Science and Government
10. Computer and Information Sciences
However, since these are the most popular majors, many of them are impacted leaving students to second-guess themselves.
“I have no idea what I want to be but if I had to narrow it down to two things they would be either English or Biology,” senior Herbert Martinez said. “Yet, there are two entirely different majors which is why I can’t choose.”
Yet, the hardest question is not where they want to attend college but what they want to do for the rest of their lives.
It is that frightening question of whether they want to make a lot of money, or follow their passion?
“I want to major in business management. I want to make that money, baby,” senior Albert Mercado said.
But for some students, following their passion does entail a great sum on money.
“I want to go in the medical field because I love helping people,” senior Alfredo Santacruz said. “Conveniently, I can make a lot of money too.”
Still, many students choose not let these factors play into their decisions as many of them are still shooting for their dream schools.
“Stanford is my dream school and I plan to go there,” senior Marcus Avellaneda said. “I am not going to let anything get in my way.”
