Understanding Your Academic Strengths and Choosing a Major

One of the most important aspects of your academic career is the major you choose. You may already have a good idea of this, but if not, there's no need to worry! Beginning your academic career in an exploratory manner can help you to find the best fit for your strengths as a student, as well as your plans for the future. This type of exploration and self-assessment can be one of your most helpful aids as you chart your educational course. For instance, if you find that you don't connect well with the material in mathematics courses, you may want to reconsider majoring in a math-heavy program like Accounting.

A great place to start this exploration is by using Penn State’s Undergraduate Program Guide Links to an external site.. This tool allows you to choose areas of interest to you and provides you with a list of related majors and minors. The tool is sortable by campus, so be sure that you select World Campus in your search criteria so that you're only viewing degrees available at a distance.

Another excellent resource provided to you as a World Campus student is access to career counseling Links to an external site.. You might think that speaking to a career counselor is something best left for the end of your career as a student, but you'll find that taking a deeper look at what you want to do with your degree is highly beneficial no matter where you are in your progress toward graduation. Career counselors can help you understand and utilize your academic strengths, as well as provide you with an overview of what paths students in your intended program have taken after graduation. This would also be a great time for you to make an appointment to speak with a career counselor Links to an external site..