4 Questions to Consider When Choosing a College Major

For high school students, what matters most when picking a college major? Michael Nina, a professor at Counseling@NYU, shares four important factors to consider.

  • Interests: what do you like to do? Being excited about a career will make you want to stay in it longer, and you’ll be happier on the job.
  • Values: what’s important to you? It could be money, creativity, or maybe work-life balance. Whatever your values, they’re often strong influencers.
  • Skills: what are you good at? Think about what skills you have to support your interests. The more overlap between them, the more viable the career.
  • Personality: who are you? Think of personality as a tiebreaker – it shouldn’t disqualify you from any careers, but might be useful to consider if everything else seems equal.