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What do I do if my dream school is no longer my dream school?



QUESTION: AHH! I am a junior this year, and I had decided on the college I wanted to go to halfway through my freshman year. Now I'm not so sure. I love the city, the student life looks great, but I don't know if I can get the major that I really want. I fell in love with this college, but the majors aren't as specific as I would like. Do I need to decide on a different college?
– Unsettled

Dear Unsettled: One of the great myths of college admissions is that there is only one school at which you can be happy. It’s great that you have a dream college, but whether or not your dream college changes, realize that there is more than one school in which you can excel. Don’t think it’s the end of the world if you do not attend your top choice college. In fact, we recommend that students apply to between five and seven colleges. Many students find that after doing additional research and visiting colleges that their top choice college changes. By not piling all of your expectations on one college, you will have the opportunity to see in an unbiased way which school is best for you. With that said, we recommend that you apply to your previous top choice school because of the reasons you’ve outlined. But also investigate additional schools that offer a major that better matches your career interests. Speak with professionals in the field, ask them about their educational background and how you might fare if you studied a more general field. Consider how sure you are of the field you want to enter. Despite the wishes of parents nationwide, it’s not unusual for students to change majors or career goals multiple times in college. Depending on how definite your plans are, your first choice college could still be the best choice.


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Gen & Kelly Tanabe

Gen and Kelly Tanabe are the founders of SuperCollege and the award-winning authors of 11 books on college admission, financial aid and scholarships. Together they were accepted to all of the Ivy League colleges and won more than $100,000 in merit-based scholarships to graduate from Harvard debt-free.