A Big Decision

[Mikahcho]

Well, as some of you may have read a few days, maybe a week or two, back, I've had to decide to follow my parents or myself and choose a university and course.

I've decided to go to the one they've picked out for me, and narrowed it down to two courses, one of which i'll be doing no matter whatthey say or do (First time ive gone against their wills like this O_o )

Anyway, I wanted some intelligent opinions....I've got to write my personal statement and I'm stuck between the two courses......

The courses are:

Anthropology-

Anthropology - Undergraduate degree courses 2010 - University of Kent

Criminology-

Criminology - Undergraduate degree courses 2010 - University of Kent

The links include requirements, a good description and potential career paths

Another thing to take into account is that with Criminology I have to take one other course, of these four-

-Cultural Studies
-Law
-Social Policy
-Sociology

I don't think I'll have the rades required for Law d:

So..........any ideas on which course I should do? ^_^

To be honest, Anthropology seems more exciting to me, but Criminology is still interesting and may be more helpful in the future.

Thanks!

[Michelle]

I thought you want to be an artist?

[Mikahcho]

Hmmmm, seeing as I never took art as an A-level, that'll be a difficult feat hehe ^_^""

Well, I don't think I should be going down that path, and going back to art two years after I've not touched even a paint brush...........I'd get there and be overwhelmed y all those better than me D:

Well, I've decided to go down either one of these routes.....I think my parents would be alot less angry about these than art, they'd kick me out if I told them I was going to take art ^_^

I think I'll stick to these ones, thanks (:

[Manomanman]

You're going to be miserable in school unless you focus on what YOU WANT TO DO WITH THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

Drink your ass off the first year, study liberal arts, whatever.

But when it comes time to move beyond the childish games and whatnot, figure out how YOU are going to support yourself by creating and delivering value.

[alexb5784]

When I first started University, I studied what my parents wanted me to. Then I ended up failing my classes because I partied and was bored in class. Then I switched to what I liked, had a great time, and built a fun career.

My suggestion is study what you like and go from there.

[Strangemagik]

Yes I agree you need to take your parents' desires out of the equation and decision. It has to be what you want or its not like to be of much use.

I suggest start with the basics and fill in with stuff you want to do or learn or embrace. Even if it takes longer than 4 years it will be far less wasted time then finishing and realizing you are miserable with your path. The cores are good and you can decide your major later.

[Tanja]

Originally Posted by Mikahcho

I've had to decide to follow my parents or myself and choose a university and course.

I agree with others, even though you say you've made your decision, I'd still suggest studying what you like.

Originally Posted by Mikahcho

any ideas on which course I should do?

First you listen to what your parents want you to do, now you want us to tell you that.

Mikahcho, sit down, take a piece of paper and write down what YOU want, no matter how ridiculous, and take it from there.

[James81]

Originally Posted by Mikahcho

Hmmmm, seeing as I never took art as an A-level, that'll be a difficult feat hehe ^_^""

Well, I don't think I should be going down that path, and going back to art two years after I've not touched even a paint brush...........I'd get there and be overwhelmed y all those better than me D:

Well, I've decided to go down either one of these routes.....I think my parents would be alot less angry about these than art, they'd kick me out if I told them I was going to take art ^_^

I think I'll stick to these ones, thanks (:

Good choice. You sound like you have a level head on your shoulders.

Here's the thing: you don't NEED a college education to develop your artistic ability, so going to school to study art would be a waste of money anyway, because an art degree isn't going to provide you with much security in the way of "back up" plan.

There's a delicate balance when it comes to choosing a career that involves what you truly WANT to do, what you can be happy doing, and what will support your lifestyle.

You have to take all of that into account and realize that sometimes your biggest passion may not be the best choice as a pursuit in college. Sometimes, it's smarter to develop your greatest passion on your own, while you work on one of your "lesser" passions (i.e. something else you enjoy doing) in school because the degree is more useful to you when you graduate.

Does that make sense? Let me give you an example from my own life (remember, I'm the guy who is an Engineer who HATES what I'm doing right now. But I'm going to pretend like I am back in college being forced to choose a major)

Ok, so I'm looking for a course of study. What is my number one passion? Well, my number one passion is writing. I've been writing ever since I could pick up a pencil, and it's always been a dream of mine to one day be a published author.

But is that a smart choice for me to study in college? Not really. Why? Because you don't NEED a degree in writing to make it as a writer. So why would I waste my time in college getting a degree in some writing field (which isn't an extremely useful or broad degree anyway), when I can choose to develop my writing on my own? So, I would choose to do just that--develop my writing on my own and maybe even take a class or two in writing as a primer for developing my writing skills.

But I'm not going to devote my entire college career to writing because, well, throwing all my eggs in one basket is risky (and a bit foolish).

So, I'm going to pursue my number one passion in my own time and my own way, and I know that I"ll be successful because I am determined to make it work (not "make a living" but "make it work").

But you know what? Writing isn't my ONLY passion (I would be a pretty one-dimensional person if that was true, no?) so what else do I like to do?

Well, I've also been good with children for my entire life. They've always looked up to me and I've always had a blast being a "leader" of sorts to them.

I love to cook. The human mind fascinates me. I love to laugh and I love movies. I like the outdoors, hunting and fishing. And music is like the "frosting" of my life.

So how does that help me? Well, I just discovered two PERFECT careers to choose in college: Education and Psychology, both of which are very solid degrees that can be very useful to me in the real world. Even better if I can bring the two together and become a child psychologist! So, I would select that as my major: psychology with an emphasis on children. But I would leave my options open and take courses dealing with adults too.

***

So, do you see what I did there with my example? First of all, I made a list of all the things that I enjoyed to do. I recognized what my number one passion was, but decided that to go to college for THAT would be a waste of time because you don't need a degree in writing to be successful.

So, I went to the next best thing that would ALSO provide me with a security net. Something else that I could be very happy doing with my life that would put food on the table if I ever needed to fall back on it. But I also left my options open even further and didn't limit myself to just one thing.


Do you see what I"m saying now? The hinge of all that is knowing who you are and what you like to do. If you know those things, you can begin to think about what you'd like to do and can get a direction that will not only make you happy, but is also solid.

[James81]

Oh and to actually answer your question (lol), I took Anthropology in college and it was a really fun, interesting class.

Never had crimology, though, so I have no idea what that is like.

But I can definately say that I enjoyed my Anthropology class. Of course, it all depends on the teacher as to whether you'd enjoy it as much as I did (I had a really great teacher).

[Mikahcho]

Sorry bout the late reply d:

Thanks for the advice guys, all of it's taken it well :3

A big thanks to James, he's been a great help to me O_o

I've decided to take Anthropology, wide enough career choice, and sounds good too, thanks :3

[JSB]

If you want to work in Anthropology, rather than just study it, you should plan on getting a graduate degree as well, most likely a PhD --- keep this in mind when you are planning your course.

Since you are interested in both anthropology and criminology, why not look into Forensic Anthropology (perhaps as a graduate degree)?

Originally Posted by Mikahcho

Well, as some of you may have read a few days, maybe a week or two, back, I've had to decide to follow my parents or myself and choose a university and course.

I've decided to go to the one they've picked out for me, and narrowed it down to two courses, one of which i'll be doing no matter whatthey say or do (First time ive gone against their wills like this O_o )

Anyway, I wanted some intelligent opinions....I've got to write my personal statement and I'm stuck between the two courses......

The courses are:



The links include requirements, a good description and potential career paths

Another thing to take into account is that with Criminology I have to take one other course, of these four-

-Cultural Studies
-Law
-Social Policy
-Sociology

I don't think I'll have the rades required for Law d:

So..........any ideas on which course I should do? ^_^

To be honest, Anthropology seems more exciting to me, but Criminology is still interesting and may be more helpful in the future.

Thanks!