forum freshman advice corner(more advice from crocs)

Started July 19, 2020 by @croccin-champagne

tune

Really? That's great! I'll definitely have to look into that! Thank you SO MUCH Crocs! _{your advice is better than most of my friends and family's}

I have no set-in-stone plan yet (haha guess who cant adult), but I'll probably go for an English degree as my major. Maybe something in makeup or fashion as a minor?? idk yet but it's probably something important to decide. I am now realizing how not together my life is.

No offence intended. But why are you getting that for a degree? Will it be useful to a possible carreer?

I have no set-in-stone plan yet (haha guess who cant adult), but I'll probably go for an English degree as my major. Maybe something in makeup or fashion as a minor?? idk yet but it's probably something important to decide. I am now realizing how not together my life is.

No offence intended. But why are you getting that for a degree? Will it be useful to a possible career?

None taken :) I've always just liked English class (i know, im a nerd), and I'd love to have a career in writing. Obviously author is my dream, but since that isn't a guaranteed career, I'm interested in being an editor/proofreader, or maybe a publisher.
I also just remembered that creative writing degrees exist, so I'm definitely interested in that too.

i think there are certain degrees for business that cater to people wanting to work in the publishing business

also i know uw offers a decent course for creative writing

Ooo, really? I'll definitely have to look into that! Y'all are honestly all so helpful :)

no problem! if you ever want some help finding schools with specific degrees, i can help with that, too.

i'm getting an english degree (english+writing and cinema studies, specifically), and i can say from experience that sometimes if you're passionate about something, opportunities will just sort of pop up. i entered college with the same majors i have now, but back then, i thought i was going to have to fight my way to an nbc script internship just to eventually have any kind of lucrative career. but once i let myself feel things out a little more, i realized that as long as you like to learn, think, and write, there's a lot you can do with an english degree (or a humanities degree in general). i got paid by my university this summer to do research about my favorite movies and the grant was enough to cover basically all of my living expenses! i don't go anywhere crazy prestigious either, just my state school (and i love it here and chose it over other "better" places that i got into even though it was technically my "safety"). when you're in high school, people make college seem a lot more cutthroat and scary than it is, and maybe it's like that at some places in some majors, but any degree in a subject you care a lot about is worthwhile

But you still should weigh whether or not the degree is worth the money especially if you have to end up in debt.

that is true, yes. i'm also only halfway through college and set to run out of 529 money next year. but no degree is worth the money if you don't know how to use it. like on the surface, maybe a business degree is worth more than an english degree, but i'm not someone with any natural inclination towards business (and my adhd makes me bad at things i can't care about), so ultimately, i would struggle as a business major and come out of college with a relatively unimpressive resume, while conversely, i'm doing very well as an english major, and i'm set to come out of college with a relatively impressive resume. so even with a business degree, i would probably not be able to get a good job in industry or management or whatever, and certainly not a job that would be fulfilling for me since that isn't where my strengths or passions lie, but with my english degree, i will probably be able to get at least a decent job in publishing, editing, staff-writing, etc or get into a solid graduate program and continue with academia. i have a friend who's set to graduate at the end of the fall, 3 semesters late, even though he already finished one of his majors and all of his gen eds. in addition to the writing degree he already technically has, he's trying to get a dual major in computer science (technically a more lucrative field) to be "safe," but he's really bad at computer science, and can't find any passion for it even when he really tries to, so instead of ending up with a more "financially viable" second major, he's paying 3 more semesters worth of tuition, delaying the start of his professional life, and tanking his mental health. it's a reality of the world we live in that you do have to weigh the cost vs the reward of your degree, but cost vs reward can look very different for different people

what i'm trying to get at, i think, is that passion and initiative will take you a long way no matter what you're doing, so in many cases, it's best to study something you already have passion for

oh definitely. especially so you dont end up working a job that does nothing but sucks the life out of you. and if you have an obvious and visible passion, raises and opportunities are more likely to come your way because it means you want to do what you do and employers love that

So I looked up the creative writing program at UW and it looks fantastic!! thank u crocs!! _{i mean theres the minor issue that it's all the way across the country from me but pffffft who cares}

Pro tip: when you feel like your friends hate you, make them cookies. They'll like you again

So I looked up the creative writing program at UW and it looks fantastic!! thank u crocs!! _{i mean theres the minor issue that it's all the way across the country from me but pffffft who cares}

jhdfdfg i suggested it to a friend of mine and she had the same problem. i had a site a while ago that i was using to find all these colleges, lemme see if i can find it again

also pickle. u are right and also i'm concerned. sleep helps fix that too usually

https://www.noodle.com/colleges/creative-writing_subjects

https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/best-colleges-with-creative-writing/

here's two sites!!

you can also try searching specific to your area, though some colleges offer a less…immersive and detailed course as opposed to others

also pickle. u are right and also i'm concerned. sleep helps fix that too usually

But cookies are yummy and they make people forget the stupid things I do. Also y'all. Stickers are unironically fun. Put cute stickers on your stuff. Stick them on your friends. No one will think you're immature because we're all still children. The dollar store? Great for your sticker addiction. Buy them. You get lots for cheap. V good

i think there are certain degrees for business that cater to people wanting to work in the publishing business

also i know uw offers a decent course for creative writing

There is! It's the Communications Major! Taken with journalism or writing in general, it will cover most writing careers, including publishing! (The only reason I know that is because I plan to do that.)
Plus, for no extra cost at most colleges and universities, you can double major. Meaning you can Major in two careers and get both degrees at the same time after 4 years.

i think there are certain degrees for business that cater to people wanting to work in the publishing business

also i know uw offers a decent course for creative writing

There is! It's the Communications Major! Taken with journalism or writing in general, it will cover most writing careers, including publishing! (The only reason I know that is because I plan to do that.)
Plus, for no extra cost at most colleges and universities, you can double major. Meaning you can Major in two careers and get both degrees at the same time after 4 years.

*gasps* really? dang, I might move to Washington for that.

https://www.noodle.com/colleges/creative-writing_subjects

https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/best-colleges-with-creative-writing/

here's two sites!!

you can also try searching specific to your area, though some colleges offer a less…immersive and detailed course as opposed to others

THIS IS AMAZING THANK YOU

i think there are certain degrees for business that cater to people wanting to work in the publishing business

also i know uw offers a decent course for creative writing

There is! It's the Communications Major! Taken with journalism or writing in general, it will cover most writing careers, including publishing! (The only reason I know that is because I plan to do that.)
Plus, for no extra cost at most colleges and universities, you can double major. Meaning you can Major in two careers and get both degrees at the same time after 4 years.

*gasps* really? dang, I might move to Washington for that.

https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/guide/jobs-communication-major/
Check out this person's advice. They even list careers at the end. Enjoy!

Also another important thing to remember is that a lot of people go into college and end up changing their majors. So if you don't have everything figured out, that's okay.
I changed my major during my second year because I was miserable in the field I thought I loved. I discovered a field I was unaware of before, and now I'm really happy with what I'm doing. The same goes for a lot of students. It's no big deal switching majors either, if they have some of the same core.

i think there are certain degrees for business that cater to people wanting to work in the publishing business

also i know uw offers a decent course for creative writing

There is! It's the Communications Major! Taken with journalism or writing in general, it will cover most writing careers, including publishing! (The only reason I know that is because I plan to do that.)
Plus, for no extra cost at most colleges and universities, you can double major. Meaning you can Major in two careers and get both degrees at the same time after 4 years.

*gasps* really? dang, I might move to Washington for that.

https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/guide/jobs-communication-major/
Check out this person's advice. They even list careers at the end. Enjoy!

I just read this article and I'M IN LOVE. Now I'm highly interested in a communications major. Thank you for telling me!!

Heyo I’m a junior and I’d be really happy to help with questions.

I agree personally with the freshman dating thing. I hardly had time to date due to the classes on my schedule and I didn’t actually really like anyone at the time due to mental issues I was facing. It wasn’t really until this year that I seized and opportunity to tell someone how I felt about them.

About relationships, you have to make sure that you both are mature enough to understand that your futures are going to be different. I’ve seen one (1) really intense relationship where they went to the same college (they also couldn’t stop holding each others’ hand and it was lowkey annoying as hell), and had apparently been dating close to all the way through middle school. Unfortunately, not all relationships like that are that healthy (hell, idk if it was healthy, they seemed extremely dependent on each other). Communication is so wildly important to set boundaries and allow your parter to know what you want, so if they want something different, you can make a compromise. As earlier stated, you are not at their will. You don’t have to talk to them all the time, every day. I personally just like hanging out with my parter a bunch so idk.

I’m just rambling at this point, but tl;dr, make sure you know you’re mature to a level to be able to trust another person enough

Your rambling was very helpful thank you

OH

I thought of another thing.

GPAs in freshman year. Oh my god. I was so stressed out about my GPA in freshman year (honestly I was just stressed about everything overall). Idc who tells you otherwise: Your GPA in your freshman year doesn’t matter. At All. Some weirdos will tell you it matters, but after my sophomore year, I now have a 3.31 GPA (in freshman my weighted was 3.0), which is well over the GPA I need to get into the college of my choice. That’s a B average, which I’m ok with. It’s okay to be in the b-average range, too. You don’t need to have a 4. GPA and spend every day stressed out of your mind. You’re a teenager. You’re supposed to be living every day like it’s your last. Don’t let the school system psych you out over enjoying yourself. Your life doesn’t always have to be work and no play. I’m not saying don’t work at all. I’m saying to find a mix between both, for I know SO MANY people who don’t know how to stop for five goddamn minutes for a break.

One last thing, I promise.

Your mental and physical health are more important than ANYTHING

I don’t care about anything else. You are first. You must be first. I’ve had to tell people they’re more important than their work so many times it’s upsetting. Take breaks, fall in love, laugh with your friends, do dumb shit. That’s what a teenager is supposed to do. You’re more important than someone pushing you to get some good numbers. You’re more than some code on a computer.