What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up? (And What Does That Have To Do With College Essays?)
Updated: Apr 7, 2021
In kindergarten, it was so easy to answer this question: What do you want to be when you grow up? The dress-up clothes, toys and books sparked your imagination.
Pilot. Teacher. Quidditch player.
All you had to do was play.
Now that you’re grown up and researching colleges, you may have no idea what subjects or majors you want to pursue. (You're not alone!)
But in order to write effective supplemental essays, also known as the "why us" essays, you’ll need to make a few choices.
Take a page from your five-year-old self. Instead of feeling pressured to choose, what happens when you “try on” a subject or academic focus?
Look into what excites you about a particular field of study. Investigate specific classes, and find out more about the professors teaching them. Check out their online presence, and any books or articles they may have written.
Get curious. Imagine what it's like to play in a particular "academic sandbox."
And don't worry, most college students change their majors more than once. See? No pressure.