Below are two questions about colleges and careers that Ursula students recently wanted some advice on from a peer. If you have any burning questions like these about school, friends, or life in general, look out for a submission slot on this website to have your question(s) answered by a senior staff writer!

1. It seems like everyone else knows what career they want, but what do I do if I do not know yet?

2. I have no idea how to start the college search! Any suggestions?

In response to the first question, it is important to know that you are definitely not the only person who does not know her future career. Most people have interests in high school, but very few know exactly what they want to do for a living. The great part of high school and college is the ability to take different classes to learn what your interests are. Then you can begin to rule out other careers. Therefore it is valuable to assess your interest in each of the core classes and electives you take to see which ones hold the most interest.

It is important to differentiate, though, between what an interest is and what a passion is for your career. Also, many colleges do not require a declaration of major until the end of sophomore year in college, so there is plenty of time to figure it out. If you want to start finding possible interests, there are several online tests to take that give an idea of your strong suits for a career. These are not intended to limit your search, but they can be helpful as a starting guide.

Here is one website that does this: https://www.princetonreview.com/quiz/career-quiz

As for the second question, it is important to establish standards when beginning the search for your dream college. It helps to establish what areas are of interest for a location, what size you want a school to be, and what you want your school to prioritize. For instance, if you want a large school with football in a rural area, then you can eliminate a lot of schools not matching these criteria. Tuition is also important to factor in when searching for schools, so make sure to start looking at costs and possible scholarships available. This is also the time to begin an open and honest conversation with your parents about paying for college and where they see you going. Learning your financial, locational, and other limits will make your goals more realistic and remove uncertainties. Setting these guidelines can prevent you from applying to schools that are not actually of interest or possibility.

Once you have a tentative list forming, make a spreadsheet or document that tracks the schools and their locations, tuition, ACT range, acceptance rate, and any other criteria important to you.

Here is another quiz to take if you want a head start on finding what you want in your dream college: https://www.unigo.com/college-match

Again, if you have any burning questions about school, friends, or life in general, look out for a submission slot on this website to have your question answered in the next issue!