My Thought Process on How to Choose A College Major

I remember vividly how daunting it was to choose what to study after high school.

Thinking that my future was going to be determined by whatever college major and university I got into. I was under the impression that if I picked the “wrong” one, my prospect for a bright future would be gone.

My parents had never pressured me to become a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer—you know, the typical Asian family career expectations. But there were still some distinct reservations about certain fields of study.

At age 14, way back when I hadn’t heard about the Taiwan opportunity, I told them that I wanted to study architecture at my father’s alma mater. That dream died fast after realizing that architecture involves a lot of Math and Physics and that I wasn’t particularly good at sketching or drawing.

Since my first dream perished, dream number two was becoming an Interior Designer. I thought that it was probably easier than architecture. The disapproval on my father’s face said enough. He mentioned that the career opportunities and development in Interior Design didn’t look very good, at least according to him.

I was left confused and lost.

I kept asking myself, “What’s wrong with me? Why couldn’t I find anything that I wanted to do? Do I not have any passion at all? What’s my life purpose, really?”

A few years later, as I was preparing documents for my move, I was also working on my game plan to secure an admission spot. Getting accepted to any program, at whichever university it might be in Taiwan, was my top priority. It might sound rather insane that I decided to move to another country in pursuit of an undergraduate degree that I hadn’t even secured yet. But it was a chance I was willing to take.

In one of the conversations I had with my parents after I landed in Taiwan, I told them that I was considering applying to a culinary school in Kaohsiung (South of Taiwan). My father laid it on the line that he was not going to pay for a hobby and told me to go into the kitchen and asked my grandmother to teach me instead.

Clouded by doubts and fear, I decided to compromise and take into account what my father considered “good school options.”

So, here’s what I did...

✨List down my likes

I still wanted to study something related to food, although my father had ruled out culinary. Hence, I first selected all departments that were related to food science. Then, I thought of Chemical Engineering as one of my options. Lastly, I picked all the Pharmacy undergraduate programs available.

By now I’m sure you can tell that there was a pattern in my elimination method—all Chemistry-related. And I couldn’t help but notice that my family actually influenced my decisions deeply. Not in a forcible manner, of course.

It was a result of years of being surrounded by my relatives who were involved in industries that are highly associated with Chemistry. For instance, my father holds a degree in Chemistry and works in raw chemical material supply, my aunt who has a background in Food Technology works in the flavor and fragrance industry, my uncle is in the agribusiness industry, and a few of my older cousins also graduated with a Chemical Engineering or Food Science degree.

It took me some serious pondering sessions because that list didn’t happen in a snap. When I felt stuck, I went over to what I didn’t like—which was easier to do.

✨Note what I dislike

In tenth grade, I had to take an Accounting class. The whole thing reeked tedious to me, and I loathed it—I still stand by my words to this day. Thus, I ruled out any programs that required me to take Accounting.

Knowing what I didn’t want to study was extremely important because I knew college wouldn't be a walk in the park. If I had chosen something that I didn’t enjoy, it would have been an excruciating journey, and that’s not how I pictured how my early twenties should be.

Obviously, there wasn't one program that only had courses that I was interested in. Even with Food Science, it was required to take Math. But it was like a drop in a bucket, and I would still find joy in learning the other stuff.

✨Do research

After finishing my likes/dislikes list, the next step was conducting research on which universities offered the programs I wanted. I had over seven hundred overwhelming options at that time—stretching from universities located in Northern Taiwan to the South and even to the outer island.

While narrowing down my options, there were a few things that I kept in mind, such as the classes offered, their requirements for graduation, how many students they’re accepting in one academic year, and what the prospective careers were. To say it was time-consuming was accurate as I extended my research to the campus location, facilities, and what the student life was going to be like.

✨Perform self-assessment

I gathered sufficient information to paint a picture of how many hours I should allocate to studying and building a social life during college. Evaluating those aspects along with my strengths and weaknesses was imperative because it helped me calibrate my expectations for my education and lifestyle.

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For my 18-year-old self at that time, selecting a program that I might be stuck with for four years was the most stressful I had ever felt, so far.

With the little faith that I had in myself—I must say, although my grades weren’t particularly awful, I definitely was not the brightest—the first eight applications I had arranged were all to private universities.

Unsure if I had made the right decision, I shared this game plan with my parents to see if they would agree. They concluded that they were unsatisfied with my strategy.

My father told me if I didn’t apply to at least three programs at National Taiwan University, I might as well stay in Indonesia. He then added, “If you don’t try, the answer will always be a no. But if you do, you will increase your chance to at least fifty percent."

The man’s got a point. I wasn’t about to waste an opportunity of a lifetime and not try my best just because I was too scared of getting rejected. After his not-so-brief pep talk, I decided that I should give myself a chance and aim higher. It felt that I owed it to myself to try because I had come this far.

For a month or so, I was wrapped up in anxiety waiting for the result. I kept thinking that I wouldn’t get accepted and what I would do if I didn’t.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to. I was glad that my parents pushed me to be more ambitious in my pursuit of higher education.

It took me by surprise that I actually got a place in one of the world’s top 100 universities. You might say that I sweat blood and tears to get in, which was true to some extent. I worked hard, but it wasn’t the only thing that I did.

It was an integration of hard work, extended self-introspection, strategic planning, a manifestation of courage, and perhaps a dash of luck.

Dare I say that it was only the tip of the iceberg of my journey.