“Choosing a Major & Career Development”MSA Mentorship

It’s all a theme…

What are YOUR questions?

Tons of personalization in this process, so we have to treat them

individually

You can STILL learn so much about how we deal

with the problem – break it down, what’s the issue,

what are systematic steps to take

EMULATE THE THINKING and apply to your own

situation

It’s all a theme…

So much of life, education, and religion is THEMATIC

Focus on the principles and the way of thinking and you will thrive

The Major & The Career

MAJOR = main focus (plus a nice paper degree)

Career = logical next step into working world

The two are often discussed interchangeably and you won’t have to concern yourself with the detailed differences… for your purposes the

college major should be the first focus built upon what you want to LEARN for

the next 4-12 years

Look forward to the clean slate that freshmen year of college

gives you!

Person 1“I know exactly what I want

to do I’m only going to focus on this”

Person 2“I don’t have any idea what I

want to major in let alone know what career to choose”

Don’t Take the Extremist Mentalities…

Strive to achieve a balance and only take the good from both mentalities

Closes your mind / makes you static

Depth vs. Breadth again!

You don’t do anything awesome or even well

It’s a clean slate and it’s a real slate (unlike high school which is so-so)

Don’t sweat it hard in high school justenjoy doing what you love and acquire skills

and research majors and careers FOR FUN, not out of anxiety

So for Your First Year…

The hard weed-out intro classes are good for you because they determine who has the passion

You want to have a niche, something that looks good that is your special talent. Try to be the best at THAT thing! At least

for the sake of having a focused application

You have to tangibly show that you’ve looked into and be able to explain it which you won’t be able to do if

it’s not real!

So for High School…

What matters is your MAJOR… Period.don’t lose sight of this… ever.

Minors are not that important – don’t do it if it even remotely affects your performance in your major

For high school students, minors shouldn’t even come to mind

Majors & Minors

Big Picture

Big misconception: You will work in the exact role your

degree is designed for… guess again

First determine: “Where is the passion!? Where might I

become #1?”Early matters because time is

the most valuable commodity in life

Focus on thinking in this framework

You will see that the skill sets

overlap and the learning process is what matters

Something I Want or My Parents Want…

Balancing the passion with practicalityNever force the people who can’t

engage with the “doctor/lawyer/engineer” into

them – you’re setting them up for failure.

If you do feel even partially excited by them, nurture that, and

find other ways to pursue your “less pragmatic interests” as

hobbies and side jobs

Try to COMBINE and always happily

explore – DON’T be torn

Top 10 Universities… So What?

It all boils down to OPPORTUNITYTop 10 have great departments

in EVERYTHING whereas the not Top 10 might only have a few or one exceptional department. If you know that’s the department for you, more power to you. In the more likely case that you don’t, that’s a HUGE reason to crave Top 10

Don’t sweat what you

chose to tell people… be confident in

whatever you pick!

There’s Always a Way to Show…

Programs, internships, classes, online courses ALL

EXIST. There is NO EXCUSE for you to not

have something tangible to show for your passion. If

it’s not accessible, make it accessible – make it

yourself if you have to!

Learn how to explain how the

fundamental classes – your English, math, science, etc.

connect to your specific passion

The Rare Major Trick…

Smart tactic and can be very fruitful if you’re cautious on the

angle you take it…Specificity | Your Unique Talent |

SubstanceDon’t try to trick Admissions…

but use the idea to your advantage

Colleges want a variety of people but you MUST be able to SUPPORT

why you are unique!

You’re dealing with people!

Main Takeaways

College is a clean slate bearing only big picture ideas/principles from high school

Muslims, more than any community, just need CONFIDENCE.

Don’t EVER feel unconfident and don’t EVER feel overconfident

You MUST have the conversation and build communication with

your parents… you probably will have to start it