If you’re starting to think about college applications or have been putting them off for far too long (we promise we won’t judge), you’re probably wondering where to start. You might be trying to figure out which major you want to pursue. After all, there are so many majors to consider — we don’t blame you for feeling overwhelmed.
Remember that compatibility and passion are important factors to take into account; in order to successfully assess potential majors, it’s crucial that you take a personality assessment. You’ll get to know yourself — and the descriptions will resonate more than you can imagine.
Personality assessments provide insights as you’re getting to know yourself. Based on your responses, you will learn about your strengths, your tendencies, your weaknesses, and even ideal career paths, which will, of course, help you narrow down majors. Be sure to answer thoughtfully while following your instincts.
The free versions of these tests should suffice. 16Personalities is a popular option, created by professionals who have performed extensive studies on personality types and the way in which a personality determines the way people do things in certain ways.
Personality assessments will enable you to get to know parts of yourself you might not be aware of, allowing you to pave your own path. Don’t let the results define you, but do use the results as a form of reflection as you fill out the dreaded “Major” section.
Picking out a major does not have to be a stressor in your life (especially because you can change your major once accepted — and you will still gain valuable skills, whether you end up working in a career related to the major or not).
This assessment asks you a series of questions, to which you answer whether you agree, disagree, or feel neutral about the topic. Set aside time and do your best to complete the test in one sitting, as it should take approximately 10 minutes.
The results will list your traits, breaking down the estimated percentage in which these traits potentially resonate with you and how they might help shape your future.
16Personalities will as referred, assign you one of 16 personas. There are four categories — Analysts, Diplomats, Sentinels, and Explorers — and four specific personality types under each category.
Like any test, the results of a personality test should not be the end-all, be-all of your life decisions, but it will give you an indication of the type of person you are, the areas you need to work on, and the careers you might benefit from.
Results will include information on:
1) strengths and weaknesses;
2) romantic relationships;
3) friendships;
4) parenthood;
5) career paths;
6) and workplace habits.
The strengths and weaknesses section will be useful in determining your major as well as identifying areas that you must actively work on. If you look closely at the career paths section, it will list jobs within various industries, giving you a broad look as you envision your future.
Even if you have a specific industry in mind, a personality test can deter you from making a mistake in the type of positions you apply for within that sector. You might have certain traits for your dream job, but maybe there’s a job in the same industry (or an entirely different one) that you hadn’t even considered. The results will give you an overview and will ideally clear your doubts.
Take Michael, a college senior with a passion for investing; he studied finance, is very much an extrovert, and wants to try his hand at financial advising, since this role benefits from regular networking. What he might find, though, is that there are major pitfalls, because he is also very energetic. His result? ENFP-A / ENFP-T (Campaigner), which falls under the ‘Diplomats’ category.
His personality type is not great at sitting at a desk for extended periods of time, which is necessary for financial advisors who must be keeping up with the markets, regularly reading up on news that changes by the day, hour, and even minute. Eventually, Michael might be able to hire employees to brief him through daily reports, which would decrease time spent at a desk, but getting there might be more trouble than it is worth.
Taking this test before applying to job openings might show Michael that he would likely succeed as a real estate agent, opening his mind to careers that are compatible with both his personality and interests before he struggles unnecessarily or ultimately fails in a career that doesn’t truly fit.
Mistakes teach you valuable lessons, so embrace them, but when it comes to picking majors that you’re compatible with, do your best to minimize mistakes. Personality assessments will help you strike that balance, find a job that you like, and perform with ease.
This combination will make challenges easier to overcome because you will have a purpose. After all, any career path that you choose will present challenges, which promote growth, but if they are compatible with your personality type and you have a strong interest, you will always tackle those challenges head-on.
They do say that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life – so why not make your own life easier through resources designed to help?
Have you ever taken a personality assessment? If you have, you may be intrigued by how your personality can affect so much of you, like your personal life, family, work habits, etc.
If you've considered a liberal arts education, you've likely felt overwhelmed by the thousands of options. Don't stress out though, that's why we're here! Read this blog post to see our list of top Liberal Arts Colleges and their programs.
Do you know just how important your high school GPA is? In this blog post, we'll put the definition of your GPA into perspective and even help you calculate it.
You’ve probably heard about the importance of your GPA in high school — be it for extracurricular requirements, class rankings, and especially college admissions. But what is a GPA and why is it so important?
Your GPA, or Grade Point Average, is a calculation of your academic performance across all of your high school classes.
Each grade you earn in your classes is converted into a numbered scale, meaning you earn a specific number of points for each class and its credits. Those points are then added and divided by the number of credits taken, which results in your performance “average,” or GPA.
While college admissions is a holistic review process, your grades still play a large role in determining your candidacy for admissions. Extracurriculars and essays may demonstrate your leadership skills and unique interests, but your GPA is important because it demonstrates how you’ll fit into the college classroom.
Colleges want to see that you can keep up with the rigor of their classes. How you perform academically is the biggest indicator of your success in college. This is especially true of colleges that are known for their academic rigor, like STEM schools and Ivy League universities.
However, because college admissions offices are inundated with a pool of student applicants from across the country— and even the globe— comparing students’ report cards from different high schools can prove challenging. That’s where your GPA comes in.
Since a GPA scale is universal, this makes it easier to compare students’ performances across different types of high schools that might have varying grade scales.. No matter where you go to school, GPA point values per letter grade remain the same:
A = 4 points
B = 3 points
C = 2 points
D = 1 point
F = 0 points
GPAs can be calculated on a weighted or unweighted scale. This determines whether your GPA calculation is factoring in the difficulty of your classes— i.e., its “weight.” On a weighted scale, an ‘A’ in an Honors, AP, or IB class would be worth six points towards your GPA, whereas an ‘A’ in a regular class would be worth four points.
Let’s break that down with a sample report card:
As you can see from this example, taking more challenging classes can significantly boost your weighted GPA.
Since your GPA is one of many important factors that colleges will consider when reviewing your application, a strong GPA can be the key to making sure you stand out as a competitive applicant. The simplest answer to maintaining a strong GPA is to succeed in your classes. Every point counts and will increase your chances of college admission.
That said, there are two key tips that can help you boost your GPA and increase your chance of admission:
Start off Strong
Remember, your GPA is the average of all of the classes you’ve taken: the total score of all of your grades divided by the number of credits you’ve taken. That means that as you continue to take more classes throughout your high school career, each grade will have a smaller impact on your overall GPA. So, if you wait until senior year to start earning straight A’s, it’ll be significantly harder to bring up your GPA.
That said, your freshman year is the best time to set the tone and build a strong foundation for your GPA. Since you will have fewer classes under your belt, each ‘A’ you earn will have a strong impact on your GPA. However, the inverse of that is also true. If you earn a low grade in one of your classes during freshman year, it will easily bring down your GPA and, as mentioned, be much harder to bring up as you continue taking more classes.
Challenge Yourself
The other way to ensure a competitive GPA is to challenge yourself with a rigorous course load when possible. As you saw in the previous example, earning a good grade in Honors, AP, and IB classes hold more weight in your GPA. This means an ‘A’ in an AP course is worth more points than an ‘A’ in a regular class.
Not only do these classes help you build a stronger GPA, but they are also a great way to demonstrate that you are willing to challenge yourself and up for the rigor of classes you’ll take on their campus. Remember, colleges want to invest in students that they believe will succeed at their schools, not set them up for failure. The classes you take now will demonstrate the work you’re willing to put in once you get to college.
