Author: alp0110

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Tips for Choosing a Major

Choosing a major can be a little bit overwhelming. You may find yourself thinking, where do I start? How do I know this is right for me? Why are there so. many. options???

Photo from: http://academicsupport.auburn.edu/aubie-tired/

If the idea of choosing a major is making you feel like Aubie- we’re here to help! At Auburn, we have 150+ majors housed in our 12 colleges and schools. So how do you decide what’s right for you? I’m sharing a few tips that I think will help guide you in your path to choosing a major.

  1. Find your passions-  “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life”. When choosing a major or a future career, think about where your passions lie. You will enjoy your studies and your day-to-day work life if you’re doing something you’re passionate about. Using your passions and strengths to your advantage is a great start to choosing a major.
  2. Do your research- Take a look at all the majors a college has to offer. Speak to the colleges and majors you are most interested in. Try to visit the facilities, speak to faculty or staff, maybe even reach out to students in that area to see if it’s something they love. You can also consider job-shadowing or taking career advice from professionals in the field. Learning all you can about a major will help in your decision.
  3. Don’t judge a book by its cover- … or a college by its title? Sometimes college names can be a little deceiving. Some colleges and majors are self-explanatory, like College of Sciences and Mathematics or College of Engineering. But some colleges, like the College of Human Sciences or the College of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences have more to them than what meets the eye. Make sure you are looking into all of your options instead of just the majors you’ve heard of a thousand times. You might find a hidden gem that meets all of your passions and expectations.
  4. Career first- major second- How many times have you been asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?” You can take that same approach when choosing a major. If you know what job or career interests you most, you can use that to find a major.
  5. Narrow it down- Consider making a short list of your top 5 possibilities. See what similarities and differences they have. Having a shorter list after your initial search into all of the majors can help you further research what each program has to offer.
  6. Use your resources- College campuses have a number of resources available to help you succeed. The Career Center is a great tool to have. They offer career counseling, workshops, personality and career assessments and more! As you work through your first couple of years in college, visit the career center often and take advantage of what they have to offer. They are sure to help guide you towards the perfect major.
  7. Take Your Time- most major-level courses won’t begin until the majority of core and pre-requisite courses have been completed. This means you have, on average, two years before you have to declare a major. Don’t rush into choosing a major before you’re ready, or before you have to. Enjoy all of your core classes and see if any of those spark inspiration.
  8. Know what education is required- will you need to attend graduate or professional school to achieve your goals? Will adding a minor better support your career? Make sure you look at what level of education is required for your career of choice. This will let you know what major to choose, what pre-requisites you will need to take, and how many years you may be in school.
  9. Explore your options- Here at Auburn University we have the perfect place for that. Instead of choosing “undeclared” on your admissions application, you can choose to join our Exploratory Program. This “major” is a great resource for students to learn all about the majors Auburn has to offer. Career assessments, personality tests, class-shadowing, you name it. Exploratory has the tools to help you find your perfect fit. You will complete this program by the end of your freshman year and then can transfer seamlessly into your major of choice.
  10. It’s okay to change your mind- As you grow as a person and learn more about Auburn, you may strike up new passions and interests. You will be exposed to new people and experiences when you begin your college years. If you find something that suits you better, Auburn will support you in making that change. You can work with our campus resources, the career center, and your academic advisors to make the change that will be best for you!

No matter what you decide, your path is out there. You may just have to dig a little to find it. And don’t be afraid to ask for help! Here at Auburn University, we want to make sure you are not only leaving with a great education but that you are prepared for life. We are here to inspire, innovate, and transform you so that you can do the same for others.

Be sure to check out a full list of our majors to see what opportunities Auburn University can offer you!

https://www.auburn.edu/admissions/majors.php

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The Auburn Creed: Part VI

“I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all.”

The Auburn Family has always believed in community, in supporting our fellow man, and in mutual helpfulness. “Human touch” is the way we approach everyone we face, it’s a friendly way of treating people, and it’s something that can be felt anytime you encounter the Auburn Family.

At some point we’ve all heard the quote:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

When I think about this line of our creed, this quote always comes to mind. When you’re a part of the Auburn family, you know what it means to reach out in support of your fellow man. It doesn’t always matter what you say or what you do, but how you treat people. When you offer sympathy and helpfulness, you’re treating people well. When you treat people well, you’re offering that human touch that’s so meaningful to our community.

Reading part six of the creed, it’s easy to read “human touch” as “physical touch” but it means so much more than that. Especially now when physical touch is something that is more scarce than usual. In 2020, human touch became more important than ever as our physical touch was limited. The way we treated each other required more intentionality as the world around us changed. 

When George Petrie wrote our Creed in 1943, he probably didn’t imagine a world where handshakes, hugs, high-fives, and physical touch would be put on hold for a while. He probably didn’t imagine not being able to gather in groups or attend events in full capacity. But even without these things, we watched as the Auburn Family lived this line of the creed. Through distance and quarantine, we saw people maintain sympathy and helpfulness. From the support of our frontline workers to students connecting with one another through Zoom, human touch was something that helped us through these times. We saw professors helping care for students in new ways. We witnessed first-hand the Auburn Family continue to show sympathy and helpfulness to their fellow man. We know that we can accomplish more together than we can apart, and we know that we are happier together.

Here’s to continuing to offer the human touch to our fellow man, however that looks in 2021 and beyond.

Signs have been placed around campus to encourage social distancing.

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Packing for college- 10 Things You Need and 10 You Definitely Don’t!

By now I’m sure you’ve read one of the hundreds of packing lists on the internet, and you’ve hopefully read the policies for your residence hall or apartment (if you haven’t- go do that first). You’re either confident in your packing list or more confused than ever.

And that’s where this list comes in! Hopefully this will clarify some of the items you should and shouldn’t bring for a successful freshman year move-in.

10 Things You Definitely Need-

  1. Headphones- and back up headphones for when you lose the first pair
  2. Portable fan
  3. Collapsible drying rack- for the things you can’t dry/don’t want to shrink
  4. Handheld clothes steamer
  5. Portable charger for your backpack/bag
  6. Mini stapler/staple remover combo- this will be a life saver if you forget to staple your work before arriving to class
  7. A comfy mattress topper
  8. 6 foot (or longer) phone charger- you never know how close your bed will be to the outlets
  9. ALL the command strips- think you’ve got enough command strips? Buy more
  10. An extra set of bed sheets- go ahead and swap your sheets before you throw the dirty ones in the wash. There’s nothing worse than being ready for bed and your sheets are still in the washer  

Honorable mentions: Spare car key, Ethernet cable, hanging shoe organizer (bonus points if it’s double sided- hang over the bathroom door for toiletries on one side and shoes on the other), insurance cards

10 Things You Definitely Don’t-

  1. Iron/Ironing Board- steaming clothes is easier anyways
  2. Your entire wardrobe- swap your clothes when the seasons change, you don’t need 15 sweaters in August  
  3. Every pair of shoes you own- how many pairs of shoes do you actually wear?
  4. All of your high school t-shirts/hoodies- Free t-shirts are a huge perk in college. Student organizations, programming, giveaways- you’ll wind up with entirely too many t-shirts and not enough drawer space
  5. Lots of dorm decor and knickknacks- you won’t spend as much time at your desk as you might think and you’ll probably never use your dorm decor again once you move out
  6. Dress clothes- outside of sorority/fraternity recruitment and events or class presentations, you won’t really need these
  7. New hardback textbooks- if you can opt for a used paperback or even downloadable electronic version, it’ll save you money and weight in your backpack
  8. Duplicates of things provided by housing- chairs, desk, furniture
  9. A printer- there are plenty of places to print things on campus, save your money and your desk space by leaving the extra printer at home
  10. A tool kit- You won’t need a hammer and nails to decorate your space, and any other repairs likely need to be handled by campus maintenance anyways. If something needs fixing, contact your RA or the maintenance office

Honorable mentions: notebooks/binders- check your syllabus to see if your professor requires these since most things are digital nowadays

Of course, you should still read through those detailed packing lists and policies to know exactly what is allowed in your residence hall/apartment. This is not intended to be an all inclusive list, but after speaking with current and former students, these were the most common answers. I hope you find this helpful and we can’t wait to see you on campus soon!