Happy Holidays!  

This message comes to you with the hope that this holiday break gives you a chance to explore, spend time with family and friends (safely, of course) and get your batteries re-charged.  After the charging, it can also be a great time for students to ponder their future without the distraction of studying for the next test or assignment and where they can think freely. 

The last two years has given pretty much everyone a wake-up call. The pandemic has made us question, evaluate and re-prioritize what is really important in life. This time can be especially challenging for those who are on the brink of deciding what they want to do with their lives: future college students.

While universities often advertise the diversity of fields available for first-years to explore, having that wide of a choice can be even more intimidating when certain fields may seem no longer relevant in the present context. Being a Classics major or English major might be a lot less justified in our technological, health-focused new world. So how can we help students find a balance between passion and practicality?

First of all, it’s important to remember that even though the emphasis may be more focused on science, technology and healthcare, that’s not to say that other fields are not worth going into. If everyone decided to focus on these three paths, then what would happen to the arts and humanities? Here are a few things to consider when choosing the right major for today’s context.

How will the pandemic transform college as we know it?

As the uncertainty about the pandemic’s impact on the future of college continues to unfold, there is a wide range of speculation, starting with school this fall. Should colleges plan for an online fall, delay the whole semester, or just plan for a regular semester?

Should social distancing be enforced by individual states, there could be a potpourri of fall openings. Such measures for a successful fall opening would involve getting students, faculty, and staff tested, reducing the number of students per class, integrating rotating schedules, offering a hybrid of online and in-person classes; the list goes on and on.

But underneath all of the operational questions for each college lies the financial question. What is the financial health of the college? Even though no one was prepared for anything like the pandemic, some colleges will be hit harder than others. That's because of three factors: