Unlike those who can calmly look back on the past, I am still waiting for the RD results, so my sharing is not particularly focused on reviewing the documents or overall application experience. Let me talk about my professional direction frequently. (Warning: There is no intention of pulling or stepping on any profession).

I have changed my professional direction three times in three years.

At the beginning, I largely had a tendency to follow the flow. When we first entered high school, it seemed like everyone wanted to study business - "It's cool to negotiate in a suit, and it's great to start a business and earn money together" - using such a versatile subject to achieve our dreams.

In my sophomore year of high school, I took both AP Micro and AP Macro courses and found that economics was actually very good. I could understand many economic issues based on my daily life experience.

In my third year of high school, I took an engineering course and suddenly realized that the code I once didn't want to know at all, as well as the very hardcore hands-on practice, became very interesting.

In the end, I chose two major directions when applying, economics and electronic engineering. Because I plan to pursue further studies in business during my graduate studies, choosing these two majors during my undergraduate studies will allow me to delve deeper. Among the universities I have applied to, there are generally 30-70 universities. Some universities with engineering as a relatively advantageous discipline have applied for EE, while others with strong economics have applied for Econ. And most of these universities are able to offer courses in another major so that I can also explore during my college years.

When it comes to "balancing", I actually don't feel like I have any real trade-offs (if I ask, I want all of them!), maybe I have balanced the three and arranged them at different time periods.
Along the way, I personally believe that the three most important points in choosing a major are areas of expertise, personal interests, and contemplation of career planning.

01 Field

First of all, I am not someone who is very good at a certain field in a literal sense. I belong to every discipline that seems to be quite average, neither top-notch nor backward. If you are also someone like this, then you can rank back in terms of expertise in this field. Being proficient in a certain discipline will be more conducive to your in-depth research in that field in the future; If you are not good at a certain field but "I don't care what I want" or feel like learning this to make money, I personally think it is not impossible, but in fact, it will be quite tiring. Learning something you are not good at for four years or even longer is still quite difficult.

02 Personal interests 

Next is to consider personal interests. Personal interests should rank before career planning, after all, we have to spend a full four years with the chosen subject. If we cannot discover the joy at all, then four years in college will undoubtedly be quite painful. Note that the previously mentioned areas of expertise are referred to as "hard work", but the term "not interested" is used here as "pain". It is very, very necessary to spend time knowing what you like! Although it is not necessarily necessary to pursue a major in college for a lifetime, the earlier you think about your interests and hobbies, the easier it is to find your future direction. If you suggest, besides self reflection, it's also great to have more exposure to courses online and offline that you've never experienced before!

03 Career Planning

Finally, let's talk about career planning. This part is actually much more important than we imagine. At first, I was quite idealistic, thinking that learning knowledge is the most important thing. The specific employment situation in the future depends on the situation, but the reality seems to have a cruel side: not all majors can be so flexible, and some majors have relatively narrow career directions in the end. So the earlier you do research and search, the better.
Regarding career surveys, my personal suggestion is not to limit your choice of major solely to Zhihu, university official websites, and your own imagination. Be more exposed to real-life situations, get in touch with and consult with people who have studied this major, especially senior students who have studied this major abroad. Ask them about their interests, learning experiences, and even their plans after graduation. If possible, you can also seek advice from people around you who have graduated from this major.
When it comes to advice for younger students, what I actually want to say is that: don't be afraid of the opinions of others, don't be afraid of the pressure around you, listen to your own voice, and at the last moment of submitting an application, everything will be the best choice.

 Review of guidance for further education:


Serena is a student who has ideas, opinions, and is very independent. As for her major, it is more accurate to say that it is simply because of her versatility rather than being constantly changing in her choice of major. She has a lot of choices and possibilities, which is an advantage brought by her solid academic foundation over the past two years, and it has also become a factor that made her hesitate in the early stages of her application.


Serena will hear some information interference from external factors, and I am glad that she is willing to share it with me. I am even more pleased that she can finally clarify one by one: which information is baseless speculation from the outside world, which is her excessive concern or concern, and which is truly effective information. As suggested by Serena, ask and listen to your own voice more often, and "pick yourself out" from these distractions to make choices that make you "relaxed". "Change" is not scary, blindly following without independent scrutiny is what worries people.


I am very happy for Serena that her career choices have changed over the years, and she is gradually becoming the person who can better hear her own voice. I believe and look forward to it, she is still in the anxious RD stage and will eventually give her a happy result.