I Would Like To Work In College Admissions Or Advising?
What is a good major that will allow me to work in college admissions or advising? I love the college atmosphere and just can’t leave it. I also like working with people and helping them solve problems. Especially financial or college problems. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
It depends on what you want to advise. If it’s a general advisor in an undergraduate college, you just need a bachelor’s in anything then work your way up. At the graduate level you will need a graduate degree, preferably in the same area as the field you are advising (they want you to advise something that you actually know about!). At more prestigious grad programs you may need two masters or a doctoral degree.
Lots of majors might work for that: business, or psych; sociology, or something related to human services. Or anything you’d like – art, English, etc.
What’s more important than what you major in is that you get experience in the field now, while you’re at college. Go and volunteer in admissions, and get a job in financial aid. Gain experience now, so you’ll be able to use that experience to get a job in one of those fields when you graduate.
In addition, try to gain other, related experiences while you study: become an RA. Work college orientations. Gain experiences like these, where you gain some exposure to college administration, and also show leadership skills. That’ll really help.
Lastly, make appointments to speak to people at your uni who are working in those fields. Tell them you’re interested, perhaps, in entering that profession. Ask them about what they look for in entry level hires, etc.
The first two posters are right–you don’t need a particular undergraduate degree to become a college advisor. Something in behavioral sciences (psychology, sociology, etc.) might be good, but you can choose something you enjoy and will do well at–and something that will give you time and opportunities to get some experience while you’re an undergrad. Join student clubs and take a leadership role, get involved with student government, become a peer advisor, or an RA, or an admissions ambassador, or whatever you can find along those lines. This will help you later in getting jobs and getting into grad school, and it will also help you make sure you really like this kind of work.
To move up beyond entry level jobs in student affairs, you’ll need a master’s degree. Most people who get to the higher levels of administration eventually get a doctorate. The degree that’s most closely related–and they one they ask for in a lot of job descriptions–is one in Student Development, a.k.a. Student Affairs Administration, or College Student Personnel. The American College Personnel Association, one of the major professional organizations in the field, has some good information on graduate programs and careers in student development. They also have a list of good masters and doctoral programs in the field. They’re at http://www.myacpa.org/c12/directory.cfm