Destination USA: US universities offer high-level of flexibility

I started university in the fall of 2000 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I was “pre-med”, which means I wanted to attend medical school after I received my bachelor’s degree.

Students who are “pre-med” often study subjects such as biology and chemistry. I was no different. Except for one problem. I was terrible at biology and chemistry!

I took a chemistry course during my first semester and ended up with the worst grade I earned during my entire university career. In other words, I was unlikely to succeed if I continued to study the hard sciences and I certainly wasn’t going to be a strong candidate for medical school. Fortunately, I was studying in the United States!

One of the advantages of the US system is that it offers a high level of flexibility. If you start off studying biology, for example, you have the opportunity to change your mind and explore other subjects. In my case, I decided to focus on history and foreign languages.

At one point, my French studies brought me to France, where I learned that I loved living overseas. That experience is part of the reason why I decided to join the diplomatic service and it’s something I might not have learned if I hadn’t had the opportunity to “change my major” course of study in university.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you can or should change your course of studies frequently. If you change too much, you might not graduate! But the flexibility is valuable and it does give you the chance to explore what you really want to do with your studies and your career.

So, if you want the chance to try one or two subjects before making a full commitment to a course of study, the United States might be the right place for you.

— Frankie, US Consulate General Hyderabad