Choosing a university degree: 7 questions before deciding

Choosing which degree to study is one of the most pressure-filled decisions at the end of high school. Suddenly everyone asks you the same thing: "What are you going to study?" And often the real answer is simply: I don't know.

If that is you, don't worry, it is far more common than it looks. Some people have too many interests, some find nothing that excites them, and some are torn between two nearly identical options, such as Medicine or Nursing. The good news is you do not need your life figured out: choosing a degree is about taking a good first direction, and seven questions clear up most of the noise.

1. What kind of things do you actually enjoy doing?

The first step is not looking at degrees, but understanding which activities interest you. We often think about specific professions without first reflecting on which tasks we enjoy: some people prefer working with others, some enjoy analysing data, and some move best among ideas and creativity.

Start with questions like these:

• Do I like working with people or do I prefer more analytical work?
• Do I enjoy solving complex problems?
• Am I more drawn to the scientific, the social, or the creative?
• Do I prefer practical or theoretical work?

Answering them places you within broad areas of knowledge (sciences, health, engineering, social sciences, humanities, or arts). It is not about choosing yet, but about narrowing the field.

2. Which subjects are you best at?

People usually talk only about what you like, but which subjects you handle well matters too. It is not about choosing by grades, but about reading a clue: if a subject is easy for you to understand, you probably have an affinity for that kind of thinking.

• Biology and Chemistry → healthcare degrees
• Maths and Physics → engineering
• History or Philosophy → humanities
• Economics or Business → management and business

The key is identifying which subjects feel most natural, not just which ones you pass.

3. Do you know what the degree is really like?

A very common mistake is choosing based on a superficial idea of the profession. We imagine the job but not what the degree itself is like, and they are different things: Medicine or Law demand processing enormous volumes of theory and reading, while engineering leans far more on analysis, statistics, and mathematical problem-solving.

That is why it is worth researching:

• The curriculum
• The subjects in the first two years
• The duration and the internships
• The possible specializations

The more you know about the reality of a degree, the fewer surprises you get in first year.

4. Are you torn between several similar degrees?

This is the most frequent situation: it is not that you do not know what to study, but that you are torn between two or three very similar options (Medicine or Nursing, Physiotherapy or Sports Science, Biology or Biotechnology, Business Administration or Economics).

In these cases, compare concrete aspects:

• The type of daily work
• Contact with patients or clients
• The level of later specialization
• The duration of the studies
• The career opportunities

Analysing those differences breaks the tie far better than turning the degree names over in your head.

5. What lifestyle do you imagine?

Although it is not always discussed, the lifestyle you want also weighs. Some professions involve on-call shifts and demanding hours, others require years of additional training, and others offer considerable flexibility.

Ask yourself:

• Do I see myself in a hospital, a company, a lab, or a classroom?
• Do I prefer technical work or something more social?
• Am I drawn to research or to applying knowledge practically?
• How many more years of training am I willing to take on?

You do not need all the answers, but thinking it through helps you picture your professional future with less idealization.

6. Have you talked to someone who studies or works in that field?

One of the most useful ways to get to know a degree is to talk to someone already inside it. Students and professionals give you a far more realistic view of what the day-to-day is like, which subjects are hardest, what surprised them at the start, and what they would do differently.

These conversations give you exactly the information that never appears in curricula or on university websites.

7. Do you remember you can always change paths?

One thing is worth being clear about: choosing a degree does not mean deciding your whole life. Plenty of people discover new callings during university, switch degrees, or specialize in something they had not considered. Making a decision now is taking the first step, not closing doors.

An important decision, but not a final one

Choosing a university degree looks enormous, but it does not have to be lived with so much pressure. What matters is not finding the perfect degree, but an option that makes sense for you now, with the information you have available.

There is one thing that is decisive whatever you choose: how you study. It does not matter whether you end up in Medicine or Engineering; what makes the difference is how you learn, and that starts long before you enrol: techniques like spaced repetition serve you just as well in your last year of school as in your third year of university.

That is why it is worth studying in an organized way from now. Tools like Selectiva App exist for exactly that: turning your notes into active recall and scheduled reviews so you reach the exams that get you to university with room to spare.

Choosing a degree is only the beginning. Learning how to study well is what will take you as far as you want.