Where to Go--選興趣、顧爸媽 轉系看本事

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=261348

選興趣、顧爸媽 轉系看本事

【聯合報╱記者陳智華／台北報導】2010/07/25

選填志願選校還是選系，見人見智，升學輔導老師胡天爵不贊成選校不選系，他指出，選校不選系就要有「轉系不成的打算」，且如要這樣做，也要確定自己「還有能力念下去」，否則會很痛苦。

My comments: A former student of mine majored in history at a national university in Taichung until her third year. She found then that she was not interested in history at all. According to her, she dozed off in class. Then she decided to retake the UEE in the summer when her classmates were going on to their fourth year. Just a year before she could graduate from college, she made the tough decision. That summer, she became a freshman majoring in journalism at a private university. I believe she is living a happier life now because journalism is what she likes.

胡天爵說，每年約有6、7千位大二到大四學生報考學測，可能是沒有興趣，想要重考，也可能是成績很差，連主修都被擋修，「根本念不下去」。

My comments: "You've got to find what you love."

成大教務長湯銘哲表示，該校甚至將只能轉系一次的規定拿掉，但要轉系成績要夠才行，且轉到冷門科系成功比率較高，但想從冷門科系轉到熱門科系，因競爭激烈，比率就低。

台大教務長蔣丙煌說，只要想轉系的學生，台大沒有拒絕的，但他強調，重點是「要有本事才轉得成」，據統計，台大學生申請轉系成功率從96年49%降到今年的42%。

不少大學都建議學生選自己有興趣的科系，政大副校長林碧炤表示，家長當然希望學生選名校，不過不少私校也辦得很好，很多大學紛紛發展特色的系，相當有口碑。

My comments: Another student of mine who graduated from NHSH two years ago called me last summer to invite me to their class reunion. She told me she enjoyed her college very much. That's because she had chosen the major she loved.

湯銘哲指出，學生選志願要顧及興趣，也要符合父母期望。大學都發現，很多利用甄選管道進來的學生，對該系較有興趣，湯銘哲說，學校6成學生靠指考進來，但1/3到1/2可能是沒有興趣的。

My comments: What if a student's interest diverges from his/her parents' expectations?

林碧炤表示，不少學生進大學後仍不知自己興趣，學校因此想辦法要幫學生發現興趣，例如該校的政大書院，就讓學生在大一上很多通識課。湯銘哲也表示，學校也利用可以修輔系、雙主修等方式，讓學生跨領域學習，符合未來需要。