By Mabel Soriano, 11th Grade

There are many aspects that can influence your future. It could be money, family issues, politics, health, diseases, among others. However, when many things are uncertain, it is important to have a plan, whether broad or specific, in which you can establish what your future might look like. One of those loaded decisions is higher education and there are many routes to choose from. First, you could go to college. Then, if you decide to go to college, decide what you would like to study or what career path suits you best. When listed this way, it seems rather simple but realistically, these decisions can drastically change your life, making them of utmost importance. 

This being said, many students are worrying about what their plans look like, especially New Horizons’ 11th graders (juniors) that will be graduating next year in 2023. In order to analyze the demographic, a google form was shared with the future graduates. Below, you will see three graphs that describe whether or not they plan to go to college, what area they would like to study, and where, geographically, they would pursue higher education, respectively. 

In the graph below, 98.1% of the students plan on going to college while the remaining 0.9% will take a gap year.

This graph shows that 37.3% prefer a major in STEM such as Biology, Medicine, Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Physics, etc. Another 37.3% are opting for business-related majors, for example, Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, International Business, Business Administration, etc. The remaining 25.5% are planning on choosing a Humanities major which includes: Law, Philosophy, Art Studies, Linguistics, Gender Studies, Drama and Music, English, Literature, and History. 

When asked if they planned to study in the Dominican Republic or abroad, 73.1% answered abroad meaning that the remaining 26.9% plan on continuing their education here. 

Based on this data, it can be assumed that the majority of the students plan on pursuing the challenge of studying outside of DR. These are the current choices taken from the next generation of graduates, however, there is still room for growth and decision changes. Remember, “your education is a dress rehearsal for a life that is yours to lead”. You can study whatever you want or not study anything at all. You can have a massive salary or be paid minimum wage. It doesn’t matter what you do or what others think as long as you’re proud of your achievements and lifestyle.