Hi Kelly,
I don't have any kids myself, but I've done the school thing (many times over), and I've been a high school teacher. Here's some things I've found, mostly picked up by trial and error….
It's okay to not know, and it's okay to change your mind. In fact, she probably will. (Though most people I know didn't change the way I did, from business to costume design to engineering to meteorology.)
Think about hobbies, things that interest her (even if she's not that good), and what she's very talented in. Think about what interested her as a child, as well. For me, I was reminded of meteorology when I remembered that I'd always been interested in it when I was little. The idea that I could STUDY it had never occurred to me. It requires a ton of math. I'm not naturally talented at math, but I'm well-trained.
Think about how she works best, how she interacts with people…is she someone who's naturally giving, wants to help everyone around her? Is she a bit of a knight--wants to save the world? Is she comfortable working alone? Does she prefer it? Is she self-motivated?
Probably the best career advice I ever got was from my parents, when I decided I wanted to be a costume designer. After much debate, they said OK, but then my dad said "Is this something you're going to grow to resent when you're working at 2 in the morning and barely make enough to eat? There's lots of ways you can incorporate this into your life--you can sew for yourself, you can volunteer at a community theatre. All those things will allow you to walk away when you're tired or don't feel like doing it. You'll never stop doing the things you love, even if you don't get paid for it. But it would be sad to see you hate your hobby because you can't eat on it."
I walked away, and I'm glad I did, because it gave me the freedom to pick the projects I love, and do them on my own terms.
When the time comes to tour colleges, there's really only 4 types:
1. A large public school in a small(er) town
2. A large public school in a big city
3. A small private school in a small town
4. A small private school in a big city
I've been on lots of college campuses, and they tend to "feel" the same, along those four lines. This will also give her a good idea of how a school should feel if wants to apply, but isn't able to go tour it (it's across the country or something). When she tours campuses, she needs to follow her gut on how they feel, and she'll know within 15 minutes or so. Also, after the tour, go find a dining hall on campus, and find some students and sit down with them. Talk with them. As them what they like and don't like. Ask about their social lives, how easy it was to find friends. They'll be honest.
Quickly, my own story was that I toured #2,3,4 on that list. I hated 2 and 4, and loved 3, but didn't go for lots of different reasons. I ended up at 4 and was miserable. I transferred to #1 when I changed majors and loved it. When I got a masters, I looked at 1,1,and 2. Even though 2 was in a different state, it felt exactly the same. I ended up at one of the #1s again.
Once she knows the type of place she'd be happy at, apply to schools that are good at/known for what she's interested in. i.e., if she's a science girl, she needs to go somewhere with a strong science/math/engineering/medicine program (by contrast, their humanities, law, and arts programs are probably not as strongly developed). At the undergrad level, strong programs = good professors, good choice of classes, good network as she enters the job market.
I would not advocate going to any school and starting in "general studies". I'd suggest she pick something, even if she's not sure, and she can switch if she wants to. "General Studies" is too generic and doesn't give you a taste of what you're signing up for (or walking away from).
Also, I'd encourage her to be a little smart about her job prospects when she's thinking about what she's interested in. While you can make pretty much anything work…there's lots of underemployed lawyers out there right now struggling to pay back their student loans. Or, for another comparison, my stepsister went all the way through in psychology (she's now getting a doctorate in research methodology). I'm working on a doctorate in environmental science. My stepsister is paying her way through (has the whole time), and is going to graduate with a stupid amount of debt and a tough area to find a job (just not much out there). I'm flying halfway around the world a few times, living in vacation-land, and I'm being paid to do it and will graduate with zero debt and the opportunity to look for work on 3 continents.
