Picking a Major
Major - a particular subject specialized in at college or university.
How does a student decide what to major in for college? Is it important to push students to have a solid major choice to apply to college?
College is often the first big decision that a high school student must make. The second big decision students are faced with is what they are going to major in.
Major - a particular subject specialized in at college or university.
Many parents want their teens to know what their career will be as soon as they begin college. Counselors like to know what students want to major in to help guide them to the colleges that will be the best fit. But, many times, students have no idea what they want to major in. Why? Because they’re still kids!
It can be hard for teens to make what seems like a lifelong decision at 16-, 17-, or 18-years old. How do they know what different professionals do and what exactly each career consists of? Do they really care as they are struggling through high school? They are terrified that the person they want to ask to homecoming will say no and they can hardly breathe. Yet we ask them to make a choice on a subject that they may have no idea of how it is implemented in today’s world.
For example, let’s chat about business for a second. Many of my students come to me and say that they want to major in business. My first question for them is: What part of business do you want to major in? I usually get the “deer in headlights” look or a verbal “ummmm.” Typically, the student will say they don’t know what the different aspects are or what they really want to do with business. This then leads into a few discussions about finance, marketing, management, and other majors that lead to a variety of careers in business and the different arms to any business. Engineering, medical fields, and education are other examples of broad majors that can feel overwhelming.
Is it important to push students to have a solid major as they apply to college?
My opinion is no. College is where they finally get to take classes that THEY will find interesting. It may be because of the subject that is newly available to them, or it may be a certain professor. Either way, it gets their attention, and they can begin connecting to something! In the same vein, they find subjects that they don’t like and can rule those out as well. Both perspectives are important to help a young adult develop.
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, it has been found that as many as 80% of college students change their majors at least once. On average, college students change their majors at least three times during their college career.
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Some students will start their journey with a major that their parents, relatives, or friends have picked for them that they ultimately don’t enjoy. If they don’t feel like it’s acceptable to change their major, they may wait until they’re too far into their education and it will take them longer to graduate and add more cost.
What to do?
High school is hard enough without the pressure of picking a major. There are several career interest assessments on the internet of which students can take advantage of. Some are skills-based, and others are interest based. Once the student completes the tests and gets their results, parents and students should sit down and review what the assessment suggests. But remember, the key is to not impose your bias on your students. If you set them up for success, they will be happy and successful.
Think about chatting with your child about their dream jobs. This is what I do with my students. I tell them to not think about college or if their GPA is high enough or what they will earn. I just want them to articulate what their dream jobs are that they want to do. It can be a current dream, or a dream that they had when they were young, but what I’m looking for are themes. The jobs can be all over the place – but if I can find a theme, I can find a few majors that can connect to that theme. That could give the student another major to think about if they decide they don’t like the initial major they picked. The key, as a parent, is to support your student as they are brainstorming. That will be tough, but it will be their life and if they buy in, they will be more likely to do the work.
Remember, if they don’t know, it’s really okay!!!! An undecided major is not taboo. Many colleges today encourage the students to apply undecided to give them a chance to explore what subjects interest them the most, so don’t fear the unknown!
Gail Nichols, Independent College Consultant for over 12 years. Helping students to find their college is my passion.
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