5 Tips for the Ever-Changing Major in College

Deciding what you want to do for the rest of your life is hard. Thinking about the major to take to get there is harder still. What is even harder is not knowing what you want to do and still needing to choose a major.

That was the issue for me. When applying to colleges, I either put down “undecided” or English as my intended major, although I really did not want to major in English; it was just that English was the only subject I felt I could tolerate for four years.

By the time I entered the second semester of my sophomore year, I have changed my major three times. I went from undecided to an English major to Film and Screen Studies major, to Communications major. Narrowing it down to a communications degree was difficult journey, but there were many things that made it easier.

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Here are my top 5 tips and advice for the ever-changing major!

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1. Take different classes

Since my freshman year, I have taken classes in a variety of different subjects. From English to psychology, language-based classes and history, it seems like I have gotten a taste of just about everything.

It was really important for me to have that taste in order to know what I did and did not like. Even if that meant sitting through painful math classes, or interesting but long history classes loaded with facts, I was able to tell whether or not it was something I could deal with, understand, do well in, and be happy with at the end of the day.

If you are undecided about a class, find out if it’s possible to sit in on some classes without actually signing up for them. Prepare for the next semester and ask a professor if you can sit in one day. It will help you determine how you might fare in that subject.

Here are 10 tips to choose the right classes!

2. Talk to other students

Other students can be your resource for advice. While it may be helpful to talk to students at your current school, you should also talk to your friends at other colleges too. Getting different opinions from different people, places and perspectives will give you a more holistic view. By asking real students, you are not getting the cookie-cutter description of certain majors. The information you collect will help you understand what you might have to deal with given a certain degree path.

Additionally, if possible, talk to someone who is a grade or two above you, who has already taken the classes you are interested in, and who has gone through the major declaration. Chances are they will have some great tips for the do’s and don’ts of that particular major. Students are real, living examples. Figure them out!

3. Meet with an advisor

Your advisor is always there to help. It is their job! They want students to schedule an appointment to come in and receive all the help they need. Advisors are supposed to be, and are knowledgeable, about all college-related things. So make use of them! Talk about the majors you are considering and see if they can offer advice based on your interests, your record, other student experiences, or even their own experiences.

Advisors are a great source of information and insight into the workings of college. And they do want to help you. My advisor has been a great help through the process of switching majors; I have met with her many times and now even have a general advisor and an advisor based on my major. Double the help!

4. Have a plan

It is helpful to plan things out. Sitting down with my advisor was a great way to know and get a glimpse of what school would be like if I had certain majors. I highly suggest planning out the possibilities. It makes it so much simpler to understand what the process will be like if you have a plan on paper.

I created Word documents listing all the classes I have to take if I declared certain majors. Those documents helped me focus on the information and details of all the majors I was interested in, and also helped me visualize how the next four years, or more, might look like for me. It was an incredible way to understand the process of various majors.

Deep and long-term planning was the most effective factor in deciding my major. Since I had to look up the classes and read descriptions of all of them, I could easily tell which ones would hold my interest and which ones would not. I did not want to waste my time in college, so it was helpful to have some knowledge about a subject before getting into the classroom.

5. Knowing it’s not the be-all and end-all

The most important thing to understand is that you do not have to go into college with a declared major. It was definitely something I had to come to understand. I had been so worried about not having a declared major when I started because I didn’t want to waste my college years.

But that is not the case. College is not just about getting a degree in one specific area of study. Being undecided and switching my major made me learn more about myself and about the idea of college and my future. It made me ten times more aware than I had been before entering college.

Of course, it is important to declare a major, but it does not need to happen right away. Declaring a major is not the be-all and end-all of education, and things can change. Even though I have taken many classes that do not count towards my major now, I have enough credits to declare a minor and in the process gained knowledge of many different subjects.

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Being undeclared and sampling a variety of different classes helped me become the person I am today. So if you are the ever-changing major, don’t stress about it. Instead, find out information about any of the subjects you are interested in. Talk to friends, look up information on your school’s website, and find time to sit down with your advisor. Things will work out, and you have more than enough resources to help you.

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