I know some colleges have more open curriculums that encourage exploration, and might be well suited for the high school applicant who is undecided about his or her major or path.
But are there colleges that are sort of the opposite, and which should probably be avoided if one is applying for freshman admission and does not know what he or she will major in or pursue in life? Wondering about this both in terms of admission chances but also in terms of flexibility, guidance, etc once enrolled and attending.
It depends on how open you want to be. If you don’t know if you want to be an engineer, nurse, or historian, that could be problematic at a lot of schools. Generally, if a university admits directly into colleges and/or majors, that school is going to be more difficult for an undecided student.
As @Eeyore123 said, the short answer is yes. I’ll give you an example…Cal Poly. Students not only apply to a department, but to a specific major. They compete only against students who also want said major. They can’t change majors without a certain amount of coursework, and attending workshops. It’s doable, but it’s a pain.
The big question is what’s on the table for interests. If engineering is anywhere in the mix, engineering is so specialized that the clock starts ticking when someone switches. So, try to switch into engineering in third year, and you’re essentially starting back at ground zero as a first year. The exception might be physics to engineering, but then, maybe back to second year.
yeah, I should have specified that this is about a kid who is NOT considering engineering or comp sci, but mostly anything else could be on the table: business, psychology, neuroscience, bio, Econ/finance, math, public health, education, public policy, sociology, urban planning…
These are really different majors. Some lump together (Soc/Psyc/Bio/Public Health as examples), but many will be inapplicable to the previous major, necessitating more time regardless of how hard it is to change. Nothing of those previously mentioned majors is applicable to urban planning or math for example. It’s a real challenge for students that are wildly undecided. I’d focus on narrowing into at least a zone.
From that list, business will be the most problematic. For schools that have direct freshman entry into the B School, the student may want to apply for business because it would be easier moving out than in.
The colleges to avoid as an undecided student would be ones where the majors of possible interest are are difficult to declare or change into (e.g. require a high college GPA or competitive admission).
That list of colleges depends on what the majors of possible interest are. It is likely to be much larger if the majors of possible interest are computer science and nursing than if the majors of possible interest are physics and philosophy.
Additionally, some majors have fairly full curricula starting in the first semester. Nursing and most engineering majors do not leave much time to explore if one does not want to fall behind in those majors.
Most schools will list how undecided works. Generally your large or midsize publics or even LACs are set up for this. Typically though one will end up in a liberal art or science which cover most your majors. Some majors, like public health or business or limited enrollment majors like Poli Sci at Maryland, , may not be accessible or have pre-reqs including a gpa or may not offer the curriculum you desire…some public health require a lot of science.
You might find that once you pick a major you are behind a semester or year. Just depends on what you pick, # of credits required, what you came in with ap wise and how your gen ed line up. Or you may end up just fine.
Most kids change majors and schools are typically set up for this, especially in the liberal arts and sciences.
If you need some thoughts on specific schools let us know. But most will have an undeclared section on their website which will give you direction.