Deciding for undecideds

Thank you for all of the insight. Since we have prepaid and bright futures she will most likely be at UF or FSU. Both schools seem to have many choices for her. Maybe next year I will have her sit down with a counselor or someone that helps with that type stuff. She definitely cares about finding a high paying career. Actuarial Science sounds like it could be interesting.

College professor here. I teach at a LAC which means I also serve as an advisor for 40 students each year, ranging from first years to seniors. Over 65% of all college students (not just those in LACs) change their major AT LEAST once. That is why most schools do not require students declare their major until second semester sophomore year.

Over my 20 years of teaching and advising, it is the rare student that knows what they want to do and sticks with it. Even students who come in interested in “business,” are not sure which business major. When I sit down with first year students we try to devise a schedule that lets them explore their interests while also fulfilling requirements in the Core. With the exception of a few majors (education, for example), a student can pick up a new major in sophomore year without any worry about completing the degree and major requirements. Of course, if your student attends a college with a long list of core requirements (Fordham comes to mind) this will prove more difficult. In general, we try to encourage some exploration so there are no regrets late junior or senior year. You should know that your D is in the majority.

One aspect that can be a little tough is that many kids start off in college with so many AP credits or some CC credits that they hit 4 year school with 15-30 credits under their belt. That means they don’t take a ton of Gen Ed courses. While that is good in many ways it does make them make the major decision earlier than some.

Those kids can switch majors easier or get a double major easier, but the decision is made earlier.

My D19 is going down a path to start off college of getting BioChem and Spanish majors. She mapped it out and it can be done without killing herself because of AP credits. Her Spanish teacher thought she was a junior. I think it is 50/50 that she changes the BioChem at some point.

Compare all that to me 25 years ago when I wanted to do business but didn’t have to decide Accounting/Finance/Marketing until second semester sophomore year.

Students with useful AP credit may have the option to decide and declare major earlier, but are not required to in most cases. Unless the college forces declaring major based on credits with AP credit required to be included for this purpose, a student with lots of useful AP credit could take just as long to decide as one with no AP credit. Indeed, having more free electives may allow for a more informed decision.

Another thing to consider for colleges is how easy it is to explore options…at Case Western Reserve University for example, they have a Single Door Admissions Policy. That is, when you are admitted, you can take classes in any area without having to get into the Engineering School or the Business school for example.
So if you wanted to start in engineering/pre-architecture and then switch to Economics, you could. Or you could study math but also take Art classes.

Some big state schools will make you apply to a certain college.

Re: #24

Even when entering or changing major is not capacity limited, undecided students need to plan to follow the prerequisite sequences for all possible majors of interest, to avoid finding that (for example) in their fourth semester, they are really interested in some major, but have not taken enough prerequisites to be able to graduate in that major within eight total semesters.

@ucbalumnus Agreed. Kids probably need to have SOME idea. Not many kids who truly have a dozen options in their mind for majors. Some strategy has to be involved here. S19 took math and physics this semester thinking those were his two “most likely” majors. Dropping physics for next semester. Sticking with math and now trying three other subjects next semester that are of interest. Going into the career center can also help talk through jobs for kids in a particular major and to see what recent grads are doing.

D didn’t have much of an idea either. Lots of strengths (writing, math, public speaking) but no clear idea of what she wanted to pursue. Applied to schools as either undeclared or made some stuff up for schools that required a declared major (Cal Poly? Economics. USC? Biology). We suggested environmental science since it was the one HS class in her senior year that she would NOT shut up about. By the time the acceptances rolled in, she’d pretty much decided. Has managed to stay the course (adding a GIST minor) and will graduate this year. Helps when you can get paid internships and job offers in your field.

No worries! Your daughter is very young. Many students don’t know what they want, they change their minds etc. I actually think things have changed a lot over the years…it’s not uncommon to switch gears, take some time to do other things, etc.

My daughter recently graduated and still doesn’t know exactly what she wants to do, but she has a lot of interests and is narrowing things down. She never switched majors…she had the same major throughout college and still loves it. She keeps changing what she wants to do within that major. Right now she has a two-year “gap position” and yesterday she told me what she is thinking about doing once this ends. Eventually she will be back in school, but right now…she’s working, supporting herself, traveling, and exploring her options.

She just spent the weekend with several friends who are currently working in a field that they enjoy…but have no intention of staying in. They are doing it for now until they switch gears, return to school, etc.

It all works out…and I have actually learned to relax and watch it unfold (it’s actually very exciting!).

Your daughter is young. Try to relax and enjoy the process (it’s not always easy LOL). She will have many interesting classes, internships etc and it will all fall into place.

Try not to worry…your DD is still so young. My DS attends Iowa State, and kids can start as Open Option if they want. I believe there is some career exploration involved to narrow down interests.

There are so many careers that students have never even considered. My DS knew he wanted to major in business, but had no idea what he might want to do with that degree. He is not a math kid, so he eliminated finance and and accounting.

Like your DD, he really enjoys fashion. He decided to add a minor in Apparel, Merchandising, and Design. He has in internship lined up for this summer, and hopes to be on track for becoming a retail buyer…a career that combines business and fashion, one he had never even really heard of before.

Best of luck to your DD as she finds her way!

The OP has a multi-talented daughter. If she’s determined to attend, say, UF or FSU, then has all career options are open in future. (Confession: I taught at FSU early in my career.) She doesn’t have to know her career or even her major at this point.

My daughter was determined to study art and design and restricted her applications to art schools. While she never regretted her decision (she attended RISD with a major in industrial design), after a few years in the economy she decided she really liked the business and entrepreneurial aspect of ecological design. She decided that to be successful in a such a career she needed an MBA. That meant not only added costs but also a couple more years out of the economy. She prepped for the GMAT and got into a top-10 MBA program. Now she has an excellent job promoting ecological design initiatives.

My point is: if your daughter has set on the colleges she wants to attend – and these are likely colleges to which she will be readily admitted – she should consider how to explore subjects and gain experience that will allow her to define a career later on. She should look for summer jobs or internships that give her direct experience in areas of possible career interest. She may learn that she doesn’t like some things that appear attractive to her now. Also, don’t be surprised if she finds subjects or projects in college that are exciting and help to define a future career course that she does not yet have in mind. That’s what college is for.

Re: #25

Yes, make sure that you think about the most stringent major you might be interested in and start with those classes. So if you think you might want to do engineering or economics and aren’t sure…start with engineering for the math and then it will meet the math/science requirements for Economics.

But you can’t just take 100 level classes in a variety subjects…you have to meet the requirement for a major.

Some schools actually have an undeclared program. My daughter was in this program at Northeastern (they call is explore now I think). They provided opportunities to hear about different careers and majors and have advisors who specialized in these students. These kids were kept on track, because these advisors knew what was needed for all different programs.

Two things to keep in mind when looking at a school for an undecided student. How flexible taking classes and switching majors is and how good the advising is (particular for undecided students).

My older child knew he wanted a career that involved thinking, writing, annd statistics. “Maybe political science,” he thought. I knew he had high aptitude across the spectrum of academic skills, from writing, to math, to thinking scientifically. He was a champion high school debater. He was strong in math. He could write. I advised him that if he was interested in political science (and given his background), he should major in economics. He could take polisci courses as an undergras and then get an advanced degree in that field later.

He followed my advice, chose not to get an advanced degree, but his career now uses his core skills. He could have gone in any number of directions, including economics or politics, or into law or business. That versatility was an advantage, and did not detract from his career advancement, even if his first job (as a management consultant for a financial firm) proved only to be a stepping stone to something he really wanted to do.

My emphasis was this: do something in college that marries your core skills with your curriculum, and let experience help you to choose your next course of action. He easily could have become an academic but in his current career he does research and writing that draw on his core interests. His career has worked out very well. It wasn’t a cookie cutter path. He was ambitious and worked hard, and basically defined his own path.