Good morning - I’m the parent of a rising junior who has strengths and interests in several areas, and she’s not really sure what she wants to study. She could probably be a good candidate for a double major, but would still need to narrow herself down. In my time (I graduated with a BA in 1995), students like her would get accepted to school as “undecided.” But at a Father’s Day dinner the other night, my sister in law, who has four either graduated or in college, mentioned that all the schools want you to choose a major when you’re applying. Is there hope for my undecided child? Honestly, that’s the college experience I want for her - the one where she starts off with 2 or 3 semesters of exploration before settling down. Is that still possible?
(For the record, in case it is relevant to a response, she’s really strong in art/illustration and math/science, but also has a passion for creative writing and occasionally says “well, psychology sounds pretty interesting…” She’s not interested in combining her art & STEM interests - things like architecture, design, medical illustration, etc. hold no interest whatsoever.)
Not ALL the schools want you to choose a major when you’re applying. My son’s school, UMD, admits students to “Letters and Sciences” which is their undecided option It would be helpful to know what schools your student might be considering.
I think it depends on the university. What schools do your sister-in-law’s kids go to and what are their majors? Some majors like engineering might require a student to apply directly to that program, but I believe there are still plenty of colleges out there that don’t require students to declare until sophomore year. What state are you in and are you thinking state publics for your daughter?
College admits by major, typically because some majors are filled to department capacity.
A major has many requirements or prerequisite sequences, so that students need to follow a strict schedule from semester one.
An example of a major where both of the above are commonly true is nursing.
An undecided student considering several majors does need to plan the first few semesters to make progress in all of the possible majors, in order not to be behind on whichever is chosen.
We are in NJ and she’ll probably apply to Rutgers, but we will be looking at private schools, too. My niece and nephews were: Kutztown/Education, Stevens/Music Tech for two of them, and the other went the community college route to start.
She should be aware that math and science majors do have some amount of prerequisite sequencing to be aware of, although usually not as critical as nursing or engineering majors. Advanced placement in math can be helpful in making the prerequisite management easier.
With some exceptions, your child does not need to declare a major. Some more preprofessional majors require it, especially if there are caps to how many students will be accepted to that major - nursing, engineering, computer science, and business are among these. Also for engineering, nursing, etc. there is likely to be a fairly prescribed sequence of courses that is best started as a first-year student. But for a kid who wants to study creative writing one minute, psychology the next, and environmental science the next, it’s perfectly fine to be undecided.
Also if your kid decided that engineering or some other highly competitive major was “it” as a rising college sophomore, there are often paths to transfer. Sometimes this involves transferring to a different school within a university and there is no guarantee of a spot. And it could mean an extra semester or year to obtain a degree.
She might want to look at some liberal arts colleges where that kind of exploration is actively encouraged. However, Rutgers will accommodate that, especially if she gets into the Honors Program or Honors College.
My NJ son was undecided and was accepted to the Rutgers Schools of Engineering, Business and Arts and Sciences. He chose Northeastern in the Explore Program for undecided students, which made it easy for him to choose a major. Most of those kids declare a major at the end of first year, but some declare at the end of the second year. I think it’s best to choose a school that has options your kid is interested in. Engineering was one of his interests and not every college offers that. Ultimately he chose another major.
It’s okay to be undecided, and a huge proportion of students change their majors at least once, and sometimes more. If your child is aiming high though, I would caution against going in undecided, as it sounds wishywashy. Schools know your kid might change her mind, but they would probably prefer to see a little sense of direction.
Then again, it really might depend on what else is on her application. If a student applies and shows genuine interest in all kinds of stuff, a very selective college might not care if the student is truly undecided. Overall, the app typically allows students to indicate a couple of areas of interest in terms of majors, and I think it’s preferable to put something other than undecided.
We have quite a few students graduate from my high school each year who go to college undecided. Some LACs even encourage that (I seem to recall Franklin & Marshall being one of them).
As others have said, if engineering or nursing or similar were her plan, it’s a bad idea, but for most majors it’s perfectly fine.