<p>So I know there have been a lot of threads like this, but it's nice to get fresh opinions. Right now I am undeclared, and I'm wondering what the best way is to determine my major. Should I take classes in courses I'm interested in? Talk to advisors of different departments? I try to think of what job I would want to do and I can't think of anything that really appeals to me... I don't want to take a fifth year so it would help to know as soon as possible. Thanks!</p>
<p>I was going to say “just take what you’re most interested in” when I realised - I didn’t do that.</p>
<p>I’m most interested in History. But I’m taking English, because I get better grades in it.
But I’ve been struggling to decide between History and English since I was 13, so it’s not like it’s a random choice.</p>
<p>Take something you’re interested in, but I guess it’s a bonus if it’s your best subject.</p>
<p>Does your school have a Cross College Advising Service? They can help you set up a plan so that you take classes from multiple programs, so by the time you decide, you’ll have at least some progress in the one you choose.</p>
<p>Although you are undecided right now, you should start working your way up through the math classes in case you declare a major with heavy math requirements.</p>
<p>@Sunsloth: I would say my favorite subjects are science/math, but I can’t see myself majoring in biology or chemistry (maybe physics or math…) I would say my best subjects are math and English (writing in particular.)</p>
<p>@uwrobi: I looked it up and can’t find anything with that name, but I believe there is something that helps students determine a major. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can see them before I have to decide on my first quarter classes.</p>
<p>@tedtron: I was thinking about that too. However, my school has three levels of Calculus (extremely general calculus, calculus for biology majors, and calculus for physics/engineering.) The engineering series seems like the best option because it leaves every major available, but I don’t want to kill my GPA if I end up not even needing that high of calculus.</p>
<p>If it helps, majors I’m considering are: Anthropology; Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior; Physics; Psychology; Sociology; Philosophy. The problem is that I read about the job placement for these majors (or any major), and nothing appeals to me!</p>
<p>Well it looks like most of those would be covered by the College of Letters and Science, with maybe the exception of Neurobiology. I would talk to a L&S rep…they could help you more than anyone here on CC.</p>
<p>JeSuis, you need to make some tradeoff between what is employable/what will help you get a job you want and what you think is interesting. How important is it to you to take classes you think are interesting? How important is it to you to get a good job?</p>
<p>Of 'course, if you are extremely smart or are hooked up with a job it ultimately won’t matter. If you’re more or less average and need to find a job yourself, then you should put serious consideration into employment prospects. </p>
<p>Additionally, whatever you study you can take classes in other departments. </p>
<p>Most schools have some general requirements. Start by getting those out of the way.</p>
<p>Lol, uwrobi, OP goes to UC-Davis…so there’s no CCAS, or College of Letters and Science for that matter. Colleges all name their departments differently. Not everyone is lucky enough to go to UW-Madison ;)</p>
<p>@Vladenschlutte: Aren’t the most employable majors engineering? I’ve considered Civil engineering or environmental engineering (or Computer Science.) I don’t want to go into finance or anything… I’m hoping I can find a major with good job prospects that also allows me to do something I enjoy. And my school’s GEs are weird… I could easily cover well over half of my GEs by just completing a major. I would rather not focus on completing GEs and then realize that my major covers most of them anyway. </p>
<p>@RoxSox: We have a College of Letters and Sciences… Haha</p>
<p>i don’t understand what “letters” means</p>
<p>A college of letters and sciences is the Liberal Arts college in a large University which different colleges such as Engineering, Nursing, or Business.</p>
<p>JeSuis… That makes no sense. You have to take some general classes right? What does it matter if you have your major in mind before you take them or after?</p>
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<p>Your favorite subjects are math and physics, and your best subjects are math and English. Why not major in math? As a bonus, math has better job and career prospects at the bachelor’s degree level than most of the other majors you named (though many of the good paying jobs for math majors are finance jobs). Also, math tends not to have heavy requirements or lots of lab courses, so you should have plenty of time to take electives in the other subjects you may be interested in.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys.html</a></p>
<p>Oh, after seeing that survey from Cal Poly SLO, I am not sure if I even want to apply to the Cal Polies… I issue is that overwhelming number of students go into industry right out of school. None ever go into grad school then to academia. Would still having the option to go to a cheap school be wise?</p>
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<p>It’s hard to explain. Basically, I need at least 12 units from each of three “topical breadths”: Arts and Humanities; Science and Engineering; and Social Sciences. After that, I have like 8 “core literacies” I have to fulfill by taking different classes, but each one literally has like 100-300 classes which satisfy it, so my major requirements (whatever that major is) should cover a good 4 or 5 of those core literacies. And a lot of majors have requirements that cover 2 or even all 3 topical breaths. Theoretically, a really interdisciplinary major could cover all of my GEs by itself. So it would suck to complete my GEs only to realize my major covers all or most of them.</p>
<p>And I do really like math and am good at it, but I also see myself doing something more… diverse I suppose. I also do not want to go into finance at all… I could possibly see myself in computer science, but I’m not a huge computer person. I’ve thought about majoring in math, but I don’t think the job prospects really interest me that much (then again, I haven’t found any job that I think would be good for me.) I’m considering a BS in Psychology since that would require math, but I don’t know how far that major could get me. I’ve been looking into Anthropology a lot lately, but the job prospects (Law, archaeology, etc.) don’t interest me much either. I’m also extremely indecisive, which isn’t helping :p</p>
<p>Applied math has more prospects than just trading if that’s what you were thinking. Now, there might not be as many jobs where you won’t be seeing dollar signs as a math major, but it’s not all speculation or something if that’s what you were thinking.</p>
<p>I picked economics because I live in California and we have a really messed up economy. I want to learn a lot more on “how the hell did this happen?” I also decided on what looks good to future employers so I can get experience before I go for my MBA. </p>
<p>It was between Business, Economics, and History. The Business classes here are very hard to get into and I can read history books to learn what I learn in school at a much cheaper price. Therefore, I decided to go with Economics.</p>