Did her grades fall to the point that she was kicked out of the major? I’m having a hard time understanding why she would drop the engineering major one year from the finish line, or would she not have been able to graduate on time at the end of next year? I feel like there is a lot more going on here.
A practical person would not drop the major this close to the ‘hands on’ part of graduating. You can be many things with an engineering degree, and as stated above, the final year is usually the most enjoyable part of the coursework. Do you think she is having a crisis of looming adulthood, and just wants to put it off? Has she done any internships or work in the former real world?
I think you are smart to find her a counselor. I would start to get tough. She should have pressure to pick a new major, and you should be applying it! What is her plan B? Does she have any understanding of what her alternative majors are given the classes she’s already taken? How much time and $ will that add to her schooling? If she hates most of them, I can’t imagine she is close to another degree in something that she would enjoy studying.
I’m using a lot of words to get to my main point. She might just need to pull up her big girl pants and get through the program, if that is still an option. Don’t want to be a chem e? Look for a consulting job, apply for general e jobs, get into a training program where they move you around so you see different areas and then pick the area you like the best. Find any job, get more of a clue and then go get a short masters degree, she may be adding that much schooling on right now just for undergrad.
No one wants their kids miserable in their careers. There are yucky parts of all jobs, she will have to learn how to navigate around them, whatever she ends up choosing. May as well start now.
Please come back and update us when she decides what to do. For some reason this situation has really struck me. You seem to be taking it much better than I would. Good luck!