I am going into my freshman year of college as undecided. I have absolutey no idea what I want to major in. I get people all the time asking me what I’m majoring in and when I tell them that I am undecided, they make it a big deal. They say that I need to hurry to make a decision (like NOW). Is it really that bad to be undecided. I know some people say that going undecided is good, because some people change majors anyway. People saying this makes me feel like I’m farther behind than I should be. Thanks for your input.
It is not an issue to be undecided. It is neither bad nor good. You simply just don’t know what you want to study yet.
It is fine. The only drawback I could see is that the longer you take the harder it could get to complete the curriculum needed for whatever major it is. If you don’t know until Junior or Senior year then it can affect you because what if you haven’t taken the classes that could count towards your major? However, as a freshman I don’t see it as a problem. Once you get into sophomore year you will have a better idea of what you like. I would recommend joining clubs and going to events in order to explore different subjects that could help you decide your major.
I still don’t understand why some people believe that freshman have to choose a major immediately. Thank you for replying.
The advisors at your school will have had lots of experience helping undeclared students. They’ll help you sign up for a wide range of classes, which will help you find what you like. They also know how to make it work so that you’re not at a disadvantage graduation-wise.
I remember visiting one university that said they didn’t describe it “undecided.” They called it “multi-interested.” So maybe it’s less stressful to think of it that way. As long as you keep in touch with your advisors and stay on track with the classes and deadlines they recommend, don’t worry. They have a heck of a lot more experience with undecided students than your fellow incoming students.
Try to take your core requirements in fields that you might be interested in majoring in. That can give you a good introduction to the department and help you get a sense of what you like and don’t like. With the exception of a few very specific programs with detailed course sequences, you should be fine without declaring a major right away.
Something you might do in your spare time is look through the list of classes offered - either in the school’s official catalog or the online course listing. Read the descriptions of ones that seem interesting, and keep track. If you find that you have an interest in several courses in one area, that might be worth researching further.
There’s no need to declare a major right away. I didn’t declare my major until the last day of my sophomore year (the last possible day to do so). In the meantime, you can take classes in every department that interests you. If you have non-major requirements that you have to fulfill, you can get those out of the way early (and hopefully there will be a way to fill the requirements by taking a variety of classes across departments so that you can learn what interests you).
I think it would be good to have an idea if you are interested in a liberal artsy type major or a STEM one.
Then start taking the core requirements for those.
Some ways to start figuring out a major:
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Go to your college’s career center and talk to them. They may have tests/tools that help you figure out what career (and therefore major) is best for you)
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What math/science courses did you take in HS and in college? What was your Math SAT score? Reading? That might tell you what you are better at.
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Read this article: What problem do you want to solve?
https://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/pulse/20140804104444-17000124-let-s-kill-the-college-major -
Take an online quiz…there are many
http://www.luc.edu/undergrad/academiclife/whatsmymajorquiz/
http://www.slu.edu/beabilliken/quiz-college-majors -
Talk to the professor in your favorite class and see what they think
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Pre-med/sociology/public health/psychology are majors where you want to help people directly.
Business/engineering/comp sci are majors where you want to solve technical/organizational problems.
Which is more appealing to you? -
What were your favorite classes in HS?
While I don’t think it’s necessary to completely know what you want to do freshman year, I would take the advice from the poster above and spend a good amount of time reflecting and trying to decide what you want to study. You’ll figure it out, you just need to put some thought into it! 