<p>Since switching majors often leads to a longer time spent in college, do you continue paying for the added years it will take to graduate? What if the kid switched to something that requires grad school ( ex from Biology to pre-med)</p>
<p>Um…biology majors can easily satisfy the requirements for prerequisites for medical school. Becoming a doctor requires medical school regardless of your undergrad major. I’m not sure I understand your point.</p>
<p>MOST college students switch majors…and they do so multiple times. Most do not graduate with the major they thought they were going to have as incoming freshmen. Some actually transfer to different colleges…or take time off.</p>
<p>We were very clear with our kids. We fully paid for 4 years of college (8 semesters or 12 quarters). Anything above and beyond that was in their dime, including summer classes if desired, and grad school. One of our kids took a full course load one summer. She paid for that. One of our kids went to grad school. He paid for that…but we did help him with living expenses. </p>
<p>I think your undergrad student needs to understand how much college you plan to support. If you don’t plan to pay for anything beyond a bachelors degree, tell the student now. If you don’t plan to pay for years beyond four or five…tell the student NOW (actually…this conversation should take place prior to college matriculation).</p>
<p>Luckily both of my kids stick to the same major. I suggest they take more courses to broaden their horizons. But I’ll probably limit to paying 4 or 5 years max. It depends on when they decide to switch major.</p>
<p>I switched majors on a semester-basis: investigated bioengineering, medieval studies, art history, design of environment, and last math) but it all worked out. I graduated with two disparate majors (math and design of environment) as well as a minor in art history. My father panicked when he heard ‘art history’ (“what is she going to DO with this major?” he asked my sister who calmly responded “don’t worry, she’ll change it next month”). Going from a biology major with a focus on a PhD program to a focus pre-med program may not be so big a change - there may be a significant overlap in required courses.</p>
<p>My father did what thumper1 did - paid for 4 years of college. That’s it. Done. (actually, he didn’t pay tuition since we were at his university but he did pay for our living expenses).</p>
<p>Well, D’s 2 weeks into her freshman year and has switched her major 3 times lol. I know, that’s not what you are talking about. Seriously though, I do suspect she’ll have it all figured out by the time she has to declare. She knows we simply cannot pay for more than 4 years and her private LAC. </p>
<p>We have also informed our daughter that she will be funding grad school on her own. She was actually shocked! In her head, she was going straight to grad school after undergrad like it was just part of the deal. The fact that her little brother want’s to go to college too just didn’t register I guess. She panicked at first but then I explained that the average age of grad students is 30 she felt much better (she’s not going into medicine.) Honestly, I’m glad it came up prior to her starting undergrad. Honestly, I didn’t occur to me that she’d expect us to pay for grad school.</p>
<p>My son switched from engineering to math to computer science. I’m not doing anything about it. I’m not the one who has to work in any of those fields. I’m unclear if he’s off track, he may be a teeny bit, but he can take classes at our local Univ for his major next summer. It’s okay by me if he takes an extra semester or year. </p>
<p>With a senior this year, we are obviously having lots of conversations about college! Several years ago we had told her “no theater” and no majors that end in ‘studies’." We were somewhat joking but the conversation did focus on the fact that given her focus on private schools (and likely med school), she needed to understand that she needs to get out in 4 years AND she needs to make sure she comes out with an education that will help her establish a clear direction and career - particularly since alot of premeds change their mind or delay applying. We were not implying that she needed to focus on professional-type majors (e.g. business or engineering) but she does need to be practical about getting the most out of a liberal arts education. I think liberal arts can be a fantastic platform for a number of careers but there are definitely some majors that simply, on their own, do not open up good job opportunities after college. </p>
<p>One of mine switched her ideas for a major a couple of times. She didn’t decide on the final major until half-way through first semester of junior year. The first two years, she got rid of gen eds and experimented. Just what I wanted her to do, because you have to sample, to know. Btw, she ended up in exactly what I thought would intrigue her and get her fired up. But she couldn’t have known that, until she took that first class. She graduated on time (and also had a minor and another interest area.) It’s about experimenting wisely. we would not have paid for anything after the first four years, she knew that. And yes, she’s on her own dime for any grad studies. </p>
<p>As thumper said, most kids switch majors–some multiple times. I don’t see what the issue is, unless they stubbornly insist on choosing one that you and they know they have little chance of succeeding at. I trust that my kids are getting good counseling from their academic advisors and that they are trying their best to find their way.</p>
<p>Its not uncommon to change majors, & why I wouldnt advocate attending a school just because it has your specialized program unless you would still be happy there without it.</p>
<p>It may better to have a general major, like biology, rather than choosing a school because they have astrobiology, and then finding that it is consolidated back into biology before you can graduate.
Both my daughter and nephew had this happen at their schools. ( not with astro, but with other specialized majors)
They both stayed at their respective universities, but they also needed to stay an extra term or two, to meet their new goals.</p>
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<p>What kind of graduate school? PhD programs worth attending should be funded.</p>
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<p>Or an unrealistic goal that is technically not a major (e.g. pre-med with a 2.1 GPA in biology, chemistry, physics, and math courses).</p>
<p>The other potential issue is if the new major has many prerequisites, and the student switches to it late enough so that it will extend attendance beyond 8 semesters or 12 quarters to complete all of the requirements. However, note that a few majors, like NAAB-accredited BArch (architecture) programs, are nominally 10 semester or 15 quarter programs, and prospective accountants may be required to take 10 semesters or 15 quarters worth of college course work before the CPA exam in many states.</p>
<p>It depends when they switch. My D switched to CS in sophomore year and only needs 6 more classes to graduate in her 4th year. She did take classes in one summer but they are not required towards her major. I did not mind to help her with the summer tuition. </p>
<p>I don’t care what my kids study, as long as they finish the degree in four years. My daughter’s approach to choosing a major was to skim through the course catalog and circle the courses she thought she’d want to take during her four years there. Doing so helped her figure out what major they added up to. I thought this was a helpful strategy for those who can’t narrow down their choices. It still leaves room for distribution requirements and some fun exploration, but guarantees you’ll have a degree in something if you stick to your plan.</p>
<p>As to switching majors:</p>
<p>As 18-20 year old is faced with a decision (picking a major) that may impact them for next 30/40/50 years, it’s no wonder that they often change majors, and even new careers later in life. I completely get the parental economics that come into play. Fortunately, in our case, S completed college in 4 years. However, S’s post college education has been on his dime (some scholarship/mostly loans). At some point, I do think kids should have some skin in the game. </p>
<p>The key is to get the major-switching out of your system before you’ve reached the point of no return — when you’d have to tack on an extra year because you can no longer use careful sequence planning (including summer semesters and perhaps creative use of CLEP) to stay on pace for a 4-year degree. </p>
<p>I had a friend in college who switched from biology to Italian during her senior year. It took her an extra semester to graduate, no more. And now she’s a lawyer working for the ACLU.</p>
<p>I don’t know that I can “do” anything. I guess I could stop paying for an unapproved major (personally, I think that’s short-sighted and overly punitive). What’s more likely to happen is that at some point I’ll run out of money and then I can’t pay. At that time, the kiddo will have to start borrowing. If my child was interested in CPA or something that just took 5 years (I do live in one of those states), I guess there’d by a little less money per semester and we’d start on the federal loans from the get go. If a kid changed early enough, we could plan, but it might mean a transfer to state u, summer cc classes, or something to make the extra time affordable. If my second semester junior decided to change majors, I might have to say just finish the degree you started, take as many classes in the new field as possible, and figure out the rest on your own dime after graduation. </p>
<p>My oldest switched majors within a month of starting college. It meant a summer course to get into sequence with the new major (better than a 5th year!) but she was able to take the necessary class at a cc. I never did the “I will pay 4 years” opting instead for “I have X amount of money”. It has covered summer classes twice so far.</p>
<p>Oldest has also recently decided that she might actually like to go to med school. She does have the GPA, but she doesn’t have all the right prereqs. As long as she is my dependent, she can take classes at my employer, but I have nothing left to cover living or other expenses. Good thing her degree will land her a pretty good paying job where she can work the night shift and take day classes (part time) to get those med school prereqs done if that’s the route she chooses. </p>
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<p>Presumably, she either had been taking Italian language courses before then, or knew the Italian language already, if the delay was only a semester after that late a change in major.</p>
<p>^^I think that goes without saying. It would be literally impossible for someone to fulfill the requirements for a language major in 1 1/2 years, starting from scratch. </p>