<p>My son had a pretty good idea what he wanted to major in (and he ended up majoring in it and adding a minor) but a lot of kids don’t. That is why, imo, it is important that in the first few semesters, before one has to declare a major, to take a variety of courses in different subjects to figure out what interests you. It’s not difficult to do when you have gen ed requirement to fulfill. </p>
<p>What I did not want my kid to do was go to college to earn a pre-professional degree, as I believe that graduate school is the time to specialize, not undergraduate. JMO. </p>
<p>If my son had switched major I don’t think there would be anything I could do. I would probably just say, “ok.” </p>
<p>The thing is that a lot of college students now go in with AP credit so even if they do switch majors they have a built in credit “cushion”. So unless they wait until junior or senior year they should be able to graduate in 4 years.</p>
<p>I switched from physics/5 year engineering major to math/econ junior year. I took few econ courses freshman and sophomore year, and that’s how I found out I liked econ better than physics. I also had enough math courses to be a math major. It was very easy for me to fulfill both of those majors’ requirements. I figured all of that out by myself. My parents didn’t really cared as long as I graduated in 4 years. I feel the same about my kids’ majors. By the time they are in college they should be able to figure out what major(s) they want and how they could do it in 4 years.</p>
<p>The funding question is entirely different from the issue of major-switching. Tell your kid that you will pay for 4 years of college and no more, and that if the kid makes choices that will extend the time to complete college, then it will be the kid’s responsibiity to figure out how to fund the balance.</p>
<p>If your kid wanted to be an engineer, architect, or accountant, would you have paid for an unfunded master’s degree in the subject after forbidding the kid from studying such a subject at the bachelor’s degree level?</p>
<p>Also note that many students choose specific liberal arts majors for pre-professional reasons (not always on correct assumptions, though):</p>
<ul>
<li>Political science: common pre-law major</li>
<li>English: common pre-law major</li>
<li>Biology: common pre-med major</li>
<li>Economics: substitute for majoring in business</li>
<li>Math or statistics: preparation for actuarial or finance jobs</li>
<li>Computer science: preparation for computer software jobs</li>
<li>Visual or performing arts: preparation for jobs in visual or performing arts</li>
<li>Any major: preparation for PhD study for academic or research jobs</li>
</ul>
<p>My older son started as a chemistry/econ major. He switched out of chemistry for political science, because he did not enjoy the attitude that a professor had to his students. He is currently in law school. He admits that he misses doing math (he loved the subject as a kid), so he may take a law class next semester that has a lot of math. Got a feeling that it will be a class with relatively small numbers.</p>
<p>Thirty odd years ago, I switched from American Studies to history. I just loved one particular professor and took all his classes. I never used my degree, but I still love history.</p>
<p>“If your kid wanted to be an engineer, architect, or accountant, would you have paid for an unfunded master’s degree in the subject after forbidding the kid from studying such a subject at the bachelor’s degree level?”</p>
<p>Where did I say he forbid him? </p>
<p>That being said, we discussed from a fairly young age our philosophy about higher education (as I am sure other parents discuss theirs with their children) and he never considered anything other than a liberal arts education. I 'm fairly certain that if he chose another path we would have supported his decision, despite what we believe. </p>
<p>“Also note that many students choose specific liberal arts majors for pre-professional reasons (not always on correct assumptions, though):”</p>
<p>While many, many students choose specific liberal arts majors for per-professional reasons - those majors are usually (though not always) in the College of Arts & Sciences and thus the gen ed requirements have a wider breath of subjects a student must fulfill to graduate versus undergrads who are enrolled in the School of Business, College of Eng, Architecture, for example. Also, one can pursue those fields in graduate school - which, IMO, is what graduate school is for - to specialize. </p>
<p>We are prepared to help pay for graduate school if/when the time comes. But we also would like him to work a few years so he gets a bit more clarity on what he wants to go to graduate school for. </p>
<p>Other people have a different philosophy than my H & I do and that is fine, too. </p>
<p>My mom was a social worker and my dad was a teacher and they told all of us that they did not want us to go to college for either of those degrees. Not because of the pay but because of all the BS they had to put up with over the years… </p>
<p>While we haven’t forbidden any majors we have told our kids that they need to choose a major in which they can support themselves because they can’t live with us forever. </p>
<p>Is it necessarily true that the general education requirements are broader for arts and sciences majors than for business, engineering, or architecture majors?</p>
<p>For example, schools like MIT and the California State Universities have a common set of general education requirements for all majors. Brown has a general education requirement for ABET-accredited engineering majors, but not other majors.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Choosing a major as an undergraduate is specialization.</p>
<p>I would just point out that there are many college majors to which high schools are not exposed much, if at all. So, in my mind, it would be silly to expect all high school graduates to have a clear and unchangeable idea of their college major.</p>
<p>It is your 17 year old that fills out college applications and perhaps “declares” a major. It stands to reason that at age 17 (filling out applications) or at age 18 (freshman year of college) it is typical AND normal and should be acceptable for them to discover new things - new likes or dislikes - and change their major. </p>
<p>That said, so far our family is 2 for 2 in terms of children majoring and sticking to that major. #3 yet to be determined. </p>
<p>“For example, schools like MIT and the California State Universities have a common set of general education requirements for all majors. Brown has a general education requirement for ABET-accredited engineering majors, but not other majors.”</p>
<p>^That’s nice, but it is still not the type of undergrad education I wanted for my kid. </p>
<p>While there are gen ed requirements students in most colleges other than A&S are required to take, it is generally not nearly as many compared to what is required in a college of A&S. Now that may be enough, or even too many, gen ed requirements for those parents who don’t care as much about their kid getting a liberal arts education as I do. </p>
<p>“Choosing a major as an undergraduate is specialization.”</p>
<p>IMO, there is a big difference between going to college to become a chemical engineer or an accountant and majoring in Rhetoric or the Dead Languages. But, that is just me. You obviously believe differently. That is fine with me, too </p>
<p>Or a kid hoping for support in switching majors and needing extra semesters-- and not satisfied with all our protests about paying for more. Plus, it’s only been a day and a half- ha, not everyone checks in so much. As usual, we made our own discussion. </p>
<p>I am not going to go google every university but just as an example, U of CA system. </p>
<p>"General education & IGETC</p>
<p>General education requirements are designed to give UC undergraduates a broad background in all major academic disciplines — natural sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, humanities and fine arts. The general education requirement — often called the breadth requirement — lists the specific courses they must take or number of credit hours they must earn in each discipline.</p>
<p>Requirements vary.</p>
<p>Each school and college at every UC campus has its own general education requirement. With careful planning, students can meet many of the lower-division requirements before they transfer. Students at a California community college also have the option of completing the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) to satisfy the lower-division general education requirements at any UC campus."</p>
<p>I cannot imagine that the University of California system is the only one who has different gen ed requirements for each school. </p>
<p>But regardless - you have your opinion and I have mine. I don’t have any problem with someone thinking it’s a great idea for their student to enroll in a specialized degree program and I don’t see why anyone would care if someone else doesn’t think it’s a great idea. </p>
<p>Are people so insecure that they have to denigrate another’s reasons for making a choice simply because they don’t share the same opinion? </p>
<p>Emilybee, we have a similar philosophy. If our child had a genuine early interest in a strongly vocational undergraduate major, we would not have objected, but we did not require this as a condition of attending college. I also believe that undergraduate education is, well, for becoming educated. Graduate school is for career specialization. I also realize that my attitude is contingent upon the fact that my child does not have to go into debt to pay for undergraduate.</p>
<p>That does not mean that general education requirements are necessarily less for pre-professional majors than for arts and sciences majors, as you seem to be assuming. For example, among the UCs:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Berkeley: business, environmental design, and natural resources have essentially the same general education requirements as letters and science (except that business majors may not use their major courses for to fulfill any of the categories). Engineering has one fewer H/SS course, but has an upper division H/SS requirement not present in the previously named divisions (and, of course, has more math and science requirements). The chemistry division has what are probably the fewest H/SS requirements (though it has lots of math and science requirements); it has two liberal arts majors (chemistry and chemical biology) and one pre-professional major (chemical engineering).</p></li>
<li><p>San Diego: breadth requirements do not depend on major; they depend on the residential college (students of any major may be in any of the residential colleges).</p></li>
<li><p>Santa Cruz: extensive campus-wide breadth requirements for all majors. Additional breadth requirements vary by residential college.</p></li>
</ul>
</p>