Choosing a Major for College - How to Choose Your College Major

You haven’t even finished high school yet and already you’re being asked by everyone what you’re going to major in when you go to college. Maybe you’ve picked something out of the blue to tell people or maybe you just say, “I don’t know” when you’re asked this question but either way, in the back of your mind, you’re a little bit stressed about knowing that you need to choose a major. You feel like you’re planning out the rest of your life by making that decision and you just aren’t sure that you’re ready to do that.

Calm down. Choosing a major is an important part of your college education but it isn’t the be all and end all of what you’re going to be doing with your life. You can choose a major and then change your mind later if it’s not the right one for you. Or you can have an undeclared major during the first year or two of college while you take some general education courses to help you better determine what you’re going to want to do for a career. College is a time of exploration; choosing a major and taking the courses for that major are only small parts of the entire college experience.

Choosing a major simply means that you have decided the general course of study that you would like to pursue in college. It helps to dictate which courses you should take to learn more about the topic that you think you want to get a degree in. But if you start to take those courses and find out that you really don’t feel right in them, you can always change your major later and pursue other courses of study. Learning what you don’t like is as important as learning what you do, so you shouldn’t be afraid to pursue a major and change your mind about it.

That said; how should you choose a major anyway? First, you should make two lists. One is of those things which you think would be fun to study. The other is of those careers that you might like to have one day. Brainstorm as much as possible for each of these lists. Then, compare the two and find the things which show up on both lists. For example, you might think it would be fun to study astronomy but you don’t have anything on your potential careers list which goes with that. On the other hand, you might think it would be fun to study acting and you might also have “stage director” on your hopeful-careers list so you would put some form of drama on the final list to be considered for choosing your major.

Once you’ve got a basic list of majors that might interest you, you should research them further in terms of what requirements they have. Different schools offer different specific majors so you might be looking to get a degree in stage management only to find that what your school offers is a general major in the dramatic arts. Find out if what your school has matches what you want for choosing a major. Then, look at the required classes before you choose your major so you can see if they interest you. If not, you may consider choosing another major or looking into other schools to better narrow down your educational path.

If your list of majors is still long and you aren’t sure what to do with it, consider speaking with an academic advisor. He or she can help you to identify what you really want. Ask the people in your life for their opinions as well – although be prepared to take them with a grain of salt since everyone will have an opinion and your choice is ultimately up to you. Read up on different professions and speak with people working in the fields that interest you to help you decide which career choices might make sense for you. And then dive in. Declare a major and be open to seeing where it will take you.

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