Choosing Your Path: A Bachelor's Degree Student Guide to Selecting a Major

Choosing a college major is a pivotal decision, one that can shape your academic journey and future career. This guide is designed to provide you with the information and resources necessary to navigate this important process. We will explore key factors to consider, address common questions, and offer advice to help you choose a major that aligns with your interests, strengths, and goals.

Key Considerations Before Declaring a Major

Selecting a major is a significant step in your college career, and it's crucial to approach it thoughtfully. Before you commit, consider the program cost, your salary expectations, and the employment rates in that field of study. In addition, you should think about your personality, your academic and professional goals, and your interests. Remember, choosing a major involves aligning your interests, strengths, career goals, and earning potential with available programs.

1. Prioritizing Factors: Economic Advantage, Interest Level, and Ability

Some students prioritize salary potential and job demand when choosing a major, while others focus on their passions and skills. Before making a decision, consider which of these factors-economic advantage, interest level, and ability-are most important to you and your goals.

2. Exploring Your Interests

Studies show that students perform better when they focus on their interests. If you're unsure about your interests, consider taking a personality quiz, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. This assessment can help you identify subjects that align with your personality and interests by evaluating your habits and attitudes to generate one of 16 personality types.

Norma Feriz-Gordon, a college planning counselor, suggests that a liberal arts degree might be a good starting point if you are unsure about your major. You can also explore potential areas of study and career paths by joining student clubs, volunteering, working a part-time job on campus, managing a side hustle, or completing an internship.

3. Identifying Your Strengths

Understanding your natural skills and talents can help you make an informed and confident decision. Don't feel pressured to follow someone else's dream for you. Instead, take a close look at your high school grades and your ACT or SAT scores to highlight your strengths in specific academic areas.

4. Evaluating Earning Potential

Consider how important salary and salary potential are to you. If you're motivated by high earnings, a STEM-related field may be appealing. However, some students prioritize the importance of their work over salary. Popular non-STEM majors include human services, education, and visual or performing arts.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a regularly updated list of positions offering the highest salaries. Psychiatrists and other healthcare professionals like oral and maxillofacial surgeons, obstetricians and gynecologists, and general internal medicine physicians often rank high on this list. Outside of healthcare, high-paying positions include chief executive, physicist, computer and information systems manager, and architectural and engineering manager.

5. Assessing Course Rigor

Some majors may feel more challenging due to heavy homework loads, course expectations, and the frequency of exams. Classes in your major will make up a significant portion of your college course load. Before you declare a major, make sure you understand how rigorous your weekly workload will be.

6. Consulting Your Academic Advisor

Checking in with your academic advisor is an important step. Your advisor has likely had similar conversations with hundreds of students and can provide insight into picking a major. They may even propose a major you hadn’t previously considered that meets your academic and career goals. Advisors, personality assessments, and career research tools can guide your choice or help you design your own major.

Expanding Your Options: Double Majors and Designing Your Own Major

Undergraduates aren’t necessarily limited to one field of study. Most colleges and universities allow you to double major or even triple major. Typically, students who double major choose two academic fields that complement each other, though you’re not required to do this. Examples of complementary double majors include:

Accounting and finance
Engineering and math
Political science and philosophy
Criminal justice and psychology

Recognizing that many learners have specific interests and career aspirations, many colleges now allow you to design your own interdisciplinary major. If you’re considering this path, be sure to carefully review existing majors to ensure no existing option meets your needs. Next, consider whether your proposed individual major meets current and future career requirements. Lastly, speak with your advisor to get their advice on important classes to include in your curriculum. You can also speak to other students who’ve created their own majors to learn about the pros and cons of this decision. Some examples of student-created majors include music and technology, public education history, and psychology of marketing.

Addressing Common Questions About Choosing a Major

Choosing a major can be tricky, especially if you have multiple passions or don’t know what kind of career you want. Before you commit to a major, you should consider several factors, including the program cost, your salary expectations, and the employment rates in that field of study. In addition, you should think about your personality, your academic and professional goals, and your interests.

When Do You Have to Declare a Major?

When you have to declare a major depends on the college. In general, most schools require you to declare a major by the end of your sophomore year. Some students may start college with a declared major or undecided. Individual departments may also set their own rules, so it’s critical you ask ahead of time about deadlines for choosing a major.

Can You Change Your Major?

Even if you pick a major, you can always change it later. Just note that the later you change your major, the more time you may need to spend in college in order to meet your new major’s credit requirements.

Read also: Exploring Arts at Guelph

What If You Can’t Decide on a Major?

If you can’t decide on a major, you have several options. For example, you might decide to take a few classes from different disciplines to help narrow your choices and see which subjects appeal to you the most and which you perform best in. You can also meet with your academic advisor to review the pros and cons of the various majors you’re considering. They can offer advice for figuring out which major(s) may work well for you based on factors like your level of interest, your class grades, and your career goals.

Note that if you complete a lot of classes related to one major and then later decide to switch to another, you may need to stay in school longer than the typical four years in order to meet your new major’s credit requirements. This can add significant costs to your degree.

Do Colleges Expect You to Know Your Major When Applying?

No. Generally speaking, colleges want students to think carefully about their decisions and not rush into any major if they’re unsure. Admissions committees understand that choosing a major is a big decision, especially for applicants who are still in high school.

That said, some universities may require you to apply for a particular major so you can gain admission to the relevant school or department. This is usually the case with more professional majors like nursing and business.

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