Last Friday was the deadline for Sophomores to declare their concentrations. It’s a difficult decision for many students, and some end up landing on an area of study completely different from what they expected when they first arrived at Hamilton. Hamilton offers 43 majors, and some of the most popular areas of study are Economics, Math, Government, Psychology, and International Relations (U.S. News and World Report). For those of you still deciding what to major in, here is some advice:
This decision won’t determine your life path: It’s becoming increasingly common for people to switch careers multiple times through their life, and many end up working in fields that don’t align with their undergraduate major. While this may sound frightening, it should be frightening; whatever concentration you choose, you have many opportunities ahead of you. Of course, certain areas of study may be more correlated with high-paying fields, but there’s no guarantee either way, and at a high-ranked school like Hamilton, any degree will help you in the future. That being said…
Consider if you want to apply to specific graduate programs: While the humanities may have more flexibility in terms of studying different fields at the undergraduate and graduate levels, the STEM fields are a little stricter. If you are thinking about going into medicine or engineering, for example, talk to professors and career advisors early to plan your path.
Talk to people: While you shouldn’t give in to pressures of expectations of family, friends, or educators, it can be helpful to ask others questions. Talk to professors to learn how they chose their field, what their academic experience was like, what upper-level classes in their departments will entail, what their research involves. Talk to older students to get the dirt on the best and worst professors in different departments, what their theses are on, what their internships and jobs are like. Talk to alumni to hear about what they did with their degrees, how they found jobs, what they found valuable about their experiences. Maybe you’ll even make a connection that will get you a job or internship down the line.
Study what you love: Yes, it’s part of Hamilton’s motto, but I’m reminding you. Since you’ll have many post-college options no matter what, you might as well enjoy your experience here as much as possible. What intrigues you? What do you enjoy reading, doing, exploring? Take classes in several different departments, even ones you haven’t considered before or that you think you might like but don’t seem like you’d be good at or don’t seem “as good as” more traditional subjects or courses. Once you’ve gotten a taste of some of your different options, choose what you like best — although make sure to spend plenty of time thinking about it!