I came into college without declaring a major mostly because I am an indecisive person. I also truly enjoyed every subject in high school. This made the whole choosing a major process impossible for me. Therefore, going undeclared was a no-brainer. Now I am very thankful I made the decision not to decide.
Being undeclared opens a lot of opportunities. I am able to take a wider variety of classes because I am not tied down to certain sections to fulfill major requirements. Although going to a liberal arts school like Saint Vincent College requires everyone to take an assortment of core classes, being undeclared allows for even more academic exploration.
When you take so many different classes you get to know a lot of faculty members. I personally believe that getting to know your professors is a key to success. When you are undeclared, you usually do not know which professors are going to be most pertinent to your future career, so you try to develop academic relationships with all of them. This often makes classes more enjoyable, or at least endurable.
Undeclared students are encouraged to take advantage of the Career Center early into their college career to aid them in choosing a major. I recently made an appointment and I got to learn a lot about myself. Your personality type is analyzed fairly in depth, and it is interesting to learn what fields people with similar characteristics to you make careers in. They also give you many resources to explore both major and career options, and more tests to provide insight into what majors may best suit you.
However, it does not always feel great to be undeclared. Sometimes I feel like I should know what major to choose right now. This mostly stems from internalized pressure I put on myself. I remind myself that that is not true, especially because I attend a liberal arts school where everyone is required to take many general credits. SVC is also very supportive of undeclared students like myself. I have not once felt like it appeared I did not have everything together because I do not have a major yet, or that I had to pick a major or else I would fall behind. In reality, neither of those things are accurate.
Deciding on a major can be stressful. However, entering school undeclared is a good option when you are struggling to find your path. There is nothing wrong with not knowing what direction you want to go in right away. I could not be happier with my decision not to decide – yet, and I encourage others feeling similarly to consider going the undeclared route.