It’s a lot to ask
It’s a lot to ask an 18-year-old to decide their entire future within a few months, and even more, to expect them to get it right the first time. I know for me personally, I didn’t get the major right (on the first few tries), nor did I get the school right. I may forever be known as an indecisive person because of it, but at least I know I tried out my other options and feel safe in what I chose.
The first attempt
My first attempt was trying to be a music performance major specializing in vocal performance (specifically opera and classical music) at a completely different school than I am at right now. I quickly changed majors less than one semester in because I hated music theory. I changed to studio art with a focus in painting, which I stuck to for a year and a half. I recognized almost a full two years into college, that I had a love for fashion that I didn’t want to leave behind. That triggered a transfer to a whole new school, a new fashion major and what turned out to be three new minors to add to the mix.
To be honest, I didn’t hate my old school
I know a lot of transfers really didn’t like their old school for various reasons and felt like transferring was the only option. I, however, actually quite liked my old school; it just didn’t feel like the place I’d do the most growing, especially since they didn’t have a fashion design major. I’m now a fashion merchandising major, meaning I technically never had to transfer at all, but I’m glad I did because I’ve grown so much. I am such a different person than I was at my old school. I really needed the refresh and reset in my life, and transferring gave me that.
I miss my old friends, but if I’m being honest, I never had people I was particularly close to, not like I found at the school I transferred to. I still look back at my sorority sisters’ Instagram posts and wonder what it would have been like if I spent all four years with them instead of just the two I did. I feel like it’s completely reasonable to wonder what other decisions and life paths would have looked like without invalidating the choices you did make. I transferred, and I’m glad I did, but I still look back at my old school and those two years fondly.
Starting over
Starting a new major, especially two years into college, is a lot. Your classmates are all one to two years younger than you, and it feels like you lost all your progress. Changing schools two years in is a whole other thing. People your age have all made their friend groups and it feels like they all have had them for two years at this point (or somehow longer). In reality, it’s not that scary. People lose and gain friendships constantly during school and it feels like there’s a fresh reset at the beginning of each semester, where everyone is willing to make new friends.
Everyone is put in new classes with new people and is equally as excited to make new friends as you are, even if you may be a bit more desperate. It’s hard at first, but I highly recommend going to all the events at the beginning of the year and the beginning of the semester, especially the transfer student events or the events for your major. I made one of my closest friends at the transfer student welcome event at my new school, someone who was equally new to this environment, who was closer in age to me than most of the freshmen.
My biggest tips if you’re in a new environment or starting something over are to be patient with yourself, and please put yourself out there. You will find your people so much easier if you try to put yourself out there and make yourself visible.
should you transfer? should you change your major?
If you’ve been feeling like you need a change, whether it be a change in environment or a change in your major, I highly recommend you look into it, especially as early in the thought process as you can. You’re more likely to be able to transfer or change majors without adding a whole extra year if you catch it in your first year, and you’re pretty safe if you catch it during your first semester. I wasn’t so lucky and only figured out what I wanted halfway through the second semester of my sophomore year, but I’m glad I eventually figured it out.
I recommend talking to your advisor and discussing what might be possible. If you need a bit of change, ask what transferring schools might look like. I’d say it’s more important to get your major right than get your school right, mainly because one lasts forever and impacts the rest of your life more than the other, but both are important in your college experience. I think you internally know what you need; it’s about figuring that out and listening to yourself.
final notes
Thank you so much for reading this article! As a transfer student whose changed their major multiple times, there was a time when I was looking for any articles or media on making those changes, and I’m hoping my article can help anyone looking for the same thing.