I applied to schools under every major besides science or math. Why? I heard that you had a better chance of getting into some colleges under the guise of “undeclared” or whichever majors they were looking to up their numbers in (ask me about the Arabic and Women Film Studies major I thought I would apply under). However, I knew early on, in high school, that I wanted to major in English. I didn’t realize how rare that was.
So many people come into college knowing nothing about what they want to study or even do upon graduation. This is fine! Fear not, I have some tips for figuring it all out.
1. Think about what you like to do.
I have always loved writing stories and there are never enough books on my shelf. It was pretty easy for me to figure out what I loved. The same can be said for you! Do you like painting? Do you feel best when you figure out the answer to a problem? Do you prefer working with your hands or prefer lots of thinking and writing? Think about the kinds of things in your life that bring you joy and give you energy rather than drain you. Then, try to figure out what you can do with those passions.
2. Try new things.
The best part about the CORE curriculum is that you’re forced to take classes out of your comfort zone. Junior Annie Ferraro loves the CORE for this reason, saying, “I came into college as a biology major and found that the chem classes were not for me. So I took a comm class and a sociology class to get CORE credits and ended up loving them.” Let the CORE work for you, don’t think of it as a necessary evil. Try something that sounds terrifying but excites you. Worst come to worst, it’s only 10 weeks out of your life.
3. Be open.
Maybe you’re pretty sure you know what you want to do, but aren’t completely sure. Be open to the idea that it can change. This is college and you, yourself, are changing and so are your passions, interests, and goals. Don’t fight it if you came in wanting to be a mechanical engineer but then figure out that painting is your real dream.
4. Use past experiences.
Did you have a summer job working with kids that you loved? Maybe try looking into courses in child psychology or teaching. Freshman Kira Palazzo turned her experience into her passion. “Growing up, I had a lot of medical issues which led me to spend a lot of time in the doctor’s office and I always thought that I could do that, I could become a doctor.” Now, Kira is majoring in bioengineering pre-med in order to learn more about prosthetics and their applications and how she can better help her patients.
5. Don’t stress.
Yes, you do have to figure it out, but a lot of majors aren’t the end-all-be-all of college. English majors can go on to become lawyers, teachers, and writers. Sociology majors can go into fields like human resources, television production, and public relations. STEM majors may experience a little less flexibility, however, there are still many fields to choose from once you figure out specifically what you would want to do.
Hopefully some of your stress was relieved, but if you just cannot decide – double major or add minors!