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The major maze
Cindy Crawford majored in chemical engineering. Michael Jordan studied geography, Martha Stewart was into architectural history, and Garth Brooks majored in advertising.
Moral of story: Don’t stress too much about picking your major, because you can pursue something totally different after graduation.
And relax—you don’t have to choose a major right away.
“If you can set a goal to choose a major by the end of your sophomore year, that’s both realistic and wise,” says Peter Vogt, president of Career Planning Resources and a career coach for MonsterTRAK.com.
I know, I know. That wisdom doesn’t help you now, when your dreams are haunted by that one little line on your college application that asks: Major?
But before you shake with anxiety from now until graduation, read our expert advice. Though we can’t tell you what major will guarantee you a stellar job and a lifetime of working bliss, we can help you decide.
How to get started
Robert Franek, editorial director for The Princeton Review, gives his advice for how to decide on a major: “Mooch off anybody’s experience.”
Ask your cousin, your friends (heck, even
your cousin’s friends) about their majors.
What classes did they take? What skills did they learn? Did they find those skills marketable when looking for a post-graduation job? Don’t be swayed too much by your moles’ opinions, but do listen to what they have to say. Then, ask yourself the tough questions:
Do you want a small school? Big school?
Medium-sized institution?
How important are the school’s history and traditions?
Is the school religiously affiliated?
When will you have to declare a major?
What kinds of courses are required?
Are you OK with coed dorms?
What is there to do on weekends?
Will students be at games, parties, at political demonstrations or in the library?
How important is Greek life on campus?
Will you have to rush if you want a
social life?
“Those benchmark things are going to guide where they’re going to look for the right college,” Franek says. And what type of college you choose can guide you into your future career. Are you considering a broad liberal-arts curriculum? A highly specialized field? Look at the number of students in each major program at school. What are the most popular? The most competitive?
Once you’ve scoured college Web sites and have found a couple schools that match your basic criteria, visit the schools to mooch even more. Ask your tour guide, professors, the student cafeteria workers about the school’s strongest programs.
How to know when to declare
Your brother was whipping up wedding cakes at age 7. Your best bud transformed her lemonade stand into a bottled-beverage business at 10. You, on the other hand, are a delayed child prodigy still looking for an interest to follow in college. When should you declare a major if you’re not totally sure what path to follow?
Are you really unsure?
Then apply as an undeclared major. Make your first-semester schedule cover a variety of topics. When major shopping, consider the professors available, the school’s support systems and the types of jobs available, too. Look at the course catalog to get a feel for post-intro classes. Do most of the major’s requirements intrigue you?
“My opinion is that you should never declare a major you’re not 100 percent sure you want to follow,” Franek says. “Don’t feel you should pigeonhole yourself in the beginning of the process to have an answer for your family. They should understand that they don’t have to declare right away.”
One way to try out a potential major is to take classes at a community college before enrolling in a four-year school. There, you’ll get to test the waters affordably.
Are you kinda unsure?
Consider the competitiveness of majors at your school. Is it necessary for you to reserve your spot in the biology program as soon as possible? Then declare the major upon application. Is space in the marine biology department less restricted? Then you can probably wait to declare it as your major. The good thing about declaring a major when you’re only semi-certain is that you’ll get a head start on required classes if you do decide it’s for you. The bad thing is that, if you wait until your junior year to realize you’d rather teach violin than physics, your graduation date might be delayed.
“It’d be difficult—not impossible—but
very difficult to change tracks dramatically,” Franek says.
Are you sure?
If you’re certain about what major you’d like to pursue, declare away! But be open to changes, too. “I think a lot of students…feel obliged to declare a major very quickly and not deviate from that,” Franek says. “It’s good to be honest with yourself.”
If your priorities or interests change, be willing to consider alternate paths.
How to get a job
Looking for a major that will guarantee you a job? Nice try—there isn’t one particular major that’ll guarantee you a career. (Your employability, after all, is up to you.)
No matter your major, you’ll be required to take general education classes. Those are your basic English, biology and history courses that will make you a well-rounded guy or gal. And those are the classes that will help even the most clueless major-pickers get jobs.
For example, if after graduating with a bachelor’s in animal behavior, you decide to be a writer instead, marry your expertise and general skills to produce a niche career. Become a reporter for an animal-enthusiast magazine, write ad campaigns for animal-rights lobbyists or write the newsletter for an animal hospital.
How to relax
“Colleges emphasize majors—and college students stress about majors!—much more than the rest of the world does,” says Vogt. Even if you find yourself majorless at school, you still have options. “So many of us, myself included, are working in careers we had never even remotely considered when we were young,” he says. “Instead, we were exposed to these careers at some point, somehow, and we found that we enjoyed them. So if, as a new college student, you do some ‘purposeful exploring’ of different majors and careers, you’ll more than likely discover something you really, truly love.” Article provided by 
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