For many students, deciding to go to college is easy. Choosing between college majors? Not so easy. The College Board, the organization that creates the annual SAT college admissions exam, details over 600 majors offered in the United States. To make the majors easier to browse, they're organized into 38 categories ranging from the technical to the artistic.
Most colleges and universities require you to choose a major within the first year of attending that school. This is more so because how you choose your major determines the courses you will take over the next couple of years at that college. Some students entering college already have a major in mind. For those who need to find one, here are a few tips on choosing a college major.
Consider income outlook
To some students, their income is the most important factor in determining what career they will pursue. Research what jobs will pay the most by the time you graduate college, then figure out which jobs you would want to pursue based on your research results. If you choose to be a medical doctor, a major within the sciences, such as biology, would be a great start.
Consider your interests
Students sometimes declare a major based on the money outlook of a particular occupation. While this may be important, also consider jobs that are within certain interests you have. If you love writing or reading, majoring in English or literature could lead to a future in professional writing jobs such as journalism, technical writing, or novel writing.
Consider your strengths
For students choosing a major, letting certain subjects you do well in dictate your future may be very helpful. Students good in math sometimes go on to major in math, business, or accounting. You may even have a strength outside of the classroom that can influence your college major and eventual professional career. Those who draw well may pursue a major in art, or even graphic design.
Consider speaking with someone
Colleges and universities always provide counselors and academic advisors to guide you throughout your college years. Their guidance is there to help you choose a major, as well as the classes you would have to take within your major of study.
There are many things you can take into consideration when choosing a college major. Even though there are so many subjects to choose from, following these tips can help you to narrow your choices down to one.
Students don't need to select a major before entering college. In most cases, it isn't necessary to declare one until the end of the sophomore year - especially at a liberal arts college where the first year or two can be filled exclusively with general studies courses.
What happens if a person reaches decision time with an idea of what interests him but with difficulty choosing between two similar majors?
Some students choose to declare a dual major. If the two are very similar in their required courses, this may be the best route. If they are very different - Account and Computer Programming, for example - the extra required courses could cause the student to need an additional year or more to complete his degree.
If one of the majors is more general and the other is specialized, it can be best to declare the general major. This keeps a wider variety of career opportunities open for the student and, since the required courses for both majors may overlap, the more specialized major could be declared later on.
Taking two or three upper level courses required for each of the majors can help a student to decide which one more closely matches her interests.
Once a major is declared, it's not set in stone. Changing majors can be done at the student's discretion simply by notifying the college and possibly filling out a form. Changing majors early, during the freshman or sophomore year, usually doesn't cause any difficulty. If a change is made later, though, it may mean that the student has already taken courses required for a different major.
Choosing between college majors is not always a simple task, but it isn't a decision that any student should rush into. The courses taken and the life experience gained during the first years of college can help to solidify long term goals and make declaring a major easier.
