So many students tell me they have no idea what they want to do with their lives. They feel paralyzed about selecting a major because they think they need to commit to a lifelong career at age 17.
The truth is that students aren't expected to do this. In fact, colleges know that students often change their minds. But the most successful students in the admissions process are ones that focus less on the distant future and more on what they simply want (or think they want) to study—right now. In America, your major doesn't need to dictate the rest of your life.
For students who are unsure about their major choice, I often ask the following questions:
- What subjects or specific classes do you enjoy the most?
- What classes do you take at the highest level?
- And, what subjects come more easily to you?
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I also ask the student about their activities. It is common that one or more activities hint or directly support a specific major. The student who cleaned and renovated a turtle tank at their local aquatic center for their Eagle Scout project might be a future marine biology or environmental science applicant. The student who analyzes their school's basketball team's statistics might be a future math or sports analytics applicant.
Note, though, that I use the word "applicant" not "major" for a reason. Students don't typically declare their major until sophomore year of college. At most colleges, you are not bound to the major you list on the application. However, you are bound to the undergraduate school/program you were admitted to. For example, if you list a major within the liberal arts program at a university, you are bound to that liberal arts program unless you apply and get admitted as an internal transfer to another program, like the business or engineering school at the university. Students change their minds, though. There is inherent flexibility built into American higher education.
That is why some students want to list "undecided" or "undeclared" for their major choice on the application. At the more selective colleges, this strategy can be challenging. Admissions officers read applications with your major choice in mind (whether they admit to this or not!). And, many of these selective colleges ask students to write a supplemental essay about their major choice. Listing "undecided" or "undeclared" can make this essay either hard to write for the student or less compelling to the admissions officer.
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Instead of committing to a profession for the rest of your life, commit to being honest with yourself about what you want (or think you want) to study in college. Pay attention to the cues in your life that point out exactly what your next step should be. Don't predict the future too much. Jobs, positions, and demand will change. You will change too.
The philosophy major can become a CEO of a major corporation. The Classics major can end up becoming a medical doctor. The business major could pivot to become an artist. The computer science major could become a writer or an attorney. America is a place where you dictate your future, not your major choice.
When a student tells me they don't know what they want to be when they grow up, I tell them I don't care. I want to know who they are—right now.
