To Major or Not to Major

To Major or Not to Major

Who of us has not asked a college student what they are majoring in? That question and college go together like ketchup and fries! Ever consider the pressure students feel who don’t have an answer? Believe it or not, a large percentage of incoming freshmen and first year students don’t know. There are all kinds of statistics to prove it. Like, 1/3 of incoming freshmen are undecided about their major and 80% of them that choose majors aren’t really sure they’ve chosen the right one (http://www.uwosh.edu). (https://www.Dus.psu.edu) says 20-50% of students are undecided and an estimated 75% change majors at least once. Nationally, the average student changes majors three times.
As a former collegiate Academic Advisor, I worked with hundreds of clueless students. As freshmen, I tried to assure most of them that not knowing was not the end of their world! The others, if through a process of exploration I found out they were interested in science, technology, engineering and/or math (STEM), I would encourage them to do research and personal assessment with a career counselor to make a decision sooner than later because of the way those curriculums are set up.
I’ve always felt that developmentally, 18 year olds knowing what they want to do for most of their adult lives is fairly unrealistic. College however has set up an environment where it requires the developmentally immature to make decisions that will affect them for years to come. In college, 18 is an adult, while most everywhere else…not so much! In the meantime, students switch majors like speed dating costing their parents additional money. What do you think? Please comment and share your opinions.