To expect a 17-year-old to know what they want to do with the rest of their life seems at best ambitious and at worst stress-provoking for a young person who is still figuring out who they are. But it's often the first question we ask a high school junior or senior, in an effort to show interest and be friendly, right after asking them where they are applying to college. How important is it to have their career and college major worked out at this stage in life? Considering that about 30% of students change their major in college, and the average adult changes career 5 - 7 times, certainly a teen shouldn't be expected to have it all figured out.
Still, while colleges don't typically require students to declare a major until the end of the sophomore year, there are some benefits to identifying intended major during the application process.
Knowing their major will allow college applicants to search for colleges that not only offer it, but have a strong program with opportunities that appeal to the student. They can compare program features across schools to find the best fit for them.
There is a growing trend of direct admissions into the most competitive programs, such as Engineering, Computer Science, Business and Nursing. At schools ranking in the top echelon for these majors, they often require or strongly recommend applying directly to the major, with reduced opportunity to transfer into it after admission.
Some colleges require a "Why Major?" essay as part of their application, where the student discusses why they want to attend that school for their intended major. Students who are undecided are allowed to be very general in response to this, but it can make answering the prompt more challenging. The option of discussing their passion for the field of study and how they have built their academic and extracurricular record around it can help a student stand out.
Some schools offer departmental scholarships students can take advantage of during admissions, or the school may offer Living Learning Communities by major.
For some majors, there are specific general education classes required by the department that college freshmen can take advantage of.
So What are the Benefits to Waiting to Declare?
If a student needs to improve their academic record before applying to a particularly competitive program, applying Undecided (or Arts and Sciences), taking the general education requirements for that major and doing well will increase their chances for admission to the program.
Applying Undecided allows a student to explore their interests and strengths with whatever classes they choose, unencumbered by major requirements.
Choosing a major too early, before the student understands the job prospects and career routes can cause a student to go down the wrong path. Waiting until they are more sure avoids this possibility.
High schoolers are encouraged to explore their interests, but they should also live in the moment, enjoy being where they are now, without undue pressure to focus on the future. Every experience they have will add to their toolbox of knowledge and understanding of themselves, and every individual is on their own timeline of discovery. While there may be some logistical benefits to early identification of college major, research shows that 20-50% of students apply Undecided, and there is no data to suggest students who do so are less successful in completing their education in a timely manner. In fact, it could be argued that the student who takes their time to decide is less likely to risk losing ground through the process of changing major.
College Board's Big Future offers these suggestions for Learning What You Love in High School.
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