Should students choose their major before entering college?

Less than 40% of Americans pursue college educations. As our society becomes ever more complex and dependent upon technology, the need for university-educated citizens increases. Whether it be IT professionals, healthcare workers or educators, our need for college graduates is expanding. There are many majors from which to choose when students begin their college careers. However, students should not choose their majors before entering college because many of them lack the knowledge necessary to make the wisest choices, have interests that may change in the future, and are unsure of what their goals are.

Upon first entering college, many students have considered little about what careers they might pursue. Although high schools offer electives that can put students on specific career paths, many students will find these classes too brief to develop an understanding complete enough to wisely choose a career to pursue. Because of this, students have a much too narrow view of different career paths to be able to judge what path to choose. If students choose career paths with little to no knowledge of what they want to do, there is a very good likelihood that they will change their majors and even end up taking five years to graduate. If students pick their career paths later on in college, after having taken a number of core courses, they will have a much broader perspective of different job opportunities and will be better able to determine the best course of action. Therefore, students should think twice about choosing majors before entering college.

Another problem students may face if they select majors before entering college is the possibility of a change in interest. Many college students come to better understand different majors and career opportunities during the first two years of college. College freshmen and sophomores take a wide range of core courses in which they are introduced to a diversity of disciplines and fields of study. It is usually during these first two years that students who have chosen a major find that they are actually more interested in another discipline.  After the first two years of college, many students choose to pursue a path other than what they had originally intended. Although it is possible to change majors, choosing a major before entering college and changing majors can result in another year of college because of different required core classes. The extra costs involved in taking an extra year of college because one changed a major could be financially painful. Instead, if students do not choose majors before college, but take a variety of college classes to find out what they are interested in before selecting a major, they have a better chance of choosing a major that they really enjoy, while avoiding the extra cost of a fifth year of college..

In addition to possible changes of interest, students should not select their majors before entering college because many are unsure of their goals. Most students who come out of high school are exhausted from four years of nonstop studying. Because working and studying have been the primary tasks for four years, many high schoolers have given little thought to future careers. The choice of what to do in life, requires that students have the experiences and time to make their determinations. Oftentimes, these experiences are provided in college as students take core courses and have time to reflect on what exactly they want to do. Choosing a major before college precludes this time to think and learn, so that students. Therefore, students should not declare majors before college because they lack the knowledge and time needed to best determine their goals.

The lack of higher education amongst adults continues to be a problem even today. This comes as problems facing society become more complicated and challenging to overcome. Without people with different skill sets, these problems will be more difficult to solve. This is why going to university to pursue a specific skill is so important. Learning to do a type of work willingly and tirelessly will help us overcome these seemingly overwhelming challenges in order to advance society in a positive direction, but if an unfit major is picked, a student may never reach this point where she will help society. For this reason, picking the correct major for oneself is something that must be considered carefully with time to think.

Most high school graduates only have vague ideas about what college life and majors will entail. Many who think they know what they want to major in, change their minds. For those high schoolers who go off to college with an undeclared major, most of them find their ways as they progress through freshman and sophomore years. It is important that college students choose majors that they are passionate about so that they can pursue careers in their chosen fields. Doing so will make for a happier workforce and will better benefit society. It is for these reasons that students should think twice about feeling impelled to choose a major before they enter college. Most will find the right paths to choose along the way and they will be more satisfied and will make greater contributions to society as a result.