5 tips for choosing a major

Whenever you meet someone new in college, "What's your major?" is one of the first questions you will be asked. This happens because your major will be your academic focus area and part of your identity as a first generation and low income college student... and people are just plain curious about it.

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If you aren't sure what your major should be or are thinking about changing it, you're not alone. The average college student changes majors around 5 times, whether officially or just in their mind. Here are 5 tips if you are considering exploring majors:

1. Think ahead. Think about what kind of career(s) you are interested in and find out what kinds of majors help prepare you for that career(s). Some jobs don’t require a specific major and others do, so this might be a factor in what major you choose. If you're not sure what career(s) peak your interest, visit your campus' career center.

2. Read all about it. Check out the general catalog for your school to find out what different majors require and read the course descriptions for the required classes. If the majority of required classes sound interesting, it may be the major for you.

3. Shop around. Take classes that sound interesting to you, but make sure that you talk to an on-campus advisor first so that you are in an appropriate class.

4. Put a smile on your face. Think about what makes you happy and what you're good at. These might be good cues as to what a good match for you is.

5. Do some research. Double check with an advisor at your campus about the rules, procedures, and restrictions of declaring or changing your major.

After you've taken these steps, you may have found the right major when you can answer the question “Why is that your major?” without the answer involving making boatloads of money, other people’s expectations, or plain ol’ “I don’t know."

Got more specific needs? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.