April 2001
Herald News Teen Board
"Seniors Face Major Decisions"
by Michelle Boik

Some decisions are tough. There are the usual situations such as "paper or plastic" and "waffles or pancakes."

And then there are life-altering decisions such as preparing for college.

Surprisingly, very few college freshmen know what to major in when beginning campus life.

About 25 percent of college freshmen enter as undeclared, according to Issues in Advising the Undecided College Student.

Although some students simply don't declare a major, others have a certain major at the start of college and a different major at the end.

For instance, April Navarro of Crest Hill, a graduate student at University of Illinois in Chicago, wanted to major in psychology, or so she thought. "I ended up changing my major three times. I changed from psychology to history and finally to criminal justice," she said.

Randy M. Miller, chairman of ReadyMinds, a program that counsels college students, said that changing college majors is common. He said 75 percent of students change their major at least once. His Web site is at www.readyminds.com.

College students are seen as young adults, yet choices are still difficult, uncertain, and occasionally spontaneous. "Students change majors due to a continuous cycle of choice. The first choice is often an uninformed one. They experience new things and have exposure to other areas that now interests them," he says.

For the wrong reason

Candace McLaughlin, director of Western Illinois University's Advising and Academic Support Center, has found several reasons why students are unsure about what to major in. She has narrowed it down to four.

1. A student does not have the time or opportunity to think about majors before college.

2. People don't know the variety of unique majors to participate in.

3. Parents can pressure a student into a particular major.

4. Some students are just not ready for such a decision.

"Some students declare a major for the wrong reason. They might take a major because a friend is happy with it, or a major will 'sound good' and will supposedly give them lots of money. A few students are forced to change majors because they are not making satisfactory progress in the major," McLaughlin said.

Jessica Newton of Crest Hill, a senior at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said, "I thought I wanted to major in law, but I wasn't sure yet. I changed my major to art for a year, then to criminal justice and psychology. Psychology was more of an afterthought."

Newton is not the only student who did not know what sure major to take. Bonnie Kwong and Pam Curran of Crest Hill, also seniors at the University of Illinois at Chicago, had at least one major change during college.

"I changed my major too many times to count," Bonnie said.

It may not seem that such a switch can affect a student's life, but in many cases it does.

Hardly half of college graduates follow a conscious career path, according to the Journal of College Student Development, a booklet sent by McLaughlin.

Two-thirds of those who changed majors would seek career advice if able to start over. "

It is not as simple as getting a major, getting a resume, getting a job. There needs to be a plan in place. You have people in their 30s and 40s walking around saying 'I wish I had taken time to truly figure out what I want to do.' As young adults there is an opportunity to do that," Miller said.

Major confusion

A change in majors can also produce a positive affect. Students who transfer classes due to a change in major can use the experience to help them adjust to change later in life.

"For most students the all important transferable skills that students are taught will help them in a wide range of occupations," McLaughlin said.

One of the key factors to confusion with majors is that there are so many available. It is like trying to decide on a treat in a candy store filled with all type of appealing things, but a person can only choose one or two.

Right now the most popular majors include law enforcement, justice administration, education, business, computer science, psychology and communications.

There are some other fields as well such as instructional technology, graphic communications, women's studies, recreation, park and tourism, as well as fashion merchandising.

Help available

With all these choices and decisions a student might want to have some help when declaring a major. Luckily, that is not a problem. There are school counselors to talk to, academic advisers on campus, and private companies such as www.readyminds.com.

Review.com is a Web site that gives a career quiz which states possible career suggestions based on personal interests and character.

Western Illinois University has an advising center to advise students entering undeclared.

Most colleges have some sort of outlet that can help students decide on both a major and eventually a career. Parents and relatives can also encourage students and help a student concentrate on his/her specific talents and abilities.

College is the time to get ready for the future. Once a major is chosen it can direct a student's life, plans and career.

The time to begin considering majors and even a serious career is near the end of high school. Teens have a whole lot of stress on their minds, but getting at least part of their college decision accomplished before starting will direct them towards a brighter (and less stressful) future.

A career/college exploration program given to high school juniors decreases the number of undecided majors to only 50 out of 300 freshmen, according to a study by the Journal of College Student Development, this means from now on high school students might want to add one more thing to their growing list of things to do: what college major to explore. -- Michelle Boik is a student at Plainfield High School who knows what she wants to major in - journalism.