There was some talk on #collegebound chat recently about college majors and how important they are to your chosen career path. While many students know what they want to major in from day one, a greater number haven’t a clue. My opinion–that’s what college is all about–finding your passion and trying out varied interests.

Here’s some excellent advice along this vein:

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Question: Do I have to choose my major before leaving for school or can that wait until I get settled in? I have too much to think about right now!

Answer: Of all the things weighing on you this summer, choosing a major can be crossed off the list. Many, many students enter college with no idea of what they want to study. This is largely the reason for many schools’ general education requirements, which allow you to study a bunch of things before picking what piques your interest the most. (You can often get away with dragging your feet to declare a major until the end of freshman or even the beginning of sophomore year.) If you don’t know what you want to major in, take some intro classes your first semester and knock out some of your general requirements. Then, once you choose something, take more classes in that area.

If you have already chosen a major, great! Take a class or two in your field, then use the rest of your credit hours for electives and requirements. It’s important to remember that as a freshman, you might not get all the classes you want, so have backups and realize that there’s always next semester.

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This Q&A is from Liz Cruger of  The Real College Guide. It is made available to Parents Countdown to College Coach through a partnership with The Real College Guide.