It’s seems unreasonable for us to think that our college-bound teens should know what they want to study in college. They haven’t had many career-related experiences other than part-time jobs while in high school or during summers and breaks. Knowing this, should we assume that our college-bound teens should be able to choose a major when they enter college?

Let’s consider some key points about college majors:

A major is a huge part of your student’s identity.

It expresses how your student defines himself and how others define him. While it’s not required, in most cases, that he declare a major right away, it’s going to happen eventually. The classes he takes will focus on topics in that chosen field of study. You can delay the choice, but at some point, it will have to be made. 

Some students are focused and know which path they want to take.

Many students have determined their major since childhood. It may sound impossible, but it actually happens. They have known since they entered high school what career they wanted to pursue and they have planned their future up to college graduation and employment. For them, the decision is simple.

There are so many majors to choose from.

It may not be as complicated as your think. Examine your student’s interests and begin determining which careers appeal to them. If your student can’t widdle down their choices, pick from ones that are similar and will make it easy to switch majors if one of them interests them more than the other.

The basics come first: experiment with electives.

For all college students, the basics come first. This gives the student the opportunity to supplement the basics with different courses and electives and determine their interests. Often these electives will guide your student in the direction or career they would be most interested in pursuing.

If a college requires you to declare a major, pick one that interests you.

Your college student isn’t locked in to their decision. Students switch majors all the time. The key is to switch early, usually in sophomore year, to avoid the added cost that comes along with adding additional courses to the degree plan. 

Many students enter college declaring “undecided” as their major.

Deciding what to study is a tough decision but it shouldn’t make your student lose sleep over it. Majors don’t dictate future careers, like some might think. Many students find themselves in an unrelated career path after graduation and are perfectly happy. Others get graduate degrees in a concentration that interests them, often completely unrelated to their undergraduate degree.

Choosing a major can be a very stressful decision for students. But it’s not the be all and end all of college choices. It’s common to enter college without one and it’s also common that students often switch after they determine their interests.