How to Pick a Major??Answered
So I know it's common for students to switch their major a lot when they get to college, and I'm definitely going to make sure that the college I choose will allow me to easily change my major since I'm super indecisive about things. My worry is that since I have such a broad range of interests, I'll pick the wrong major and want to switch it once I start taking a few classes... but I won't be able to because the school I go to doesn't offer the major or anything like it.
For example, one of the schools I'm looking at is MIT, where I would major in something humanities-related (I have good reason for this, okay?). If I decided that I didn't want to major in history anymore and that I wanted to major in psychology instead (not neuroscience), then I wouldn't be able to switch, because MIT doesn't offer a psychology undergraduate degree program.
Or... if I go to somewhere like Carleton and find out that I'm really more of an astrophysicist person. What would I do?
I really want to avoid this problem, but it seems inevitable. How do I pick a major - and therefore a college - that I can stick with for all of college without having to transfer schools?
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2 answers
I actually went through this last year when I was forming my school list so I completely understand, here is what I did. First, find schools that offer at least two majors and some minors you are interested in, which it looks like you have already done. While it may not sound like the most useful you will likely have to give something up. For me I know I want to work in criminal justice and social justice. The school I ended up applying ED to doesn't have either of those majors but they do have neuroscience, psychology, and sociology. I like all those majors and after looking into it if I tried I could definitely find a job in the field I want without a criminal justice degree.
Look at the school as a whole. To me study abroad and foreign language minors are really important. The school I picked in my opinion has the best overall value. It was scary since I also have broad interests but I had to decide what would I regret more. Even though the school I picked had less major options everything else was better for me. Also remember worst case scenario (unless you also apply ED, to be honest I'm not even sure how you can get out of it if you change your mind) is having to transfer college but that is not that bad, not ideal but completely doable. People to that all the time so don't fret if that ever crosses your mind. I hope I was able to help, good luck!
From my experience of life, interesting is the best teacher and motivation. You can refer to the fields you're very interested in to find the majors. Of course, the process might be with some changes.
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