Undecided About Your Major? Here's What To Do

Being undecided isn't a weakness

Let's get this out of the way: not knowing what to major in at 18 is completely reasonable. You've spent most of your life having other people tell you what to study. Now you're supposed to just... know? Come on.

The students who march into college absolutely certain they're going to be neurosurgeons aren't necessarily smarter than you. They just haven't had the experience yet that makes them question their assumptions.

The stakes (and why they're not as high as they feel)

Changing your major typically adds a semester to your timeline. That's real money - anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000 depending on your school. Not nothing.

But here's the flip side: spending four years studying something you hate, graduating into a career you resent - that's worse. Way worse. A semester of extra tuition is a small price compared to decades of dreading Monday mornings.

Month one: get to know yourself

Spend the first few weeks actually thinking about who you are. Not who you think you should be, not who your parents want you to be. You.

What high school classes did you actually enjoy? Not which ones were easy - which ones made you interested enough to do more than the minimum? What do you find yourself doing when you're bored? What topics can you talk about for hours?

Take a career assessment. Not the terrible ones that ask "do you like working with people?" and then tell you nothing useful. A real one that measures personality traits and matches you with specific careers. This gives you a starting point.

Month two: test your theories

Once you have some ideas, start validating them. Look up your top career matches on LinkedIn. Find people who actually do those jobs. What do their backgrounds look like? What do they say about their work?

If you can, shadow someone or do an informational interview. One conversation with someone actually doing the work is worth hours of reading about it online.

Your freshman schedule (a strategic approach)

Take your required general education courses - you need them anyway. Add one intro course from each area you're considering. This lets you test the waters without committing.

Pay attention to which classes you look forward to. Not which ones have the easiest professor or best time slot - which ones actually engage you.

Some classes to consider regardless of your major: a writing course (every career needs communication), statistics or data analysis (increasingly important everywhere), and public speaking if it's offered (high value skill, most people avoid developing it).

Signs you've chosen wrong

After a semester or two in a declared major, watch for these:

You dread your major classes specifically. Not just "ugh, homework" but genuine dread about the subject matter itself.

You can't imagine doing this work for decades. Everyone has bad days. But if you can't envision any version of this career you'd actually want, that's a sign.

You're staying because of sunk cost. "But I've already taken three classes!" is not a reason to continue down a path you don't want.

You chose to please someone else. Your parents' approval matters, but you're the one who has to live with this choice.

If multiple warning signs apply, it's time to reassess. The temporary discomfort of switching is nothing compared to long-term career misery.

The timeline

Ideal: declare by end of sophomore year, after testing multiple areas.

Latest safe point: beginning of junior year, if you want to graduate on time.

Too early: freshman year, unless you've done serious exploration beforehand.

Moving forward

Being undecided at 18 is normal and maybe even smart. Being undecided at 30 because you never bothered to figure yourself out? That's a problem.

Take the assessment. Do the research. Talk to real people. Then make a decision and commit to testing it.

You've got this.