Many students at two-year campuses are no different from
those at four-year campuses in one respect – they are still
looking for a major that makes sense to them. Even by junior year,
significant numbers of four-year campus students are still trying
to figure this out. The problem is, perhaps, a bit more complicated
for two-year college students whose limited financing or rural
location also limits them to the closest four-year college. Not
all colleges offer the same set of majors, so the “best” choice
of a major for a given student may not be offered at the only campuses
they can realistically expect to attend. If the course offerings
on the two-year campus largely duplicate disciplines found in high
schools, students may not have been able to sample enough courses
to have settled on a baccalaureate major.
Your two-year campus experience has, however, given you something
that recent high school graduates lack: exposure to a wider range
of courses that can inform your selection of a major. You can,
no doubt, eliminate some majors that you were exposed to because
they didn’t fit your interests. Perhaps, some peaked your
excitement.
Counselors and parents often encourage students to take their time
in picking a major. While there are some good reasons for allowing
time to take its course, there is the real danger that a delay
in the decision to major in a field may require yet another year
of study; yet another year of tuition, more books, more living
expenses; and yet another year that a professional income is not
being earned. Delay, then, becomes a $50,000 to $75,000 problem.
Work hard to limit your losses if you can.
1. Address the major decision as early as possible.
Some students don’t select a major early enough simply because
they don’t put the time in to do the research needed and
to think about it. Don’t shrug it off. Try to determine why
you are hesitant to make a decision and address this problem before
trying to identify a major.
Not all of the reasons for delaying a decision as to your eventual
major are good ones. Have you invested time in thinking about why
you can’t decide? If you are a good student, maybe you have
to narrow down the choices. If you are perennially indecisive,
do you need to talk to a counselor to clarify your thinking? If
you are a poor student, perhaps a four-year degree is not really
the best choice for you. Figure out what your “block” is
and work to move in productive directions.
If you are planning on transferring to a four-year campus, start
looking for a university to transfer to early so you can begin
to take courses that are appropriate for the recommended curriculum.
Even though the transfer emphasis for the first two years of college
is on completing general education requirements (which themselves
vary from one four-year school to the next), you should not wait
to start your major when you arrive at the university. Many majors
have tight course sequences involving prerequisites on top of prerequisites.
A delay guarantees a fifth year of study just to complete the baccalaureate.
2. Get clear on what a major is and how it is different from a
career and from a graduate degree.
Counselors and some aptitude tests focus on careers you are suited
for. Recognize that selecting a career may not immediately determine
your major. There are many majors that can lead to graduate work
in law, to positions in banking or to jobs in business.
3. If necessary, make up for shortcomings in the courses you have
taken.
Although one role of a community college is to get you ready for
a transfer, not all such colleges are equally effective in this
respect. Even in state systems that require the transfer of credits
from the two-year to the four-year campuses, the courses may not
be equivalent. You may decide, for example, to major in accountancy
or engineering, only to find that the courses at the two-year campus
covered less material than those at the four-year campus. Start
talking to faculty at the four-year school to see if there is work
you need to make up on your own in order to compete successfully
at the junior level.
4. Take advantage of campus advisement services.
Two-year college academic advisors working with the four-year college-bound
often are familiar with a range of colleges and their majors. The
counselor can suggest majors to consider and resources to use in
order to explore these choices further.
Four-year colleges have several kinds of advisors, all of whom
are anxious to help. There is generally an advisement center for
undecided students who haven’t narrowed down their choices.
If a student has decided on a general field, such as engineering
or business, that college has advisors who can help to focus in
on a specific major within that college.
Most campuses provide pre-enrollment orientation sessions, part
of which is devoted to examining majors. Take advantage of these
sessions.
5. Use Web-based and computerized resources.
There are resources on the Web that can be of assistance. The Princeton
Review and MyMajors.com are two sources. Many universities provide
sites with pages that describe majors and the types of employment
linked to them. A simple search on “find a major” or “majors” will
give you lots of supportive information. Many schools offer aptitude
testing with programs like the Meyers-Briggs Inventory, the Strong
Campbell Interest Inventory, SIGI plus and other programs designed
to help you understand your strengths and weaknesses, as well as
to point out careers and majors that might be of interest to you.
For more help in choosing a college major, visit MyMajors.com:
Mymajors.com surveys your grades and personal preferences, and then
generates a list of college majors you may want to consider. Click
on a major for a description of what you can do with it, and for
links to more info, relevant university departments, and books on
the subject.
|
