College applications are coming up, but thankfully, students still have plenty of time to figure out their major.
One of the biggest questions when applying to college, after people ask which schools you’re choosing, is “what are you going to major in?”
According to the College Advising office, the three most prominent majors in recent years have been in business, engineering, and computer sciences.
Overall, the top 10 most common undergraduate majors include: Business, Health, Social Sciences & History, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Psychology, Engineering, Computer and Information Science, Visual and Performing Arts, Education, and Communication & Journalism, in that order, according to Coursera.org.
Derek Cunha, a Williston College Advisor, believes that when students choose a major, it shouldn’t be about what will help them get the best job but more about what interests them.
“Students can try to strategize to find majors they think they have a better chance of getting into their top-choice college,” Cunha said. Cunha also stated that students lose sight of their passions due to trying to find a major for their future because “there can be a misconception that certain majors lead to good, high paying jobs and others won’t be worthwhile.”
Most colleges don’t require students to declare a major until sophomore or junior year, although many college applications ask applicants to list an “expected major,” according to the Princeton Review.
Another problem students have with choosing their majors is the timing of the decision. Many students feel rushed, but Cunha assures you have a lot of time to decide and you will know it when you feel it.
“I think the right time is when you realize you have a passion for a subject that you can’t imagine not pursuing. Once you have that A-ha! moment then you’ve probably found your major,” he said. “Nationally about 75% of student will change their major at least once, which I think reflects students not really knowing what they want to study for a major to begin with, or that they develop a new interest or find that class that makes them want to pursue a new area of study.”
Francesca Gionfriddo, a Colby Lacrosse commit and Williston senior, doesn’t believe that sports has hindered how she chose her major.
“Knowing where I’m going to college has not affected my decision on what my major will be,” she said. “I’ve kind of always known that I wanted to follow an economics and foreign language path, either Spanish or Italian, and I feel that in my recruitment process I focused on finding schools that matched those interests and had programs available as opposed to deciding my major after the fact.”
One piece of advice Francesca gives is to “Think of yourself as a student first,” and that “ultimately sports will end one day and you’ll need to be able to work after, and what you major will be very important then.”
