As a college freshman, there are so many different things to stress about within the first few months. You have to make new friends, live around strangers, take classes you have never even heard of and eat food that doesn't even come close to those home-cooked meals that you're used to. The scariest part of college, however, might just be the fact that you have to decide what you want to do for the rest of your life, in just four short years.
When applying to college, you are often asked what you would like to study once enrolled. Now this is a scary question to be asked as a 17- or 18-year-old high school senior. Students often are pressured into declaring a major at the start of freshman year because they fear everyone around them already knows what they want to do. The truth? Nobody actually knows where they will end up.
Many students who start college with a declared major change their major once or twice just within the first year. This is because it is difficult to know if you will like a subject until you take a course. Changing your major is common and widely accepted. The issue? It is very difficult to switch majors or even decide what major will best suite you until you take a few diverse courses.
What does it mean to be an undeclared major? To be undeclared means just as it sounds, you are undecided about what to study. Within the first year as an undecided major, you are able to take multiple courses that will help to guide you in the direction in which you would like to go.
As a college junior, my advice is to start college undecided. Even if you have an idea of what you might like to study, it always helps to take a few different classes before having your mind set in stone. Yes, it is always possible to change your major, but why not save yourself the effort and figure out what you want early rather than late. As a freshman, I changed my major three times and added two minors. I have finally found my place at school and am extremely happy with what I am studying. If I were to go back in time, however, I would definitely start my freshman year as an undeclared major and go from there.
