Introduction
The whole process of education is a crucial and specific one. Soon after school, students are faced with multiple options and they have to narrow down and make the right decision for themselves. Whether it’s choosing a college, subject, a group or club, or even a major to get a degree in, the decision affects their future. Let us see how many times does the average students change majors in this article.
How many times does the average students change majors?
While changing colleges and clubs is easier and a common practice, students tend to worry when it comes to changing majors. Colleges and other education departments understand that. Almost 70% of students change their majors due to several reasons. Read more to understand why and how.
What is a Major?
First things first, a major, in simple terms is what you specialize in within your degree. A student may choose to major in a particular field or subject and study that subject for consecutive years and later specialize in the same. There are abundant options to major in, be it medicine, psychology, art, film, and many more. Each of the broad fields further has its divisions and specializations that one can major in.
Given the fact that there are over 1800 majors that students can pick across various colleges in various combinations, it is only natural for them to be confused. If you have selected a major and it doesn’t seem to be working out for you, you’re not alone.
There are over 70% of average students who change their majors at least once. Surely, once seems to be good enough, but not for all. You can be wrong the second or even the third time. Rightly so, there’s still a good 30% of students that change their majors more than once.
Reasons why students change majors:
When you have given it good thought and commitment, why would you need to change your major? You may be feeling insecure or anxious about your decision. Here are a few reasons why students change their majors.
You can consider these as well if you’re in a similar dilemma:
Interests
First and foremost. You have to consider your interests before you pick out a major- or even after! If you’re not interested in certain aspects of a subject, look out for other options.
Students often pick a major because they like one aspect of it and then when they see the rest, they decide to step back. It’s okay if you don’t like everything about your course but there should be enough that you are interested in so that you find encouragement.
Students don’t look at the entire picture and when they are shown the same, they tend to switch majors
Subjects and electives
There are many majors to choose from. Furthermore, combinations to pick from. Different colleges will offer different packages and electives in different majors. Students overlook this fact and then have a hard time coping.
For instance, if you’re majoring in psychology but don’t like science, you’re at a dead end. Students are introduced to the popular aspects of their major while the tough parts are left out.
When they don’t look through these, it becomes problematic come mid-semester. Therefore, students then switch majors.
Confusion
Over 1800 majors to pick. Say you want to major in media. There are a hundred different options there.
Often, students know the broader perspective of what they want to do. You may know you want to do dance or science or history. However, when it comes to choosing a major which is a specialization in one field, students are lost.
In all the panic and haste, they tend to pick something other than what they like. This also needs them to change majors lest they go crazy and continue pursuing a degree in the same!
Opportunities and plans
‘Take mass media, there will be many festivals and opportunities!’, ‘Do a major in psychology, it’s very interesting but they never told you that the media course has ethics and laws to study.
They never said psychology will make you deal with the brain! Everyone adds only the glittery parts of major presenting opportunities better than any other. Sure enough, students enlightened and excited by the same, opt for the major.
When they find out how hard it is to get to those opportunities, they need to switch. You want to look at what you want and how you’re going to have to get it. This will help you better decide which major you like.
Get real!
You may have heard this phrase multiple times when you have to make serious decisions. The same applies to majors. Many students pick their childhood dreams and choose to fulfill those without understanding what it takes to do the same.
You may be passionate about something but when you start looking at other factors like requirements, scope, career, and so on, you are forced to think otherwise. Students leave out other factors which drag them into reality mid-semester and push them to reconsider. This leads to a switch in majors.
Conclusion
Switching majors is not wrong. It is okay to switch majors and a majority of students do the same. However, the time, cost, and mental preparations involved can be troublesome. While you can opt for different majors, it’s better to consider the above factors before you pick a major the first time! If you still go wrong, you can always switch!
FAQs
- Is it advisable to change majors?
If you’re not comfortable and it’s not benefiting you, yes, of course! However, if you have the time and resources at hand, try to select a preferable major at the first shot itself.
- How many times can you change majors?
Some students have never changed their majors while some have changed them over 5 times. It’s not a question of how many times you can change a major. What is at stake is time and resources that will ultimately affect you the more you switch.
- Do all colleges allow students to change majors?
Mostly yes. Colleges understand that you can go wrong sometimes and so often allow switching of majors. To be fair, it’s not a loss for them as much as it is for you!
