Switching your major could quite possibly be the most intimidating thing you could do in college. Especially if you’re not sure what exactly what you want to do for your career. Having been there, here’s some advice for what to expect before, during, and after you make that decision to change your life path.
- Figuring out what you what you want to switch to.
Knowing what you don’t like about your current major is the easy part. You don’t like the classes, the classes are too hard, or maybe you just don’t see a future for yourself in that field. The hard part is figuring out where you do see yourself in the future.
2. Making the switch.
The physical process of switching your major might actually be the most tedious and stressful time of your college career. Finding the right times to meet with the old department to convince them to let you switch (sometimes they give you a tough time about doing so…but that’s just my experience), finding time to go to the new department to learn more about it, remembering all the classes you’ve taken and trying to get them to count towards your degree, the list goes on. It’s rough.
3. Starting your new major.
Putting yourself in a new field can be extremely intimidating, especially if its something completely different than what you’re used to. However, if you made the right choice, you quickly learn how much better you feel about your classes, teachers and even the work load. Homework doesn’t even feel like homework anymore! Your entire college experience will change for the better, because you actually enjoy what you’re doing.
~ Erin Paccione ’19
