Major Decisions: Our Experts Help You Choose a College Major

When it comes to your college education, one of the most important decisions you’ll make, along with selecting your school, is choosing your major. And schools don’t make it easy: Some offer more than 100 majors!

With all those choices in front of you, it’s natural to think of changing majors as a normal part of college. But doing so can be incredibly costly: Research shows that bachelor’s degree recipients typically take and pay for 15 credits more than they need — an entire semester of wasted time and money. And that doesn’t even factor in the emotional cost, or the loss of potential salary due to delayed graduation. 

So doesn’t it make sense to spend more time trying to figure out the best major for you? If so, this guide is for you. In addition to offering tips on narrowing down options, we provide resources to help you make a decision, and interview several experts who offer their insider perspective.

Expert Panel: Choosing Your Undergraduate Major

To give you the best perspective on how to select an undergraduate major, we turned to the experts. Our panel includes:

Dr. Robert Kohen

Dr. Robert Kohen, an independent educational consultant focused on college admissions. He holds a certificate in college admissions and career planning from UC Berkeley, a PhD from Harvard and a BA from Columbia.

Nikita Lawrence

Nikita Lawrence, known as the Wealth Success Leadership Strategist®. She is CEO of Wealth Success Chamber Enterprises LLC, an executive leadership development and HR advisory firm, helping women, executives, entrepreneurs, and professionals resolve urgent, complex issues quickly so that they can lead better and live happier lives.

F. J. Talley

F. J. Talley, a career educator spanning four decades. Through the years he has served as a dean of students, associate provost, and vice president, in addition to being a small college president. He has worked at institutions in six states, and in both public and independent educational settings.

• Q1: If I am a college-bound student who has no idea what to major in, what should my first step be?

  Kohen: When it comes to picking a major, students should reflect on their interests and try out classes in a variety of areas that appeal to them. It’s also helpful to work backwards from career: I recommend students reflect on potential career paths and explore what types of educational trajectories align with those paths. Once a student has some potential fields in mind, they should explore majors that can lead to those fields. They should also reach out to professionals in those fields to schedule informational interviews, where they can learn more about the field and potentially set up a shadowing or internship opportunity.

  Lawrence: The first step is to explore your areas of strength and your desire for experiences. Think about what you both love and hate and research careers that highlight your strengths only.

  Talley: An ideal first step is to answer your question with a question: What do you want to do when you grow up? And while many young people haven’t made a final decision about their careers at 16 years of age, they know what they like and what they don’t like. For example, a high school junior knows they love science and aren’t crazy about literature, or they have great ability in history, but not so much for math. I’d also ask that they look at the adults they know and ask those adults what they like about their job and what a person who wants to enter that career should do. The point is to open up their minds to what the life of adults is like, and to learn that there is a process to working toward the careers they want. Often, the adults they talk to had specific majors in college, and that may be their first step toward choosing a major that’s attached to a career they might like.

• Q2: When should I choose a major in order to optimize success in college?

  Kohen: This is going to depend on the college and major. Some programs will only accept you if you are admitted to that program as a freshman applicant, while others are relatively easy to transfer into from another major or from being undeclared. At many colleges, you can wait until the end of your first or second year before declaring a major. Some majors, however, require extensive coursework (think nursing, engineering), so starting sooner can better ensure completing the degree in four years.

  Lawrence: By the end of your freshman year in college, leading into your sophomore year. The first 1.5 years are usually general studies, so deciding before then may lead to added stress, anxiety, or multiple changes.

  Talley: Ideally, students should choose their major before the end of their sophomore year in college. This allows them to compete the major and graduate on time, yet still have some flexibility to enjoy other courses and experiences during college. Waiting until after the sophomore year makes that tougher. Declaring a major during the first year is fine as well, but students should know that the choice of major isn’t irrevocable. The major is simply one tool to help them move toward the career they want, but not the only one. Other tools include internships, shadowing experiences, and other work in their field of choice. 

• Q3: What is more important when choosing a major — student interests or what they are good at?

  Kohen: Both are important! Choosing a major — and a career — is about marrying these two.

  Lawrence: It’s important to carefully balance both, finding harmony in the strengths and passions. If a student is passionate about what they aren’t good at naturally, they may encounter a steeper learning curve or find themselves becoming disinterested over time.

  Talley: This is a tough question — but also an excellent one. Normally, I’d say that a student’s interests often match their strengths, but that’s not always the case. I normally ask students: What would they willingly spend their time doing, even if they weren’t getting paid for it? What so engages them that they don’t want to stop? I also ask them what are they willing to work really hard on in order to improve? Once you filter out some things that don’t tie much to major (though some would say that anime and Pokémon might tie to some majors!) what’s left are the streams they might pursue in terms of career and major. Generally, I don’t encourage students to pursue a major which offers high career income, but in which they have limited skills. No one should have to struggle like that. 

• Q4: What other factors should a student consider when choosing a major?

  Kohen: Students applying to college should consider how competitive a given major is: Popular programs like computer science, for instance, are often much more difficult to be admitted to than programs like history. Sometimes a student can make themselves more competitive by studying a related field that is still of interest to them: Mechanical engineering, for instance, can be less competitive than other engineering majors, and geographic information systems and data science can be less competitive than computer science.

  Lawrence: Students should consider long-term goals and issues they find interesting. They should look for problems they want to solve and investigate studies that get them into a deeper understanding of those problems. The earlier a student identifies a mission or cause they want to champion, the more focused their career pursuits will be. 

  Talley: As mentioned above, students should consider their current skills when choosing a major. They may really enjoy problem solving and building things but hate math. In that case, they probably shouldn’t choose engineering as a major, even though problem solving is something engineers do all the time. In this case, the student should consider other majors where creating and problem solving are central, such as architecture. They should take a hard look at their strengths — or what they’re willing to do to build on their weaknesses — early on to make the best long-term choices. 

• Q5: How important is major choice?

  Kohen: This depends partly on the field. If a student wants to work in a more technical, skill-based field (think engineering, nursing), developing those skills during college will be important, and employers are increasingly looking for students with hard skills. That said, employers also value the “softer” skills that come with any liberal arts education: the ability to problem solve, think critically, write, and express oneself clearly. Practically any college major provides great training in these skills. One strategy is to combine a liberal arts major (say, music or English) with a minor or certificate in a hard skill, such as computer science or data science, and to seek out internship experience during college in the professional areas that interest the student.

  Lawrence: Undergraduate major studies provide a solid foundation and general education in a specific area of study. Based on the curriculum, majors give students the opportunity to further learn about themselves and determine what they would like to continue studying, learning, or pursuing post-graduation. It’s ok if a major changes, and the student learns more about themselves. It’s also ok to finish out a program and take up additional classes, certifications, or graduate studies to apply greater learning and research. Beyond the major, the life skills students learn finishing an undergraduate program will be what continues to pay dividends post-graduation. 

  Talley: Choice of major is important because it gives a structure and focus to their undergraduate education. Also, many majors require students to complete courses in other disciplines in order to complete a major and graduate. This allows students to customize their major, so it prepares them more effectively for their chosen career. Having said that, the major is only one part of a student’s college career. Students may find that they could enter their career of choice with a variety of majors. This means that if the major they feel locked into isn’t the “perfect” one for their chosen career, there is always a Plan B. A great way to pursue that Plan B is to head to the career center and chat with the staff.

• Q6: What are some specific tools or resources that students can access to help them make this decision?

  Kohen: Assessments like the Self-Directed Search and YouScience can help a student hone in on majors and careers that might align with their interests, and students can then use resources like O*Net, Occupational Outlook Handbook, and Roadtrip Nation to explore those careers in more detail. When it comes to learning about a particular major, What Can I Do with This Major? and the Study Hall Fast Guides are great resources. Lastly, while money is only one part of the equation, students can explore earnings-by-major data at the federal government’s website College Scorecard.

  Lawrence: Students should explore leadership and personality assessments like DISC or 16 Personalities, for example, to learn more about themselves and possible career options that align to who they are. They should also seek out guidance from successful professionals in a similar field or industry they one day hope to be in. Finally, they should volunteer or intern at companies that have positions they hope to get into. Exposure and experience will give their education legs and help them determine if they are headed in the right direction or should pivot.

  Talley: Two great tools are the College Boards Big Future and ACT’s List of College Majors, which includes tools and inventories to help students choose their majors. But again, a college’s career center staff can spend much more time with a student to help them explore careers and majors.

• Q7: What should I do if I declare a major and I don’t like it?

  Kohen: Around a third of all college students change their major at least once. If you’ve decided your major isn’t right for you, absolutely explore alternatives. Changing majors can potentially extend your time in college beyond four years, however, so pay careful attention to how many courses a major requires, when they’re offered, how easy it is to register for those classes, and if they have to be taken in a particular sequence.

  Lawrence: A student’s major should be their decision and commitment. It’s more important for a student to honor their commitment to a program they want to be in than to struggle through the internal battle or regret of wishing they had the courage to change. Depending on how deep they are into studies, this decision may have implications in the short term, but will pay dividends in the long term. 

  Talley: In the short term, change it! Students shouldn’t make themselves miserable by staying in the wrong major. This can make college far more difficult than it should be and may hinder graduating at all. If a student is in their last year of college, however, that becomes more difficult. A good discussion with a career advisor and their academic advisor may help the student carve a path within their existing major that isn’t too painful, yet can still prepare them for a career. And while I hate to suggest that students stay in a major they hate, going back to square one and adding a year or more to their college career might not be doable. 

• Q8: What advice would you give your younger self about choosing a major?

  Kohen: Follow your interests.

  Lawrence: Go for what you want most, even if that brings about additional challenges. You have one life to live, so make the most of it by trusting yourself and reaching for your dreams. You can go farther than you imagined. Don’t settle. 

  Talley: I would probably ask people in careers that I liked how they got there and what major they pursued. I’d also ask them if there are other ways to enter that career, and if they wished they had pursued a different major.

• Q9: Any final advice for students trying to choose their major today?

  Kohen: Most adults do not work in a field explicitly connected to their college major, and many adults change their career (often multiple times). Study what you enjoy and what aligns with your current long-term interests. Don’t focus too minutely on salaries: While STEM majors often make higher salaries than humanities majors right out of college, for instance, many humanities majors eventually catch up and surpass STEM salaries.

  Lawrence: Don’t settle for what others expect you to select. Remember it is your decision and opportunity to learn more about yourself and prepare for a successful future life and career. Make the hard choices now so that you don’t have to live with the regrets that plague many adults later in life. Reach for the stars! 

  Talley: Don’t let the choice of major stress you out! It’s an important choice, but not the only choice you’ll make in college. And since there are often many different access routes to a given career, make your major just one tool of many to help you reach your career goals.

Self-Assessment – How to Make Your Major Decision

If you’re like many students, you may begin to approach your decision about your major by identifying careers and industries where you expect future growth. And growth can mean different things to different people, sometimes referring to potential salary increases or perhaps to the number of projected openings for a given position title. 

But just as important as researching growth opportunities in your future career is the chance for you to learn more about yourself. You can do this by asking yourself questions to identify personal characteristics that may play a role in your major decision. These questions can come from official self-assessment tests and evaluations, but they can also be less formal and come from introspectively answering questions that prompt you to think critically about what you want from your education and future career. 

So, get your tablet, laptop, smartphone, or pen and paper ready to jot down some notes in response to the following prompts.

Additional Resources to Help You Choose a Major

Here is a list of additional resources to help you zero in on your strengths and interests. Many of these aren’t directly related to college majors; instead, they may be assessments that will help you learn more about yourself, which will help you make a decision about a future major.