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Blog Entry: #101

How to Pick Your College Major -
Choosing the Right Path for your Future
by Joe DePalma

Choosing a major is the most important choice that you have to make in college. Your major is the blueprint you will use to build your future. Every person you meet for your entire college career is going to ask you, “So, what's your major?” That's why all students must X-Y-Z as soon as possible:

X) Choose a liberal arts type of major if nothing else seems right at the moment.

Y) Beware and steer clear of the “Undeclared” label.

Z) Do X and Y and avoid being a 13 th grader. Take responsibility for your education and your future before it is too late.

A little known university secret to remember is that if a student has a 2.5 overall G.P.A., they probably will not be kicked out of their major. On the other side of that coin, if a student has a 2.5 overall G.P.A., it is very difficult to get into a major. The college system is much easier on students who choose a major and change it than it is on those who remain undeclared and plan to pick up a major in the future.

Getting into a major is extremely important to do before you jump on the college roller coaster and start hanging out late and sleeping even later. If you decide to forgo declaring a major in your first few months of school, it may be a mistake you will never recover from. It may not seem like a big deal at first, but after about two semesters of more play than work, it will not be up to you to choose a major
anymore. The choice will be for the major you finally choose to either accept or reject your application.

It is relatively easy to get into a major as a freshman. All a student has to do in most cases is declare one, but it does not stay that way. The longer you wait to choose a major, the greater chance you are taking that your G.P.A. or status will drop below the minimum requirements of the major you finally choose. At that point, you are stuck fighting to get into a major that you could have simply signed up for in the beginning.

You may be scared that the major you choose is going to be the wrong one, but don't forget that you can always change it. The best thing to do is to declare a major that you feel is right for you even if you are not 100 percent certain you will stay with it all the way through to graduation.

Once you declare a major (even if you are not totally sure that it is the right one for you), you should first take classes that can be used as general education requirements (GERs) or free electives in other majors. This will give you time to do some research to determine exactly which major is the absolute best one for you without taking any wasted classes.

Whatever you do, do not stay undeclared for more than one year. The longer you stay undeclared the more likely it is that you will be declared a drop-out. It is very common for students to “undeclare” themselves right out of college. Do not be passive about finding a major. You don't want to waste your time and money. Do some research on the majors offered by your school and always have the attitude that every little thing you do will lead you one step closer to graduation.

Finally, be an artist in whatever it is you choose to major in at college. Make your major a source of self-expression. One of the main points of college is to find a way to creatively and positively express yourself. If you find that you cannot express yourself through your major, you are going to have to switch over to one where you can. Never deny yourself the satisfaction of self-expression or it will eat you up inside, and the other aspects of your life will crumble around it. Do what you feel is right. Even majoring in Accounting can be a great source of self-expression for some students. Choose a major that lets you be you no matter what.

* How To Pick Your College Major – Action Step *

** The Timeless Secret to Finding Your Perfect Major!

Imagine that you have won the lottery and become a multi-millionaire who is financially set for life. Think about what you would do with your time when you took a break from all the partying, shopping, and traveling. Think about what you would do with your future if money was not an issue. What would you do with your life?

Take that answer, find the closest program your school has to offer, and make that your major. Using this process to choose your major is the only way you will feel totally fulfilled and self-expressed at graduation. This method insures that you will choose a major that is close to your heart instead of simply choosing a major that you hope will lead to big money someday.

Now write down what you would do if money was not an option for you anymore, and then write down the three closest fields of study your school offers.

What would you do if money was of no concern for you?

___________________________________________

What are the three closets fields of study your school offers?

1)_______________________________________________________

2)_______________________________________________________

3)_______________________________________________________

Finally, you will need to explore those options firsthand and dive into one of them. If you do not explore your options, you will certainly end up regretting it one way or another.

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