Choosing Your Major

I. Introduction: Importance of the Decision-Making Process

Choosing a major is an important decision, one that should not be hurried. The time that you give to the PROCESS of making this decision will be well spent. The steps you take in preparing to choose a college major will be similar to the steps you take in making your first adult career choice. You are laying the foundation for establishing the initial directions of your young adult life.

A quick and ill-thought-out major decision may only lead to frustration if you choose something and then discover that it bores you or that you don't have the necessary skills. For example, if you are thinking of majoring in economics because you heard it would be a good background for an MBA degree, but you've done average or less than average work in mathematics courses in high school and/or college, you may need to ask yourself if economics is a realistic choice. Pre-mature decisions lead to loss of time if you go through too many major choices. Pre-mature major decisions can also lead to loss of money due to the extra cost of extra time in college as well as the loss of income while still in college for the extra time.

In order to make a major decision, you need three things: time, information, and commitment. Time, to consider all the options, to think about implications of your decision, time to do the work necessary to make a decision. Information, so your decision is based on up-to-date statistics, data, knowledge, and advice. Commitment, to follow through and to make a decision!