When I begin talking with families about a college list, many parents lead the conversation with the question, “How do we choose the right college if my child is undecided about what major she wants to study?” I tell these parents that for at least 80 percent of students, major shouldn’t be a main driver in where they pick a college. Why?
American higher education is unique in many ways, and one of those is the idea that students ought to attend college with a goal of exploring many subjects in order to figure out what they want to study. They do not need to begin their university education with a set course of action. To reinforce this idea, most colleges don’t ask for students to ultimately declare a major until the end of sophomore year. And many also require quite a few introductory courses, not only to give students a more robust general education, but to let them see what subjects might pique their interest.
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