A Major Journey: Embracing Change and Finding Your True Path in College

When I was in high school, I didn’t have a broad perspective on all the career options out in the world. I think many of us fall victim to the broad-strokes perspective that there are four acceptable careers that will give us the social recognition and financial stability we think defines success: doctor, lawyer, businessperson, or engineer. Growing up, I too felt the pressure to choose one, and as a result, I grew up tethered to my identity as a future doctor. As I approached my own college process, there wasn’t a question in my mind what area of study I would select on my applications—bio/pre-med. Easy! I ultimately ended up as a first year at Colby College, which emphasized an open and exploratory curriculum. I started to notice a trend: I dreaded walking into the classes required for my major and found a deep sense of fulfillment in my social science classes. However, I thought of these classes as electives—classwork I found interesting, but that that could never amount to a career. During my junior year, I spent a semester at Howard University, where I engaged in a sociology-heavy course schedule. After this semester, and the realization that my bio major had nothing to do with my identity, I decided to declare a second major in sociology upon my return to Colby, ultimately choosing not to apply to medical school. Instead, I fed my desire to address social stratification in the real world by becoming a college advisor in the Boston Public School System. The rest is history, and here I am at Bright Horizons College Coach, telling my story to encourage applicants to trust their gut and start on a pathway that speaks to their genuine interests. So, wherever you are in your proximity to the application process, I think you can take something away from this story. To seniors hearing back from colleges: You may be accepted directly into the first or second choice major you listed on your applications. Treat it as the first of many choices you’ll make as you find your way towards your career. You may have the option to transfer between colleges or majors within the university, or to add a second major or multiple minors, so understand that the choices you’ve made upfront are rarely permanent. However, do your research because at some campuses it may be difficult or even impossible to switch into popular or rigorous majors like nursing, computer science, business, or engineering. Also consider the possibility of taking classes outside of your major. You never know what random class will resonate with you, like Intro to Sociology did with me. It may not lead to a stark change in your academic plan, but taking a spectrum of courses will make your college experience more diversified and fulfilling. If the colleges admitting you didn’t require that you applied directly into a major, then take this opportunity to explore. Find out when you need to declare a major and map out a schedule that allows you to interact with as many departments of interest as possible. Use your general education courses, which cover a wide variety of subjects, to explore your interests in a more concrete way. Finally, the best advice I can give is to use your resources. Once you’re on campus, strive to be a collaborator with your academic advisors, professors, and peers. Pursue experiential learning opportunities like research or internships that touch on your interests to ensure you enjoy this subject matter in the real world. To juniors getting ready to kickstart the application process: Take some of the pressure off making the “correct” decision as you consider what you want to list as your major of interest on your applications. Some of you might already have the insight you need to make a good decision. Great! But some of you might be unsure. I encourage you to pay attention to what classes and activities you enjoy and acknowledge those things you don’t enjoy. This will give you clues as to what pathway(s) might be for you. You can also consider taking interest or career surveys like those at My Next Move and College Board’s BigFuture. Finally, if you have absolutely no idea what you would like to major in, consider applying undecided, giving yourself time to explore before making an informed decision on your major. Rest assured that applying undecided does not hurt your admission chances. Fun fact: about 50% of applicants apply undecided each year. Decisions like this can be scary, but if you are honest with yourself and follow your genuine interests, you cannot make a bad choice. Be open to change and new experiences and try not to get stuck in the idea of who you think you’re supposed to be.