A Major Decision: Students shouldn’t be pressured to know their major at such a young age

“What about psychology?”
Not too sure.

“Well how about design, you are so creative!”
What if I don’t like it?

“Try math!”
Wait, that was a joke, right?

I have this discussion on a daily basis. My parents desperately try to help me scour through my interests to find a potential major at my dream school — Cal Poly.

How am I, a 17 year old, supposed to know what I want to do for the rest of my life? How is that something colleges can expect from me? Most people don’t figure out what their life’s purpose is until they are having a midlife crisis. Yet, I am having a quarter-life crisis trying to the extremely difficult question:

“Who am I supposed to be?”

My interests span through dozens of possible majors, ranging from anthropology to design to philosophy. It seems impossible to narrow my choices down to one singular study, especially without much knowledge on any of them.

College applications are already stressful enough, but when you add the existential stress of choosing a major, it makes the stress loads worse.

Unlike my top school, most colleges don’t require incoming freshmen to declare a major. But many colleges consider them when applying. This is most common with large public universities with multiple departments, for example, the University of California system. This school system has limited slots for each major, which creates differences in admissions rates, causing many applicants to use their major as a backdoor into the school, by choosing one with a higher acceptance rate.

It’s tempting to choose an unpopular major in, say, pre-European studies, with the plan of switching into a major I actually like. Unpopular majors do have higher acceptance rates at some schools, but however tempting, switching majors is a feat within itself. And what if I don’t like the major I switch into? If you can’t be undecided and get into a school based on merit, should you really be there?

Having an undecided major on your college applications can be beneficial in the long run. Although you might think you know what you want to do, 80% of college students change their major at least once, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. So why waste valuable time pursuing, researching and stressing over a major that will probably be changed anyways?

Some schools even enforce the exploration process like the University of Chicago and Tufts University. These colleges require all freshmen to go in undecided, giving them time to determine which field fits them best.

It’s also smarter money-wise. Since each major requires its own set of credits, dropping or switching leads to expensive excess credits they won’t use. People who declare their major early are actually less likely to graduate on time than those who decided later due to the time it takes to actually take all the classes required, according to hechingerreport.org. That means more student debt and more school.

Spending months pursuing a major you thought you would love just isn’t efficient. You can’t entirely base college and future careers off classes you liked in high school. I love English class, but would I ever major in it? Maybe, I won’t know until I take college English classes.

Declaring a major is a great choice for those who are absolutely certain about their future goals. In some cases it provides a headstart on pursuing a degree, but again, most people change their major. So, if you’re not certain, like most 18-year-olds, why wouldn’t you allow yourself time to think and try new things? After all, that is the point of college.

Honestly, I should be encouraged to explore majors, not forced to limit myself this early in my education. I am still just a teenager trying to savor my last few months before I enter the real world, and that time shouldn’t be interrupted by unnecessary stress of deciding my whole future. Let me take one step at a time.