Is it crucial to declare a major your first year of college?

Hi Elise! I changed my major 5 times before landing on Painting as my focus. As an art major it was really difficult to choose what reasonated most with me because as you learn new things, you may find you fall in love with a different part of your creativity.

Take your time to explore your options in the first 2 years of school. Try to take a couple of electives that allow you to dabble in the areas you’re interested in. This will likely give you just enough to check in with yourself and see what’s right for you.

Hope this helps!

Best,

Stacey

No, it is not crucial to declare a major during your first year. You can stop worrying! At major universities, 70-80 percent of freshman change their major after the first year. Since every university has "core requirements," many of those core requirements are generally taken in the first two years of college. What I'm saying is this: you won't be losing time or wasting time if you aren't sure. Sample some of the course work that you THINK might be of interest.

ALSO, the academic advisor to whom you will be assigned will help you to navigate both the core requirements and make some recommendations to you about "how to decide." The Career Counseling Office (assuming that your college or university actually has one) might be of some assistance to you in the decision making process as well. There are many resources that will be available to you once enrolled.

ENJOY the exploration process.

Not at all, a lot of colleges have "undecided" majors for your first two years of college which encourages you to take all types of classes and see which ones you like. Though by your 3rd year you will have to choose a major. You do have to weight the pros and cons of this though because it could extend your time at college to over 4 years and if you have student loans, this will add up. I would do some research into the schools you would like to go to and see if they have this program and offering to new students and which one matches what your looking for!